The Walking Dead Series 5 Blog: No Sanctuary

The Walking Dead opened season five in an explosive manner, delivering spades of action, gore and violence which culminated in arguably the show’s best season premiere yet. The first episode of season four, “30 Days Without Incident”, was sombre and contemplative, thereby setting the tone for a slow and reflective season as the survivors questioned whether they were too far gone after all that had happened before. If “No Sanctuary” is anything to go by, we’re in for a far more exhilarating ride.

Within the first five minutes the episode confirmed our suspicions that the inhabitants of Terminus were indeed cannibals. Whilst The Walking Dead certainly hasn’t shied away from gore in the past, the slaughterhouse scene was an intense and particularly graphic start. Watching each victim being systematically put to death with their blood oozing towards Glenn (Steven Yeun) made for uncomfortable viewing. Thanks to the herd of walkers approaching outside and intersection from Carol (Melissa McBride) the main cast escaped their impending doom unscathed. It was at this point that we gained some indication towards what sort of character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is going to be this season. Thus far, Rick has adopted a different persona each season, with their varying degrees of success. Think back to season three and there was the “Ricktatorship”, which was followed by his state of depression eventually leading to “farmer Rick” in season four. In “No Sanctuary”, we watched as he swiftly took out the two guys on guard but also hesitate to let out others who were also trapped inside a container.

‘So-called badass’.

It’s easy to write off Rick as now being a so-called “badass”, but there’s something deeper to his character than that. In fact, Andrew Lincoln commented at New York Comic Con that he wished “he hadn’t killed Shane.” It seems as though Rick may now be adopting his old friend’s philosophy.  That is, you have to be a monster to survive in this world. Again, this is highlighted at the end of the episode when Rick argues for going back to kill any remaining survivors at Terminus. Part of what made “No Sanctuary” a success were these hints of character development amidst all the action.

Fan-favourite Carol took matters into her own hands by setting off an explosion in Terminus with flaming walkers being flung in all directions. Add that to the list of different types walkers we’ve seen so far along with riot gear walkers from the prison. In terms of sheer spectacle, this was unlike anything we’ve come across yet. Indeed, The Walking Dead amped everything up to a whole new level with gun blazing combat and violence as if it was making up for the lack of action during the latter-parts of last season.

The mystery of Terminus and how it came to be was explored, providing us with enough information to understand what happened to Gareth (Andrew J. West) and Mary (Denise Crosby) via flashbacks but I was keen to know more. It was established that their group was attacked and raped by another gang but that doesn’t quite result in transforming into fully-fledged evil butchers who lure others into their vicinity only to slaughter and eat them. There must be some steps in between, which the show hopefully delves into later. It’s likely that there will be more flashbacks from Gareth, who it’s quite obvious we haven’t seen the last of given the fact that he has been promoted to a season regular and wasn’t actually seen perishing along with his fellow Terminus people.

Whilst The Walking Dead hasn’t shied away from gore in the past, the slaughterhouse scene was an intense and particularly graphic start.

This brings me to the only problem I found with “No Sanctuary.” For the entire second half of season four, The Walking Dead built up to Terminus. That’s eight episodes, all of which dropped hints and suggestions that the sanctuary wasn’t really a safe haven. It was disappointing to see the survivors essentially roll over Terminus and beat the cannibals in one episode without a single casualty. No one likes to see the main characters die, but it was slightly too convenient that they all managed to escape unscathed. Having a member of the central crew being murdered in the first episode by one of the butchers would have made a real impact.

Along with baby Judith returning to Rick, Daryl (Norman Reedus) reuniting with Carol was a special moment made more powerful by the lack of dialogue between the two.  There was a strong sense of mutual recognition, and above all relief resounding from both characters that they were together again. One interesting point about the ending was how distanced Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) were from the rest of the group.  These three haven’t been around as long as the others and suspicion towards Eugene’s cure has begun to surface, perhaps a source of tension in future episodes.

Of course, the huge surprise that appeared after the credits (akin to the Marvel movies) was the appearance of Morgan (Lennie James). This is the first time The Walking Dead has had a post-credits scene so it’s likely many viewers missed out on it.  Morgan is without doubt one of the best characters on the show and was the first person Rick met after the outbreak. The last time we saw him, Morgan was in a very dark place mentally and on the verge of insanity after the death of his son. What his return means for Rick’s group is yet to be seen, but lays the seeds for a fascinating future narrative.

The Walking Dead surpassed expectations as it returned with “No Sanctuary”, an episode that combined shock and horror with solid character development. Now that everyone is back together with some very intriguing plot points set up, the potential for the rest of the season is very high.