Season 4 (TV Series)

On December 21st, 2012, it was confirmed that AMC had renewed The Walking Dead for Season 4. It is confirmed the prison will be involved in the Season 4 storyline.

Production of the season started on May 6, 2013 and will consist of 16 episodes. New showrunner Scott Gimple will be taking over for Glen Mazzara. David Morrissey is set to reprise his role as The Governor, despite an initial one-season contract. A new character was announced for casting, who was later revealed to be Bob Stookey from the comic series. Bob is going to be portrayed by Lawrence Gilliard Jr. He will be a series regular.

"30 Days Without An Accident"
Rick walks outside to the scene of a sunny, calm day. He splashes water on his face, and the shot pans out to a vegetable garden towards which he is headed. Lining the gates of the garden lie a dozen walkers that have accumulated overnight. While listening to music and digging in the garden, Rick finds a handgun, which he examines for a moment and then tosses into his wheelbarrow.

Carl walks towards Rick, complaining that his father had not awakened him. Rick says he had not done so due to the knowledge that Carl was up late reading comic books, and the two share a chuckle. Carl speaks of a pig that he calls Violet, laying in the corner of a pen, mentioning it looks ill; Rick tells Carl he should not name the pigs as they are food, yet answers that he does not know the reason of the pig's illness.

In the outdoor confines of the prison, Carol cooks breakfast for the residents. Daryl joins her, while numerous survivors thank him for his hunting including a young man named Patrick. A group of survivors, along with Karen are clearing walkers that have built up along the gate perimeter. Tyreese approaches Karen (whom he calls "Beautiful"), telling her of his discomfort with killing walkers along the gate due to the face-to-face combat. Karen questions why he volunteers to help along the gates, to which he responds he wanted to get to know her better. Tyreese tells her he's going on the supply run; Karen gives him a good luck kiss, and tells him to be careful. Meanwhile Hershel is telling Rick about planting more crops when Michonne arrives from a scouting run. She volunteers to check the traps for any animals before the walkers get them but Rick decides to go himself. As he leaves, Hershel tells Rick that their council (himself, Glenn, Carol, Daryl and Sasha) preferred that Rick take his gun along when he goes outside the gates for protection.

As the supply group gets ready to leave, Zach meets up with Beth and the pair kiss each other goodbye. Bob volunteers to go along to earn his keep; after some hesitation, Sasha allows him to come. As they reach an abandoned army camp around a shopping mall, Daryl asks them to listen to the music booming in the distance and notes that he had been part of a group that hooked it up to car batteries to draw the walkers away. The group approaches the front of the store and Zach starts a conversation with Daryl, trying to guess what Daryl's pre-apocalypse employment was. They mention this had been going on daily for the the past six weeks. Zach guesses a homicide cop and Daryl affirms the guess. An incredulous Zach apparently doesn't believe it and states he will keep on trying to guess. In the store, Bob approaches a wine/beer aisle in the store and is tempted to take a bottle. He decides to put it back, causing the entire shelf to tip over and fall on him, pinning his legs. This also attracts the attention of walkers on the roof who begin to fall through the worn and decaying ceiling. Daryl and Zach are able to free Bob, but Zach is bitten in the process. The rest escape as a wrecked helicopter falls through, landing on Zach and destroying the mall and any remaining walkers.

Meanwhile, Rick is checking the traps when he encounters Clara. Initially mistaking her for a walker, he is startled when she calls out to him pleading for help. She asks if he is with a group and begs him to take her and her husband Eddie with him. Rick tells her that if they answer three questions to his satisfaction, he will and she leads him to her camp. As they approach the campsite, she states "It is just a head." As she crouches over a small suspicious bundle, Clara suddenly attacks Rick and after he sidesteps her, she stabs herself in the stomach. Clara tells Rick that she could not stand living without Eddie and so she took him with her. Clara, in a state of delirium, pleads with Rick not to kill her so she can remain with Eddie in a zombfied state. They do not show Eddie's body or what is in the bundle, although as Rick walks away, the camera closes in on the bundle, which is moving about and grunts come from it. The bundle is no bigger than a human head.

After arriving back at the prison, Daryl tells Beth what happened to Zach. She says that she doesn't cry anymore but hugs Daryl. She then resets the tally she was keeping of days without accidents. Patrick, who wasn't feeling well earlier, is seen coughing heavily as he goes to the showers. After a few seconds, he then collapses on the floor and reanimates soon after.

