What Lies Ahead premiere written and filmed would begin after the events of Season 1, although a brief flashback scene of Shane and Lori witnessing the fall of Atlanta from a distance would appear during the season. At PaleyFest 2011, it was announced that the second season of "The Walking Dead" would mainly be produced outside the city limits of Atlanta, Georgia. Most of the principal photography for "What Lies Ahead" took place in unincorporated Henry County, Georgia on June 5–9, 2011, using a stretch of Georgia State Route 20 that was closed to traffic for the purpose. On June 8, 2011, the
What Lies Ahead saying, "a sequence in which the humans hide under the wrecked cars in a freeway pileup, able to see only the feet of the flesh eaters shuffling past, is a classic nail-biter." David Hickley of "Daily News" gave "What Lies Ahead" three out of five stars and expressed the view: ""The Walking Dead" may be under new management, but it seems to have kept its rhythm, moving easily between bursts of intense violence and long stretches of psychological sparring." "The Hollywood Reporter" writer Tim Goodman concurred. "It's 90 minutes of skill", he wrote, "bringing viewers back into the story without