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Andrew Lincoln has named his favorite episode of The Walking Dead, and it’s the same episode that made me fall in love with the show in the first place. Lincoln first broke out with his role in the BBC drama This Life in the late 1990s. Throughout the 2000s, he appeared in the sitcom Teachers and the iconic romcom Love Actually. But the role that turned him into an icon recognized around the world was Rick Grimes, the mentally unstable sheriff who leads a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse, in The Walking Dead.

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Lincoln starred as Rick throughout the first nine seasons of The Walking Dead, then made a special guest appearance in the series finale and reprised his role in the spinoff The Ones Who Live. During his tenure, Lincoln appeared in a whopping 125 episodes of The Walking Dead. Out of all those dozens of episodes, Lincoln still has one favorite that stands out from the rest. And it’s not a surprising choice, because it’s the same episode that got me and countless other Walking Dead fans hooked on the series.

Andrew Lincoln’s Favorite Walking Dead Episode Is Still The Pilot

“Days Gone Bye” Is One Of The Best TV Pilots Ever Made

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes walking with supplies in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye The Don't Open Dead Inside doors in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes pointing a gun in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes riding a horse in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes escaping zombies in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes walking with supplies in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye The Don't Open Dead Inside doors in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes pointing a gun in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes riding a horse in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes escaping zombies in The Walking Dead, Days Gone Bye

When he was asked for his favorite Walking Dead episode, Lincoln didn’t hesitate to name the very first episode — season 1, episode 1, “Days Gone Bye” — because it was “just extraordinary” and he “loved it.” He praised Frank Darabont’s work as the writer and director of the pilot, and remembers that he was still “finding [his] way” with the character. Lincoln recalled the “euphoria” of watching the episode’s terrifying horror sequences and thrilling action sequences. He felt that the pilot connected with its audience immediately.

The pilot episode of The Walking Dead originally aired on AMC on October 31, 2010.

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The actor said that filming the episode’s climax, riding a horse through a deserted downtown Atlanta and being chased by 500 extras dressed up as zombies, was a highlight of his career. This climactic scene encapsulates what made the pilot episode so great. It didn’t feel like a TV show; it felt like an epic, action-packed movie worthy of the big screen. The pilot earned comparisons to the first episode of Lost for that very reason.

The Walking Dead’s Pilot Is A Perfect First Episode And One Of The Show’s Best

It Has The Scope & Scale Of A Movie

Rick Grimes standing among abandoned cars in The Walking Dead series pilot

Even after 11 seasons and another 176 episodes, “Days Gone Bye” still represents The Walking Dead at its very best. After a shocking in-media-res cold open, the pilot begins with Rick awakening from a coma and finding the hospital trashed and abandoned. As he wanders through the eerily empty town, he’s shocked to find that the dead have come back to life to feast on human flesh. He’s saved by a local man named Morgan Jones, who’s been surviving with his young son since the outbreak. Rick sets out to find his family and heads to Atlanta on horseback.

Darabont perfectly captures the creepy atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world, but he never lets the spectacle overshadow the characters.

The whole episode has the scope and scale of a movie. Darabont perfectly captures the creepy atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world, but he never lets the spectacle overshadow the characters. No matter how big the action set-pieces get, the episode remains focused on Rick as he holds out hope that his wife and son are okay. It opens with Rick gunning down a zombified child, and it ends with Rick barricading himself in an abandoned tank to escape from a horde of the undead. It’s an unforgettable hour of television, and it kicked off the series in style.

Adapting The Walking Dead Wouldn’t Be Easy, But The Pilot Showed It Could Be Done

It Brought Robert Kirkman’s Zombie-Infested Post-Apocalyptic World To Life

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in a hospital gown The Walking Dead pilot

Adapting Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead comics for the screen was never going to be easy — especially adapting them for television with a limited budget and tight filming schedule — but the pilot episode made it look effortless. Darabont’s pilot brought Kirkman’s zombie-infested world to life; he captured the scale of a nationwide apocalypse, but kept his focus on Rick’s emotional journey. It made Rick a character that TV audiences wanted to root for right off the bat, and ensured that The Walking Dead was destined to become a hit.