The Walking Dead: Season Five, Episode One – “No Sanctuary”

First Aired October 12th, 2014.

Season five picks up right where we left off, with Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) and company locked in a train car in Terminus. Everyone begins crafting makeshift weapons in preparation for their impending escape.

Rick and several others are taken to a butchering room to be drained of their blood and realize the Terminus inhabitants are cannibals. They are briefly spared when Rick engages in conversation with the leader, Gareth (played by Andrew West), and promises to kill Gareth himself. Before they can be killed, a large explosion rocks the complex and Rick violently slaughters the butchers. He leads the group through Terminus and they see fires and walkers everywhere. They use the chaos to their advantage and take out several Terminus members and gather their weapons before fighting their way to the train car. After rescuing everyone else, Rick leads the charge and they all fight their way over the fences and into the woods.

Getting to Terminus was the major story arc for half of last season and now it was all wrapped up in just one episode. The Walking Dead overcompensated for its original problem of storylines running too long and now they are too short. That scene where the characters catch each other up on what happened last season was a great example; it was like a rushed recap. Keeping the characters in Terminus until the midseason finale would have dragged it out too long but I wasn’t expecting a daring escape until at least episode three or four. I’m not saying this was a bad episode, in fact it’s one of the best in a while, but I feel there is more to the story with Terminus that we’re being cheated out of.

Rick’s savior turned out to be Carol (played by Melissa McBride), who was traveling to Terminus with baby Judith and Tyreese (played by Chad Coleman). They came across Martin (played by Chris Coy) and heard through his radio that their friends were captured. Carol used a bottle rocket to blow up a gas tank and let walkers into Terminus and snuck in with the herd covered in walker guts. She’s attacked by Mary (played by Denise Crosby) who explained that Terminus was originally a sanctuary until marauders took over and killed or imprisoned them. Mary claims they became the “butcher” to survive and Carol fittingly leaves her to be devoured by walkers. Martin (tied up by Tyreese because he’s unable to commit murder) breaks free and holds Judith hostage. He forces Tyreese outside to face a group of walkers but Tyreese kills them all and beats Martin into submission (and later tells Carol he killed him).

Carol keeps proving that she’s a total badass. I hope she sticks around for a long time. Her scene with Mary further proves there was lots of lost story potential from the early escape from Terminus. There were two brief flashbacks that corroborated Mary’s story, but I wanted to know more about it and Terminus itself. Since most of these people are dead, they’ll just be seen as the people who ate other people rather than real villains. Of course, there is the chance some of them survived and will play a part later in the season, which would be great. As for Tyreese, its clear he has a big heart and that’s a big problem. Most people with that kind of attitude don’t survive long. It’s a dog eat dog world and he has to buck up, especially since he’s taking care of a baby.

In the woods, Rick wants to go back to kill any remaining Terminus members but is shot down. Carol appears and has an emotional reunion with the group and she takes them to the cabin to meet up with Tyreese and Judith before moving on to an uncertain future. After the credits, there’s a cameo with (played by Lennie James) a survivor from Rick’s past. Even though the Terminus storyline has been wrapped up, Morgan’s appearance and other storylines can still keep the season moving forward. Does Eugene (played by Josh McDermitt) really have a cure for the zombie epidemic? Will the group ever find Beth (played by Emily Kinney), who was kidnapped last season? I look forward to finding out.

Quotes & Thoughts

“You’re a good guy. That’s why you’re going to die today. That’s why the baby’s going to die.”

I wonder if Morgan managed to overcome his inner demons or if he’s still a raging lunatic.

“People came and took this place and they raped and they killed and they laughed over weeks. But we got out and we fought and we got it back! You’re the butcher or you’re the cattle.”

Putting up that makeshift “No Sanctuary” sign for Terminus was a smart idea but the dirt would eventually wash away. Why not just tear the sign down?

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