Recap: What Happened in The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead first aired back in October 2010, and eight years later we’re up to season 9. ‘Evolution’ airs on 25/26 November 2018 (US/UK) as we revisit the zombie drama for the mid-season finale before it goes on break until 10 February 2019.

You’d be forgiven for forgetting details from earlier seasons, and even for having not watched them at all. But joining the story at this point there’s a lot to catch up on. 

In this article we detail the history of The Walking Dead, offer a quick recap of each season (without too many spoilers), and explain how you can watch older episodes of The Walking Dead.

Also see how to watch the current season free online, on TV or on your phone or tablet, and if you dare check out our season 9 rumour round-up.

How to watch old episodes of The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead returned to NowTV‘s boxsets on 1 October 2018, and this is among the cheapest ways to catch up on older episodes. It’s also what you’ll need to broadcast current episodes via Fox UK if you’re not a Sky or Virgin Media customer, and all for just £7.99 per month using its Entertainment package. There’s also a two-week free trial if you’re prepared to binge-watch a season or two.

Netflix, which costs from £5.99/US$7.99 per month but has a month’s free trial, is now streaming the entire back catalogue of The Walking Dead – but ONLY in the US. That means to view The Walking Dead on Netflix in the UK you’ll need to use a VPN such as NordVPN to access the US service. Find full details in our guide to streaming American Netflix in the UK.

For those here in the UK who don’t want to mess around with a VPN and don’t wish to subscribe to NowTV, right now the next cheapest option is an Amazon Prime subscription, which costs £7.99 per month with a 30-day free trial available. You can watch seasons 1-7 of The Walking Dead for free, but you’ll have to pay for season 8 and 9, with single episodes available from £1.89 (SD) and the entire season from £24.99 (SD).

If you’re a diehard fan and still have the necessary tech means to enjoy it, a DVD boxset is probably the easiest way to view the entire series. We found a season 1-8 set on Amazon for £99.99 – buy it here.

Some other options include:

• Google Play: single episode from £1.99 (SD); season from £24.99 (SD)
• YouTube: single episode from £1.99 (SD); season from £24.99 (SD)
• iTunes: single episode from £1.89 (SD); season from £24.99 (SD)

Fox is also available in the UK via Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, while in the US The Walking Dead is broadcast via AMC.

The Walking Dead: Season 9

Release date

US: 7 October 2018

UK: 8 October 2018, 9pm, Fox UK

Episodes

1. A New Beginning
2. The Bridge
3. Warning Signs
4. The Obliged
5. What Comes After
6. Who Are You Now?
7. Stradivarius
8. Mid-season finale: Evolution (airing 25/26 November)
9. Season 9 returns on 10 February 2019 in the US and 11 February 2019 in the UK

More than a year on from the war with the Saviors, Rick and his group begin to build a better life for themselves, setting ground rules for how all the various communities can play nicely together – but can everyone forgive and forget, and where does Negan fit into this brave new world? With Negan seemingly posing little threat, there’s room for a new baddie: enter the Whisperers. We’ll see at least two major cast exits in season 9 under new showrunner Angela Kang, and it’s no secret that Rick is one of them.

The Walking Dead: Season 8

Release date 

US: 22 October 2017

UK: 23 October 2017

Episodes

1. Mercy
2. The Damned
3. Monsters
4. Some Guy
5. The Big Scary U
6. The King, The Widow, And Rick
7. Time For After
8. How It’s Gotta Be
9. Honour
10. The Lost And The Plunderers
11. Dead Or Alive Or
12. The Key
13. Do Not Send Us Astray
14. Still Gotta Mean Something
15. Worth
16. Wrath

Following a huge amount of bloodshed on all sides, Carl’s on a mission to make peace between Rick’s group and the Saviors – but it’s a decision that might bite him on the bum (literally). There is a sense of making some good out of all this evil, as brainbox Eugene surprises everyone and the group take it upon themselves to spare their enemies.

The Walking Dead: Season 7

Release date

US: 23 October 2016

UK: 24 October 2016

Episodes

1. The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be
2. The Well
3. The Cell
4. Service
5. Go Getters
6. Swear
7. Sing Me A Song
8. Hearts Still Beating
9. Rock In The Road
10. New Best Friends
11. Hostiles And Calamities
12. Say Yes
13. Bury Me Here
14. The Other Side
15. Something They Need
16. The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

Negan’s not a guy to be messed with, as we discover in the opening scenes of season 7 – some of the most shocking scenes in the entire series. Following a huge attack on Alexandria by the Scavengers and the Saviors, what’s left of the community joins forces with the Hilltop and the Kingdom for what will be the start of an almighty war.

