I don’t feel like multi-quoting, so I’m just going to address some things people said without it.
There is no indication that the virus kills people. It has never been shown or talked about in either show. There is no way that’s the way it will be depicted. People are going to die violently, whether from zombies or living people, or they will die from other causes like natural (the old guy in the hospital), accidents, and suicide. They expect us to suspend disbelief regarding a bunch of shambling brainless things being able to multiply fast enough to overwhelm civilization.
Someone complained schools would be closed, but they were. Sure, it possibly happened slower than it would in real life, but it sort of has to be that way considering the premise of the show. It’s not World War Z. This stuff has to last a whole television season, not a couple hours.
I hope one of the family members dies, because otherwise it will be more unbelievable than usual. The junkie son would be the obvious choice, or it could be Travis’ son that he talked to on the phone. I am guessing neither Travis nor Madison (Maddie?) will die unless it’s in the season finale.
Unfortunately for those that want to get into the heart of the zombie apocalypse, judging by the first episode it seems clear that they’re going to extend the outbreak to the whole season. I don’t think we’ll really hit, “Oh, shit, this is the apocalypse and society is completely gone,” (like the first episode of TWD) until the end of the season. I’m betting some substantial number of characters will still think they have a real chance to stop the outbreak right up until the last episode. That’s basically the point of choosing the time of outbreak to start the story, isn’t it?
The ratings were off the charts for this episode, but we will see as the season progresses.
I wasn’t particularly impressed, but the same applies for TWD. I mainly watch it for the few good moments and episodes plus so I can get mad that lazy writers have such a hit on their hands. (Ok, TWD is more entertaining than a lot of shows but I still think the writing is way too lazy and leads to silly situations that make suspending disbelief an effort.)