"Infected"
Late at night, a mysterious figure is shown feeding a rat to the fence walkers. The scene then swaps to Tyreese and Karen in their cell, overlooking their lives and then Tyreese begins singing to her. Karen then roams out of the cell and into the showers, where she hears movement but finds nothing. After she exits, a zombified Patrick rises out of the shower, undetected. He exits the showers and follows her back to the cell block. He stops at Karen's room, but is distracted by the coughing of another person and wanders into his cell and proceeds to bite the man's throat, preventing him from calling out for help.

After Patrick leaves, the man soon awakens as a walker. Rick and Carl head out to tend to the pigs and Carl asks if he can help with the fence cleaners, but Rick shuts the idea down. Carl apologizes and assures Rick that he is trying to live normally and asks if he can have his gun back. Before Rick can answer, they hear gunshots. Mika] and Lizzie run out of Cell Block D, screaming for help. A horde of walkers have attacked from within and have killed several people. Michonne, who was heading out on a supply run, is alerted of the chaos but gets trapped in the prison gates with two walkers. The walkers overpower her, but Carl kills one of them; the other one was kicked off by Michonne and shot by Maggie. Michonne accidentally cuts herself on one of the snares, but is helped up by Maggie and Carl. In the cell block, the group clears out the walkers. Carol assists Ryan Samuels into a cell after he is bitten on the arm and prepares to amputate it before realizing that he has been bitten on his nape as well. After the threat temporarily clears out, Daryl and Rick comb the area, searching for any lifeless people to mercifully put-down when Glenn gets attacked by a walker. Daryl is able to shoot it in the head, and realizes that it was Patrick. Another bloody-eyed walker, Charlie, emerges from a cell and is put down by Rick.

Rick, Hershel, Dr. Subramanian, Daryl and Bob gather around Charlie's body, noting that he has no bites or scratches. Subramanian recognizes the blood pouring out of Charlie's orifices as an indicator of disease, and Rick mentions the bloody-eyed walker, Violet, and the sick boar he encountered. Subramanian explains that flu's like the one that killed Patrick were spread by pigs and birds in the old days and thrive in close quarters, like the cell block. They conclude that everyone in the cell block could be infected by the disease.

Ryan realizes that he is dying, and asks Carol to take care of Lizzie and Mika for him as if they were her own. Carol agrees, but tells him that he has to let them say goodbye to him before she kills him. As Lizzie and Mika say goodbye, Carol tells them what she has to do but Lizzie volunteers to do it instead. At the last minute, she is unable to stab her father in the head and turns away crying as Carol takes back the knife and does it herself.

Carol, Hershel, Daryl, Sasha and Glenn think of what to do with the people who might have been infected when they hear coughing outside the room. It's shown to be coming from Karen, who was walking by with Tyreese. She is told that she must be quarantined while they find out what the cause is. Sasha (as well as Karen herself) calms Tyreese, saying that it's necessary. As she leaves, Karen also mentions that David was coughing as well. Carl and Maggie are carrying Michonne back inside when Rick approaches them. He tells them what happened and assures Maggie that Hershel and Beth are fine. He says that they must stay away from him for now due to possibly being infected.

Beth is seen dressing Michonne's wound when the latter says that she made a mistake letting the two walkers get the better of her. She bitterly says that Maggie and Carl should have left her. Beth says 'now THAT is foolish. People getting hurt is part of living with a group.' She muses about those who died, wondering what you call a parent who's lost a child. Michonne begins to tear up but composes herself immediately and Beth doesn't notice. Later, she asks Michonne to hold Judith while she cleans up the mess Judith made on her. Michonne looks at Judith with indifference but then loses control and weeps while holding Judith close.

Daryl is digging graves for those who died when Rick comes by to help. Daryl tells Rick that he's earned his time away from being in a leader position when Maggie screams for them to follow her; it's shown that a massive group of walkers are converging at a portion of the fence that is about to give way. Despite the efforts of them, Glenn, Sasha and a few others, there are just too many. Sasha points out the carcasses of several dead rats near the walls, suggesting that someone's been luring the walkers to the fence. Rick, getting an idea on what to do, tells Daryl to get one of the trucks. The two lead the walkers a few meters away and Rick pulls out one of the piglets; he then cuts it on the back and leaves it for the walkers to devour. They repeat this several times before the walkers are a safe distance away.

Meanwhile Carol, who promised Ryan to look after Lizzie and Mika, finds them near the fence looking at walkers. Carol, who was told earlier by Mika that her sister was 'funny in the head', assures her that she needs to be strong in letting her father go and not to run away from her fear of the walkers but to face them.