The Walking Dead: Season 6

Release date

US: 11 October 2015

UK: 12 October 2015

Episodes

1. First Time Again
2. JSS
3. Thank You
4. Here’s Not Here
5. Now
6. Always Accountable
7. Heads Up
8. From Start To Finish
9. No Way Out
10. The Next World
11. Knots Untie
12. Not Tomorrow Yet
13. The Same Boat
14. Twice As Far
15. East
16. Last Day On Earth

Alexandria offers Rick and his group a place to call home, and in return he offers them protection. But Rick is quickly learning that the real dangers in this new world of the walking dead are not the zombies. In Season 6 we also meet the Hilltop group, and discover their fear of some guy called Negan, leader of the Saviors. 

The Walking Dead: Season 5

Release date

US: 12 October 2014

UK: 13 October 2014

Episodes

1. No Sanctuary
2. Strangers
3. Four Walls And A Roof
4. Slabtown
5. Self Help
6. Consumed
7. Crossed
8. Coda
9. What’s Happened And What’s Going On
10. Them
11. The Distance
12. Remember
13. Forget
14. Spent
15. Try
16. Conquer

Things are not quite as they seem at Terminus when Rick’s group discover the residents need them a lot more than they need them. Having destroyed Terminus they are again back on the road, this time to a safe haven in Alexandria, but not before they have to endure the hospital from hell.

The Walking Dead: Season 4

Release date

US: 13 October 2013

UK: 14 October 2013

Episodes

1. 30 Days Without An Incident
2. Infected
3. Isolation
4. Indifference
5. Internment
6. Live Bait
7. Dead Weight
8. Too Far Gone
9. After
10. Inmates
11. Claimed
12. Still
13. Alone
14. The Grove
15. Us
16. A

The Governor is after revenge, and he has terrible timing as a deadly flu virus breaks out at the prison. It all goes horribly wrong, and Rick’s gang find themselves back on the road en route to Terminus.

The Walking Dead: Season 3

Release date

US: 14 October 2012

UK: 15 October 2012

Episodes

1. Seed
2. Sick
3. Walk With Me
4. Killer Within
5. Say The Word
6. Hounded
7. When The Dead Come Knocking
8. Made To Suffer
9. The Suicide King
10. Home
11. I Ain’t A Judas
12. Clear
13. Arrows On The Doorstep
14. Prey
15. This Sorrowful Life
16. Welcome To The Tombs

Having fled Hershel’s farm Rick finds an abandoned prison for the group to call home. The series takes a sinister turn as Carl is forced to do the unthinkable when his mother goes into labour, and Rick struggles to cope with recent events. Michonne and Andrea discover Woodbury, a town led by the Governor, but it all ends in tears and, on the plus side, some new additions to the cast.

The Walking Dead: Season 2

Release date

US: 16 October 2011

UK: 17 October 2011

Episodes

1. What Lies Ahead
2. Bloodletting
3. Save The Last One
4. Cherokee Rose
5. Chupacabra
6. Secrets
7. Pretty Much Dead Already
8. Nebraska
9. Triggerfinger
10. 18 Miles Out
11. Judge, Jury, Executioner
12. Better Angels
13. Beside The Dying Fire

Back on the road Rick’s party find themselves at the farm of Hershel Greene and his daughters, and it’s here we meet show stalwart Maggie. The long search for Carol’s daughter Sophia ends in drama when they find a grim secret in Hershel’s barn, while the ongoing conflict between Rick and Shane following Lori’s ‘Who’s The Daddy’ saga ends in tragedy.

The Walking Dead: Season 1

Release date

US: 31 October 2010

UK: 1 November 2010

Episodes

1. Days Gone By
2. Guts
3. Tell It To The Frogs
4. Vatos
5. Wildfire
6. TS-19

When policeman Rick Grimes wakes up in a hospital bed, he takes his first steps into a world now overrun with the walking dead. Season one sees Rick finding fellow survivors, Morgan and Duane, and on the road to Atlanta confronting new enemies who are more dangerous even than the walkers. Eventually he finds his wife Lori, son Carl, and partner Shane, who are traveling with a larger group of survivors. To the audience it is immediately clear that Lori, fearing the worst, has found new comfort in Shane.