New Walking Dead Photos Take You Inside The Prison Walls

By Brent McKnight | Updated

Fans of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comics have been waiting for the upcoming story arc in AMC’s hit adaptation. There are a number of things we want to see, and chief among these is the prison where our group of zombie-apocalypse survivors will seek refuge.

The Walking Dead returns for season three on Sunday, October 14th, and a new collection of images from the premiere episode, “Seed,” place the prison set front and center. The official synopsis of the episode reads like this: “With the world growing increasingly more dangerous and Lori’s pregnancy advancing, Rick discovers a potentially safe haven. But first he must secure the premises, pushing his group to its limit.”

We get to see what life is like for the group after the end-of-season debacle at Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) farm, but before they find sanctuary at the prison.

When they first set eyes on the abandoned penal institution, it must look like heaven on Earth. But, as you can see, there are already some inhabitants…

…inhabitants that Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Glenn (Stephen Yuen), T-Dog (Irone Singleton), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), will have to take care of before they can move in.

This is my favorite photo of the bunch. It captures the desolate, isolated feel of the prison as the survivors sweep the hallways and cellblocks for stray walkers. They have to be careful…

…because you never know when you might run into this guy in the darkness.

In Kirkman’s comics, the group runs along the inside of the prison fences in order to draw the walkers and roamers away from the gates, which looks like what they’re doing here.

And once you secure the prison, you have to hold on to what you’ve claimed, and keep it safe. One thing a lot of fans have been curious about is the fate of Andrea (Laurie Holden). She’s present at the prison in the source material, but in the fracas at the farm she got separated from the group, and promotional photos have shown her in the survivalist enclave of Woodbury in the company of the Governor (David Morrissey). Her role in the books is as a sniper who keeps the perimeter clear, much like Rick in this pic.

The idea is that, even with the world gone mad, you can still find small moments of normalcy. And as you can see, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is still alive. Hopefully that doesn’t last much longer.

One thing that a lot of people are excited about is that Carl (Chandler Riggs) is supposed to transition away from being a whiney little annoyance, and move towards becoming the grim hard-ass he turns into in the comics. Looking at this, with Carl armed and ready, you can’t help but notice that things are progressing.

This isn’t at the prison, but I’m digging Hershel’s grizzled new look, which seems situationally appropriate.