Carl finds his father chopping up the pig pen. Rick explains that they either got the virus from the pigs or that 'we infected them.' He tells Carl that they need to stay away from Judith for awhile to protect her from possibly getting infected. He then pulls out his gun and holster as well as handing Carl his gun back. He lights a match and burns the pigpen; then, Rick takes off his bloody shirt and throws that into the fire as well. Tyreese is seen going to Karen's isolated cell in the tombs with some flowers. He notices a trail of blood leading down the hallway; following it, he's led outside where he sees the burnt and charred corpses of both Karen and David.

"Isolation"
In the inner courtyard, Tyreese explains to Rick, Carol and Daryl how he found Karen and David's burnt corpses;  he came to see Karen, saw the blood trail on the floor and it led him outside. Tyreese demands Rick to find who did it and bring the killer to him; when the latter tries to calm him down, he turns violent and attacks Rick, punching him in the face. Daryl holds him up, and Carol tries to stop Rick from retaliating, but it's too late. Rick charges at Tyreese, knocking him down and brutally beating his face. Daryl eventually pulls Rick off Tyreese before it goes any further. Rick looks at his severely injured hand, horrified with what he just did.

Dr. S and Hershel are looking over a bite victim who got his arm amputated. Unluckily, the victim dies of blood-loss. Later, Hershel is bandaging Rick's hand. He comments on the group's situation, and that "everything they worked so hard to keep out just found its way in" and briefs Rick of the flu situation; it is spreading and that another council meeting is being held the next day to decide what they should do. Tyreese is seen digging graves for Karen and David. Bob approaches him, telling Tyreese to go see Hershel and make sure he's alright. Tyreese firmly says that he will only after they are buried. Bob tries to change his mind, but Tyreese glares at him and repeats "once they're in the ground."

Glenn suggests to Hershel that with Karen and David dead, the infection may have been curbed. Sasha suddenly leaves C-Block, exhibiting the clear symptoms. She assures Hershel that she'll go to A-Block, where all the sick people are being isolated, to see Dr. S, who is revealed to be sick as well. At the meeting the following morning, the council eventually reach the consensus that they need medical supplies for treatment. As Hershel mentions that there is an animal hospital facility nearby that could help, Glenn starts to show symptoms of the flu.

Outside, Carol is pumping the water, pointing out to Rick that they are running low. They agree that the next day they will go out to clean the cistern. She suggests to Rick that he should talk to Tyreese, before leaving back to the Prison. Rick cautiously approaches Tyreese who is finishing the graves. He says he's sorry for hitting Tyreese, and then proceeds to ask him if Karen and David had any enemies or anyone who had a problem with them. Tyreese fiercely denies this then walks off, mocking Rick for spending the day "looking at water pumps" instead of trying to find the murderer.

In the cell block, Rick briefly talks to Carl to look over the office block, where the most vulnerable survivors are being kept at; the kids and the elderly. Back in A-Block Tyreese, who's there watching the sick (making sure no one will try to kill them), is asked to join the supply run for medical supplies with Daryl, Michonne and Bob. He refuses at first, but Daryl is able to convince him otherwise, saying he'll help them more in the run, looking for medicine than there, watching. He bids farewell to a sick Sasha, and leaves with the team.

In the office block, Hershel decides to go into the woods, hoping to find herbs to treat the patients. After a tense moment with Carl saying he can't leave, they both go out. Outside, Hershel comments that he'd be good without him, and remarks how peaceful it is out there. How safe is out there compared to the Prison. Carl denies, pointing out to a nearby, severely-decomposed walker, and soon one more shows up. They leave the place with the herbs, with Carl remarking how peaceful it was.

Arriving back at the prison, Maggie sees Hershel entering A-Block and warns him of the sick. Rick overhears the arguing and sides with Maggie. Hershel then proceeds to remind them how they risk their life everyday and every hour, no matter what they do. He says that it isn't their choice; the only choice being what they are risking it for. Stating he can help the sick, Hershel pulls his bandana over his face and goes into the cell block. He gives Dr. S the herb tea. Suffering heavily from the symptoms, he coughs blood which sprays Hershel's face. Aware that he's most likely infected already, Hershel takes off the bandana and wipes his face. He also treats Glenn, giving him encouragement to keep pushing through.

