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The Walking Dead’s Season Premiere Delivered Big Time!

The Walking Dead’s Season Premiere Delivered Big Time!

“You’re either the butcher…or the cattle.”

If I think back to the end of last season, I remember saying something about The Walking Dead being “dead” to me . While it’s too early to tell if I’ll indeed be standing by that statement, I do have to admit I’m much more optimistic after Sunday night. And believe you me; this is exactly what fans needed, as many have been a bit disgruntled with the show up ‘till now. The back-eight episodes of last season simply fell flat, and leaving the gang rounded up in a train car was hardly what I’d call a nail-biting cliff hanger.

So how did the season’s opening take my expectations from none to semi-hopeful? Read below for more ( SPOILER ALERT : I can’t do this review justice by talking around the plot points, so come back after you’ve watched the first episode of season five).

First off, this just might be the most action packed episode one of a Walking Dead season we’ve ever witnessed. Right from the start, the train car slides open and it’s nothing but gore and action from start to finish. We kick off with the most brutal scene of lifeless humanity ever depicted in the series, as the camp is both bludgeoning their captures into unconsciousness and then slitting their throats over a metal pig trough of sorts (with our own group’s heads next on the chopping block). Carol arrives to save the day (causing a huge explosion outside), allowing a heard of Walkers in and providing our heroes with their opportunity to escape. Then they proceed to kill all who stand in their way (both humans and zombies alike). It’s a roller-coaster ride of non-stop action once the blast hits, and as a viewer, that’s exactly how I’d describe this episode…a blast.

I can unequivocally state they’ve preformed a complete 180 degree turn from the boring scenes of just a few months prior.

They even gave us the money shot we’ve been yearning for all these years, finally explaining where the outbreak came from in the first place! As I’m someone who’s yet to read the comics, the reveal only confirmed suspicious I’ve had all along. Apparently, it came as a result of a biological weapon crafted by the Government which somehow leaked out of control. The cure is ultimately based around the catastrophe being reversed in a similar fashion (which means our trek towards Washington is now as important as ever).

This is where we leave our motley crew, as they seek to put as much distance between them and the Hannibal camp as possible. Although it seems their destination is clear, I’m not sure the same can be said for the characters themselves. How has this experience altered their outlook on the rules of this post-apocalyptic society (and who you have to become in order to survive)? Even though we did witness several satisfying scenes (such as the Carol/Daryl reunion and Tyreese arriving with a healthy baby Judith), it’s evident the events at Terminus have changed our leader. At one point, the others have to stop Rick from returning to the camp and murdering everyone in sight (even though they’d gotten away scot-free). As time passes, it’s clear Shane’s motivations may no longer appear all that crazy to Rick in hind-sight (and perhaps he was even right in some respects).

The Walking Dead’s Season Premiere Delivered Big Time!

We were also treated to a pleasant surprise with the return of a familiar face, as it looks like fan-favorite Morgan has gotten his mental-shit together since last we saw him. However, one theme season five is really pushing is how the “nature” of our new world changes people (turning the good bad and the bad worse). A flash-back illustrates how Terminus eventually became the way it is. Turns out, it was originally a refugee camp, but was overrun by a group who raped and murdered many inside. Only after deciding to become the “butchers” instead of the “cattle” did things take a very dark turn. They successfully reclaim the camp, but were forced to embrace the darkest side of human nature (approaching the task of cooking other humans in the same dead-pan fashion as preforming any other mundane chore).

Is this just an echo of things to come? Is this kind of lifeless disconnect from their former humanity the only way our current crop can possibly survive the season? I’m willing to stick around and find out!

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