Sadé Green reviews the first episode of The Walking Dead season 5…
Season 5 of The Walking Dead premiered in the UK on Monday, and boy, did it explode onto our screens. Having premiered in the US on Sunday, it has smashed records, gaining the accolade of being the most watched drama in cable history; an honour it truly deserves.
Season 4 ended with most of Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) gang locked up in a shipping container having been captured when they finally arrived at Terminus. The first 5 minutes of Season 5 (whereby your heart will probably beat right out of your chest, Alien-style) will confirm the gut-twisting, horrific truth you probably suspected about the cold-hearted characters we were introduced to. It won’t be spoilt for you here, but if you thought Season 4 was dark, then you best get to IKEA for some extra lighting – it looks like Season 5 is going to be positively pitch-black.
The tension continues throughout the episode, as we find ourselves back with Carol (Melissa McBride), Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and baby Judith, none of whom have reached Terminus yet. The three of them have been through a horrendous time (as have the rest of the gang – it seems everyone has gone through their own personal nightmare) but it is soon apparent that the things they’ve had to do are starting to wear them down. Whilst Carol decides to try to take down Terminus by herself, Tyreese must overcome his own personal demons to save baby Judith from some Terminus maniac. In true Tyreese style, with a little bit of gentle antagonising, the gentle giant hulks out on his enemy (and some poor unsuspecting Zombies), cementing him as one of the most formidably terrifying powers on the show.
In the meantime, Rick and Co. try to fight their way out of impending doom. Cue some truly awesome scenes which confirm the total lack of humanity left in this post-apocalyptic world, particularly in our previous moral compass, Rick himself. Gun fight, explosions, death, destruction; you name it, it’s there. Due to the show’s ever continuing popularity, it looks like The Walking Dead has finally got that bigger budget.
By the end of the episode, it’s quite clear what the story arcs might be this season. Sgt Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) are still intent on getting ‘Dr’ Eugene (Josh McDermitt) to Washington (he has the cure don’t ya know, not that he’ll tell anyone) and it seems that Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) are keen to continue on this road too. After no one seems to want to return to Terminus to finish the job, and the character of Gareth (Andrew J. West) becoming a series regular, it appears we’ll be meeting him again as well.
After what can only be described as a rollercoaster ride of emotions you’ll end on a high as a few massive reunions take place, all wonderfully performed. Friends become friends again and families are reunited. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol’s emotional reunion feels slightly misplaced however. Their relationship has been implied for a few seasons now but has never been cemented. They clearly have feelings for each other and although romance should never be the focus for a show like The Walking Dead, one has to wonder why the show’s creators haven’t taken further steps to unite the two beloved characters. Make sure you watch until the end of the credits, a familiar face returns; but is it Rick or Gareth they seek?
As aforementioned, the budget seems to have been set extremely high for Season 5. The special effects of this episode are brilliant and the make-up and prosthetics aren’t comparable to anything you will have ever seen before. They have set the bar incredibly high, and as the Zombies become more decayed, the skills of the make-up team are being pushed; but they have risen to the challenge. Zombie’s with half of their heads missing, Zombies without limbs, Zombies heads imploding inwards with the touch of a baseball bat. If you are squeamish, I’m genuinely not sure how you are watching the show. The realistic nature of the prosthetics will bring about the ever so slight feeling of nausea.
The performances from the cast this week were great. The emotional reunions will probably make your lip quiver ever so slightly, as will the realisation that Rick is in fact, a total badass. He will stop at nothing to save his family, both blood and his extended family. But tensions are beginning to rise; some people are beginning to disagree with the path he is taking them down. How much longer will they be a reunited family? Special mention this week goes to both Melissa McBride and Chad Coleman. Playing two opposite sides of a coin, McBride oozes Amazonian woman – the words cold hearted killer spring to mind actually. She’s like the female Schwarzenegger in The Terminator; on a path of destruction, knocking down anything that gets in her way. Coleman however, plays vulnerable giant brilliantly. When forced to fight Zombies bare handed, one has to wonder if any of the gang could do what he can do. Remember that swarm of about 50 Zombies that he took out with one hammer, completely by himself? He is tough beyond measure, and this season will definitely see him tested.
Overall, ‘No Sanctuary’ has been the best season opener The Walking Dead has ever produced. Combining the mind-blowing special effect, the superb make-up and prosthetics and some emotionally arousing performances, this is not an episode that you will be forgetting in a hurry. In fact, it is guaranteed that some of those utterly disgusting Zombies will probably be ingrained in your mind. When the episode finishes, you’ll find yourself teetering uncomfortably on the edge of your seat, suddenly aware that you’ve been sitting like that for the last 60 minutes. If the post-credits scene is anything to go by then the next few episodes will be full of mystery. Oh and of course guts, gore and most probably, your favourite characters death.
ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK
The special effects/make up team need honourable mention every week – without them, this show wouldn’t be so successful. This week is not technically a Zombie kill, but by far one of the most horrific human deaths that you will ever see on TV. After the giant explosion, fiery Zombies begin to roam and as one poor human, desperately scrambling to run away becomes frozen with fear, one horrendous burning Zombie launches himself on top of him. Not only does he get bitten, but the Zombie starts at the nose, burrowing into the poor human’s face whilst setting him alight. Can you think of a worse way to go in a Zombie apocalypse world?!
Sadé Green
Originally published October 15, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