While driving towards the hospital the supply run, the group hears a voice over the car radio repeating the word "Sanctuary... Sanctuary..." Daryl is distracted by it and hits a few walkers on the street. He stops the car, shocked at the massive herd of thousands of walkers between them and their destination. Daryl drives in reverse and runs over several more walkers but the car eventually gets stuck, forcing them to go the rest of the way on foot. Daryl, Michonne and Bob make it out, but Tyreese stays behind, not noticing what's going on. Bob eventually snaps him out of it and Tyreese storms out of the car and in a rage, ferociously begins to kill the walkers that are quickly surrounding him. After running in the woods for a while, the group stops to rest, and notices movement in the bushes. Tyreese comes out, covered in walker guts and blood, but alive and unscathed.

Outside, Carol rigged a distraction for the walkers and is beyond the fences cleaning the cistern. Rick notices this and runs towards her. At the same time, several walkers emerge from the forest behind Carol at the same time a few of the walkers at the fence turn their attention towards her. After a few seconds, Carol finishes cleaning the hose and Rick is able to save her. Thy both run back towards the fences and make it back inside. Rick tells her that what she did was stupid and careless. As she walks away, Rick tells Carol that he's noticed how far she'd go to protect the group of survivors. He then asks her if she killed Karen and David: after a moment, she responds to him "yes."

"Indifference"
Carol is talking to Lizzie Samuels, telling her that she is going on a supply run with Rick. As Carol talks to Lizzie, Rick roams the room where Karen was previously held. Rick imagines Carol stabbing Karen in the head and dragging her body down the hallway to be burned.

As they prepare to leave, Daryl and his supply-group continue to walk to find another vehicle, as they were forced to ditch their former one, due to a massive herd. They then find an autoshop with a few walkers and decide to clear it out after finding a usable car.

As the group chops away at the overgrowth, Tyreese, still unhappy with Karen's death, cuts too fast and pulls at a door, releasing the autoshop's walkers. The group clears them and heads in to search the area for a battery.

Carol and Rick search a house, finding several supplies. A walker comes out, falls down the stairs, and Carol kills it. Soon after, Sam and Ana come out from their hiding place. Carol fixes Sam's dislocated shoulder, and Rick asks them a few questions. Rick and Carol then go out to the yard to find several tomatoes. As they continue to move, they suddenly find a basket with dropped food, and then find Ana's leg. At the distance, they see what is left of Ana being consumed by two walkers.

While scavenging the veterinary college for medical supplies, Daryl and his supply-group are ambushed by walkers who have seemingly died from the same flu-like disease present in the Prison. Tyreese helps the group escape by throwing a fire extinguisher through the window and they all jump onto the roof of an outside walkway. Bob almost loses his bag but retrieves it. Daryl finds there is nothing in his bag but a bottle of liquor, which he attempts to throw away. Bob puts his hand on his holster, pleading with Daryl to give him the bottle back. Daryl, unintimidated, disarms Bob and grabs him until Tyreese breaks them up, saying that Bob has already made his choice. Daryl says that they should have never allowed Bob into the prison group, and that he will beat him into the ground if he drinks even a sip of liquor before the sick prisoners take the medicine.

Rick gives Carol her supplies, food, and a vehicle before isolating her from the group, believing that nobody will trust her (including himself) once they find out the truth about Karen and David's deaths and that Tyreese will try to have her killed. Carol hands him a watch that Ed gave her on her anniversary before driving away.

"Internment"
Assorted enemies pressure Rick and the group; the survivors and the prison may reach a breaking point.

"Live Bait"
Group members struggle to find their humanity while being constantly threatened.

"Dead Weight"
Something new unfolds at a camp outside the prison; the addition of new members may threaten peace.

"Too Far Gone"
After things begin to calm at the prison, Rick and the group face imminent danger.

Cast
-Subject to Change-

Starring

 * Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes.
 * Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon.
 * Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee.
 * Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene.
 * Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes.
 * Danai Gurira as Michonne.
 * Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier.
 * Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene.
 * David Morrissey as The Governor.

Also Starring

 * Emily Kinney as Beth Greene.
 * Chad Coleman as Tyreese.
 * Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha.
 * Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Bob Stookey.
 * Melissa Ponzio as Karen.
 * Kerry Condon as Clara.
 * Kyle Gallner as Zach.
 * Vincent Martella as Patrick.
 * Sunkrish Bala as Caleb Subramanian.
 * Brighton Sharbino as Lizzie Samuels.
 * Kyla Kennedy as Mika Samuels.
 * Robin Lord Taylor as Sam
 * Jose Pablo Cantillo as Caesar Martinez.
 * Lennie James as Morgan Jones.
 * Alanna Masterson as Tara.
 * Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa.
 * Michael Cudlitz as Abraham Ford.
 * Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter.

