Warning, spoilers ahead…
Season 5 of The Walking Dead opened with a “then” flashback of the Terminites who were huddled in what appeared to be the same train car that Rick and company currently find themselves in at the end of season 4. As the screams from the outside filter into the room, Gareth tries to maintain some order by stating that they were trying to do the right thing only to be challenged by another who thought that trying to be human was a mistake. What he meant by that, we’ll see as we move along.
We go from “then” to “now” with Rick and company still captors inside the train car making weapons out of anything they can get their hands on. They ready themselves for a fight that won’t happen because the Terminites drop a gas grenade inside the car from above knocking them out.
When Rick awakens he found himself along with Daryl, Glenn, Bob and some others tied, gagged and leaned over a trough. Behind them he could hear men sharpening knives and there was even one with an aluminum baseball bat who took practice swings. The men move to the front of the “cattle” line where they proceed to beat a man with a blow to the back of the head and his throat sliced. One by one they move along the line doing the same to each. They finally reach Glenn.
Gareth arrived to get some accounting numbers regarding bullets and kills etc. He ignored the pleas coming from Bob and instead focused his attention on Rick and the bag he buried in the woods. Rick refused to answer at first. When Gareth threatened Bob, Rick tells him that there weapons in the bag. A defiant Rick then tells Gareth that he plans on using those weapons to kill him. As Gareth smiles and is about to leave, an explosion rocked the building.
While this was happening our attention turned to Carol, Tyreese and baby Judith who are still making their way to hopefully unite Tyresse and Judith with the others. Some gunfire gets their attention and Carol wants to check it out. They come across a small cabin in the woods where one of the Terminites was setting up fireworks. They over hear him on the radio mentioning some chick with a sword and a kid with a hat. Carol and Tyreese interrupt him, identifying themselves as friends of that chick and kid. A moment later we see him tied up in the shack and Carol goes off alone to find her friends at Terminus.
Carol takes out several walkers and we learn that it was her that caused the explosion after seeing Rick and others being dragged away, by blowing up a fuel tank killing many walkers in the process. Back at the cabin, the terminite questioned Tyreese for keeping him alive. He tells him to take the baby and the car and leave.
Cut back to the “butcher shop” room and Gareth goes to investigate the explosion leaving the butcher boys behind. This gave Rick all the time he needed to free himself and kill them both with the hand made shiv he carried in his boot. After freeing Daryl, Bob and Glenn and seeing all the human cadavers hanging and knowing that this is the food they serve, Rick wants them to not only kill the walkers, but to kill any Terminites they see as well. They then go and free the others from the train car.
When Carol enters the chapel area, she encounters Mary who wants her to drop her weapons and turn around. Carol turns and fires at Mary. The two begin to fight. This is when we learn that Terminus was once a sanctuary but when people came, they raped and killed many of them, which harkened back to the flashback at the beginning of the episode. Mary tells Carol, that in this new reality, “you’re either the butcher, or you’re the cattle.” When Mary refused to tell Carol about where Rick’s group is, she shoots her in the knee and leaves her for the walkers that have entered the chapel.
Back at the cabin, Tyreese watched as walkers approach. That slight distraction gives the terminite hostage a moment to take Judith and force Tyreese to give up his weapons. After doing so, he orders Tyreese to go outside or he’ll kill Judith. Tyreese goes. As the man tries to radio Terminus, he notices that it outside had gone quiet. The door burst open and it’s Tyreese who tackles him and beats him. We see that the walkers on the outside were impaled on the fence by Tyreese.
As Rick and the others make their way over the fence, Rick spots Gareth and standing on a rooftop. He fires a shot at Gareth and he appears injured but he disappears. Rick locates the bag of weapons he had buried. He tells everyone they need to go back and kill the rest. Glenn objects but Rick thinks otherwise. Before anyone could offer additional opinions, Daryl spots Carol. A great and touching moment follows when Daryl embraces her. Rick asks if she was the one who saved them? They embrace and she tells him that he has to come with her.
She leads them all to the shack and Rick and Carl reunite with baby Judith. And Tyreese is also reunited with Sasha. As everyone heads in the opposite direction of Terminus, Rick defaces a sign that now reads, “No Sanctuary.”
The final scene cuts back to “then” as Mary is thrown into the train car as another woman is dragged out. Gareth promises Mary and the others that they will take back Terminus and become the butchers and not the cattle.
It was a powerful start to what promises to be an incredible 5th Season. Rick looks to be the Rick we all knew and love. Daryl and Carol are reunited. Then there’s the question of what has happened to Gareth? And least I forget, the return in the after credits of Morgan Jones. This should be a fun season.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
