Finally the Walking Dead that comic fans have waited to see for 4 years.
WARNING: Full Spoilers for “No Sanctuary” follow below
The Walking Dead series started off on a high note all the way back to Season 1, Episode 1 “All that remains.” An episode directed by now the now jettisoned Frank Darabont, faithfully followed the spirit of the original first few issues of Robert Kirkman’s now legendary comic run. While the tone of the show has always been somewhat bleak and occasionally dark, it always lacked a major aspect that’s prevalent in the black & white comic series of the same name.
Institutional evil.
Probably a little more evil…
Season 4 spent the majority of its time building up to Terminus, the last bastion of hope after Rick Grimes and company lose their occasionally safe prison outpost. So long as the group (which split up into three smaller groups) followed the train tracks post-Governor Part 2 attack, they’d find their way to another safe-haven. It’s no surprise that all of them wound up there, except for Beth.
You remember Beth right?
Well all wrapped up in one little bow, Season 4’s finale finally brought the crew back together into a very welcoming abandoned train car within Terminus. Which prompted one of the most legendary lines from the series to this point… at least in the DVD/Blu-ray extras. Instead we got an edited line that just didn’t quite sound all that impressive.
“They’re farkin with the wrong people. Teehee.”
So back to that whole institutional evil thing, Season 5 starts us off with a trough, a relatively sterile warehouse operation, and 7-8 gentlemen, who are finally shown that the Terminus crew indeed are cannibals. In what was no surprise for comic readers (and anyone with a pulse watching the TV show) that the introduction of cannibalism was going to inevitably happen. We knew something was “off” about Terminus having large quantities of “special mystery meat,” and honestly I was expecting a little bit more build up, but the nonchalant brutality of slitting human throats like they were animals definitely set the tone early here.
The only thing that bothered me about show-runner Scott Gimple’s direction (other than making it seem like Glen was going to die in all Season 5 trailers … he didn’t) was the story-telling of how exactly Terminus became what it was. TWD routinely uses flashbacks, and it was an early staple of the first season, but for some reason here they decided to use them as blatant book-ends for the beginning and end of the episode. As a viewer I thought it was pretty lazy, as obvious slides say “THEN” and “NOW” as if the more than 17.3 million people watching it didn’t know what a flashback was. Now these flashbacks were essential in telling us why Terminus became what it was, simply a safe-haven at one point but its inhabitants were invaded and driven postal by “Mad-Max era” raiders.
Ironically enough, being a Raiders fan makes one equally as crazy
However it shouldn’t take you long to assume cannibals don’t just spring up overnight like a new Starbucks. Regardless, these bits of information were good to have and made Gareth’s (leader of Terminus) question about inventory counts appear lax in comparison to throat slitting. The individuals running terminus were so used to killing people for food that these kinds of interactions on the shop floor of death resembled more of an inter-office discussion on TPS reports.
Just in time to save Rick & co. however was the reappearance of Tyrese and the recently exiled Carol. After finding a scout for Terminus and narrowly avoiding a herd, Carol sets off to see exactly what was happening to her friends. In what was one of the silliest displays of explosions, Carol manages to hit a propane tank with a rifle from a few hundred yards away, then sets half of Terminus ablaze with a bottle rocket.
Somehow between seasons, Carol became a John Rambo/MacGuyver hybrid all while wearing a poncho.
Stallone just wore it better…
Borrowing the blood & guts shield Rick used in season 1, Carol infiltrates Terminus with the herd, just in time to see the entire compound compromised. The effects were well done, and just like the entire series, producer and make-up artist Greg Nicotero made the walkers look authentic as ever. Many were sporting patches of fire on them as we got a first person view of the mess Carol had caused. In that regard, the notoriously slow-paced program got a shot of adrenaline between this sequence and the previously mentioned slit throats.
While Carol makes the rounds through Terminus (finding some of the group’s essential items) Tyrese is left as babysitter with Judith. His part of the season opener was relatively silly, as he’s lost his brute killing edge after losing two young girls from their group in season 4. His role in the episode was brief, but predictable, as he refuses to kill again until he’s ultimately forced to when Judith’s life is put in clear danger. The “hide Tyrese and make you think he’s dead” trick was used just like it was in season 4, and he emerges victorious as he rediscovers his Hulk rage. It seemed like an odd thing to only utilize for one episode, but ultimately it provided a few moments of action in a premiere full of plenty.
Spoiler: It didn’t actually go down this way.
Eventually the entire crew makes it out alive due to a perfectly placed blanket over the barb-wired fence on the outskirts of Terminus. Once they reclaim the weapons cache Rick had left behind in the Season 4 finale, Carol shows up to reunite with the group that had cast her out only a handful of episodes earlier. Up until the last 10 minutes of the episode no one really had much “acting” to do, and to see Daryl & Rick’s reaction to Carol (particularly Daryl’s) was a pretty heartfelt moment despite few words being spoken.
It seems that to be forgiven, one only has to murder the majority of a small town.
This used to be a peaceful town, until Carol happened.
All in all, Season 5 of Walking Dead began with the highest point it has since episode 1. We were quickly reminded that brutality does indeed live in the post-apocalyptic world, and more importantly, Rick’s entire crew showed how battle tested they continue to be. There were a few moments that didn’t need to happen, mostly “the cure” that Eugene was forced to tell involving cringe-worthy dialogue that was hard to get through (which to explain in full detail would ruin his story.) In the broad scheme of the episode however, this was a moment easily glossed over by explosions, muzzle fire, and all of Terminus becoming a pile of ashes.
A few things to keep in mind however involve the survivors that the group decided not to go back and kill. Even though many of Terminus’ group came to unsightly ends, many of them are still shown interacting with Rick’s group around a camp-fire later on. So to expect that this season is completely done with Terminus simply isn’t true, and the future of this season proves to be treacherous. The crew is once again out in the open, and after all the things Rick himself has had to deal with, proves to be the most brutal season so far.
FINAL VERDICT: 3.75/5.0
“No Sanctuary” was the start that The Walking Dead season 5 desperately needed to have happen. While Season 4 had plenty of action, the lulls could put a coked out red bull addict to sleep. Certain elements of the episode weren’t that impressive, but the overall action and progression of this episode makes the Season 5 opener one of the more memorable episodes in the show’s history.
Thanks for reading, and as always, be careful who you bed with.
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