Co-Stars

 * Brandon Carroll as David.
 * Luke Donaldson as Luke.
 * Victor McCay as Ryan Samuels.
 * Kennedy Brice as Molly.
 * Travis Love as Shumpert.
 * Danny Vinson as Don.
 * Davi Jay as Tony.
 * Santiago Cirilo as Julio.
 * Audrey Marie Anderson as Melody.
 * Sherry Richards as Jeanette.
 * Brina Palencia as Ana.
 * Jan Harrelson as Unnamed Father.
 * Erin Hunter as Unnamed Crying Mother.
 * Meyrick Murphy as Unknown Survivor.
 * Enver Gjokaj as Unknown Survivor.

Uncredited

 * Tinsley and Anniston Price as Judith Grimes.
 * Lucie O'Ferrall as Ms. McLeod.
 * Chase as Flame.
 * Jilian McLendon as Chloe.
 * Greg Crews as Greg.
 * Denny Ainsworth as Woodbury Refugee.
 * Will Martin as Sick Teenager.
 * Taylor McPherson as Prison Survivor.
 * Meyrick Murphy as Prison Survivor.
 * Henry Lawrence as a Military Man.
 * Lauren Henneberg as Walker.
 * Cayla Ridley as Walker.
 * Frederick Carpenter as Walker.
 * Pj McDonnell as Walker.
 * Daniel Cloy & Doug Prater as Walker.
 * Ellie Decker as a Walker.
 * John Jaret as a Walker.
 * Randy Gonzales as a new survivor.
 * Gregory French as a Walker.

Deaths

 * Zach
 * Clara
 * Violet
 * 14 Unnamed Prison Survivors
 * Greg (Alive and Zombified)
 * Chloe
 * Mr. Richards
 * Charlie (Zombified)
 * Patrick (Alive and Zombified)
 * Ryan Samuels
 * Nick (Zombified)
 * Piglets
 * Karen
 * David
 * Big Tony (Zombified)
 * Ana
 * Mr. Jacobs
 * Henry (Alive and Zombified)
 * Dr. Caleb Subramanian (Alive and Zombified)

Trivia

 * The season premiere, "30 Days Without An Accident", is currently the most-watched episode of the entire series to date. Receiving a total of 16.11 million viewers, becoming the most-watched drama series telecast in basic cable television history.
 * In December 2012, Mike Riley, of Stalwart Films, stated about the city of Senoia, the stage set for Woodbury, that “It hasn't been announced yet, but we'll be back here next year for season four.”
 * The writing of the fourth season started in February 2013, as stated by Glen Mazzara in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
 * Much like Season 3, the premiere of this season is only 60 minutes long, as opposed to the 90 minute premieres in Seasons 1 and 2.
 * Greg Nicotero stated that Season 4 would focus more on character development and less on "the run and gun": "The walkers and the gore and the action and stuff, that’s fun, that’s the popcorn part of it. But if you don’t have characters that people are invested in, you lose your audience."
 * It has been announced that David Morrissey, who portrays The Governor, will return as a series regular for Season 4.
 * It has been confirmed that the "war" between Rick and his group and The Governor will carry on into Season 4.
 * It is announced that Chad Coleman (Tyreese), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Emily Kinney (Beth) were promoted to Series Regulars in Season 4, along with Melissa Ponzio (Karen) set as a recurring guest star.
 * It has been confirmed that the relationship between Rick and Carl will be a central focus of the season.
 * It has been said that a plane crash was shot on the set.
 * It has been confirmed that the zombies will return as a larger threat in Season 4. Norman Reedus has stated the directors and producers have introduced a way to make the zombies "scary" again and that they will pose a new threat to the survivors unlike in Season 3 where the zombies became less formidable and a more managable threat.
 * It has been reported that the cast and crew are filming in the Yates Power Plant in Georgia.
 * On July 19th, 2013, showrunner, Scott Gimple, confirmed that Morgan would appear in Season 4.
 * It has been confirmed that it has been 6-7 months since the events of Season 3.
 * Christian Serratos has been confirmed to appear as Rosita Espinosa in the second half of Season 4.
 * The song "Serpents" by Sharon Van Etten was used in the trailer.
 * It was confirmed on October 12, 2013, that Michael Cudlitz would portray Abraham Ford, and that Josh McDermitt would portray Dr. Eugene Porter in season four.
 * Alanna Masterson will appear as Tara, and she will have the option to become a regular in Season 5.