Warning: This article contains spoilers.
The group may have made it to Terminus, but the mantra “Those who arrive, survive,” doesn’t seem too promising.
The fourth season of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” ended on a flat note, with no questions answers and no stakes raised – mimicking the pattern that the show has largely followed since the mid-season finale.
We left off last episode with Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), Tara (Alanna Masterson), Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Rosita (Christina Serratos) finally arriving at the supposed refuge Terminus, greeted with welcome arms and full plates of food.
What we started with on tonight’s episode was a much different story.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) have continued following the tracks towards Terminus, with hunger steadily setting in. They haven’t come across any houses to ransack for days, though Rick seemingly has the time to teach Carl how to hunt for rabbits (because father-son bonding, of course).
Their brief recess in the woods is interrupted by a man’s call for help, and the trio arrive just in time to see someone devoured by a pack of walkers. They do nothing to intervene, not that they could have – he was swarmed within seconds. As they looked on helplessly, it only seemed to be another ploy by the writers to delay the real action as long as possible.
With each fractured group getting it’s own episode in the second half of the season, it was inevitable for more survivors of the prison to cross paths.
Rick and company are ambushed by Joe (Jeff Kober) and his followers, who seek revenge for the group member Rick murdered several episodes back. Even the arrival of Daryl (Norman Reedus) can’t stop the attack, as he’s nearly pummeled to death.
In the season’s biggest shock, Rick worked up the nerve to fight back by viciously ripping out Joe’s jugular with his teeth. Though graphic, it was the first time we’ve seen Rick truly fight for survival since Lori’s death in the third season left him nearly comatose.
The trio, now joined by Daryl, continue their way toward Terminus with caution, and don’t even arrive at the fortress until halfway into the finale. After Rick spies one guy holding the pocket watch he gave Glenn, and another with Maggie’s poncho, he takes up arms against the people of Terminus, to no avail.
The end of the episode sees Rick, Michonne, Carl and Daryl being herded into a street car, where they reunited with the group who had already arrived. “They’re screwing with the wrong people,” Rick menaces before the credits roll.
After a season that has lost many disappointed viewers, one can only hope that “The Walking Dead” will pick up in a big way when the fifth season premieres. With Tyreese and Carol’s whereabouts unknown, it seems likely that they will be paramount in helping the remaining survivors escape from Terminus.
We also have no further information about Eugene and his supposed “remedy” for the zombie apocalypse. Has his claim to redemption been a ploy to get Abraham to protect him, even if it means sacrificing himself and others at Eugene’s expense?
And let’s not forget Beth (Emily Kinney). Last we saw she was in the back of a hearse – could she also be imprisoned at Terminus?
But perhaps the most compelling reason to turn in next season will be Terminus itself. Many fans have speculated about what is really going on at the camp, with one of the most predominant theories being that they thrive off of cannibalism and use the signs to lure unsuspecting survivors to their deaths. The pile of human bones briefly seen during Rick’s shootout may prove that theory right.
Whatever the case may be, if “The Walking Dead” wants to keep its viewers, they will breathe the life back into the show that made the first two seasons so memorable.
Otherwise, its fan base will likely walk away.