The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 1: No Sanctuary

“No Sanctuary” is the season premiere of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Scott M. Gimple. The episode is set to air on AMC on October 12, 2014.

The season five premiere opens with a flashback containing Gareth and Alex locked in a train car trying to figure out what they were trying to do and what happened. In the present, we find our group of survivors in the back of the train car A in Terminus where we last saw them. They all appear to be creating weapons out of whatever they can find. Rick tells the group to go for the eyes and the throats. Suddenly, from the roof of the train car a tear gas can explodes in the train car. four of them are dragged out and taken into a warehouse. Rick is knocked onto the ground after attacking a guard and is kicked in the face.

Rick, Bob, Daryl and Glenn are joined by two other survivors,  including Sam, whom Rick and Carol met on a previous supply run, and all are placed onto their knees in front of a trough. Two other men are hanging around sharpening their weapons, and within moments, the man with the baseball bat walks to the end of the lineup to Sam and swings the bat into his head, killing him. Sam bleeds into the trough.. They are most definitely cannibals, a conclusion that’s drawn as we are shown someone being butchered.

Gareth appears and saves the day – without knowing it – seconds before Glenn is knocked unconscious. He speaks to Rick about the bag buried in the woods, and of course Rick isn’t too keen to explain what’s in it, until Gareth threatens to kill Bob with a knife that is. Rick eventually explains what’s in the bag and tells Gareth exactly what he’s going to use to kill him.

Outside, shots are heard being fired and suddenly, an explosion shakes the warehouse, once again saving the day for Glenn and co.

Following the opening sequence, we switch to Tyreese, Carol and baby Judith who are still walking along the train tracks in the hopes of finding Terminus. Carol confesses she’ll take them there and make sure they’re safe, but won’t be staying. Out of the woods, walkers appear. Tyreese takes Judith from Carol explaining he can’t kill them, “not yet” to which Carol replies that he’ll have to one day before she realises more walkers are coming.

As they run further into the woods, and off the tracks, they hide as a large group of walkers approach them. The walkers are then distracted by the gunfire in the distance (at Terminus) and this sends them off in that direction instead of towards Tyreese and Carol. They continue back onto the tracks, questioning where the gunfire was coming from. Tyreese questions whether or not they want to find out what’s going on at Terminus. However, Carol wants answers and they continue.

Next, we move on to a cabin in the woods where someone called Martin looks like he is setting up fireworks to create another distraction. He’s talking to someone on a walkie talkie when suddenly Carol appears behind him, pushing a gun into his head. Carol explains who her friends are before taking him indoors and tying him up.

Carol goes off into the woods, leaving Tyreese and Judith with Martin, however, Carol is then seen transforming herself into a walker so that she can walk with them without being detected. Back at the cabin, Martin talks to Tyreese, asking about Judith and Carol. Tyreese is still visibly upset over what happened with the other kids last season, and it seems Martin knows Tyreese is a good guy and says that’s why Tyreese and the baby will die today.

We then switch to Carol who is walking among the walkers after making herself look like them. She makes it to Terminus and sees Rick and co in the distance being held captive. As she approaches the fence, she uses her sniper to get a closer look, but her attention is diverted as even more walkers are coming in the distance.

She sets up a rocket and aims the rifle once again. She fires it at a tanker which sprays out steam before lighting the firework which lands directly on top of the tanker, blowing it up sending walkers hurling into the air in pieces. She continues to make her way into Terminus, disguised as one of the many many walkers.

Back at the cabin, Tyreese realises there has been an explosion in the distance and can see black smoke billowing into the air. The pair talk about death, and Martin repeats again that it’s probably Tyreese and Judith who will die today.

In the warehouse Gareth disappears in a panic after telling everyone else to stay where the are. Rick begins cutting away at his restraints as we see mass panic as flaming walkers enter Terminus, killing anyone they can find. Carol, is still walking among them. The two killers are in a panic themselves, forgetting about Rick who is breaking himself free. He kills them both before making sure everyone else is free.

Back in the train cart our survivors are wondering what is going on and Carl and Maggie reassure everyone that Rick and the others will be back to help them out and they return to making the tools that could potentially save them.

Walkers are still continuing to eat anyone they find at Terminus, like the prison they are taking over once again though the Terminus folks aren’t taking it lying down and begin firing at them though Carol uses her gun to take them out.

As the group escape the warehouse we are shown more signs that they are cannibals as Rick tells them to just kill anyone they see from the Terminus group because they won’t hesitate with them.

Walkers are shown outside surrounding yet another container which appears to be full of even more survivors. Glenn wants to free them but Rick doesn’t look convinced. They go anyway to help let them out, and a man runs out grabbing Glenn yelling “We’re the same” before he’s attacked by a walker.

Back inside the compound, we see Carol again who has made her way into a room full of other people’s possessions including toys, watches and weapons. She grab’s Daryl’s gun and leaves as Rick, Daryl, Bob and Glenn decide what to do next. They decide the only thing to do is fight and fight they do. Giving the walkers a free meal.

We finally get answers about the room filled with candles as Carol enters. Mary, who we met towards the end of season four is there pointing a gun at her. She tells Carol to turn around because she wants to see her face. Carol turns around and fires her gun. The pair throw each other around a little bit before Mary talks about the signs.

She explains that Terminus was a sanctuary, but people came and took over. She adds that they raped and they killed. She reveals they managed to claim it back though adding you’re the butcher or you’re the cattle. Carol shoots her in the leg after she ignores her question about where Rick and co are. Carol eventually leaves the walkers to kill her by opening the door and allowing them in.

Back at the cabin, Tyreese is distracted by the smoke and the approaching walkers. This gives Martin the opportunity to dive at baby Judith, he places his hands around her head and neck threatening to break her neck and kill her. Walkers quickly surround the cabin as Tyreese is told to place his weapons on the ground as Judith cries desperately. Martin tells Tyreese to go outside or he’ll kill the baby.

Tyreese leaves and well, he takes care of business, killing the walkers (though it doesn’t sound like it) as Martin dives for his walkie talkie back inside. Martin wields his knife over Judith before walking to the door of the cabin only to be tackled by Tyreese who still won’t kill him instead punching him several times yelling “I won’t”.

At Terminus, walkers are seen still surrounding the container where Maggie and co are still sharpening their homemade weapons. Eugene still won’t mention the cure when asked, replying that it’s “classified”. He eventually gives them a little background about what he worked on without giving away the actual cure. They are eventually freed by Rick so they all escape, killing walkers who get in their way as Terminus burns and burns.

The group make it into the woods to dig up the bag of guns they buried in the last season. Rick insists he wants to take out the rest of the survivors in Terminus, but no one else is behind him. Suddenly Carol appears to everyone (especially) Daryl’s surprise. They embrace as everyone else walks towards her. Rick asks if she did that before embracing her himself. She tells them to come with her, and as they approach the cabin, everyone realises Tyreese has Judith. The family has been reunited.

Tyreese explains to Carol what happened with Martin and Judith and he reveals that he had to kill him. Rick appears to take charge again and tells the group its time to move again. They make it back onto the tracks and begin their journey again – but to where?

As they pass one of the signs for Terminus, Rick puts “NO” above the word sanctuary as we switch back to another “THEN” scene like we were shown at the beginning of the episode with more people being shown in a container. A woman is dragged out looking like she’s either about to be killed. The people inside the container insist they will take it back repeating what Mary said to Carol: “you’re either the butcher or the cattle”.

The show cuts to the credits, but don’t switch off just yet. When the credits end, we go back to the train tracks and see a man walking towards the sign Rick just wrote on. The man turns round with a mask on his face, but when he takes the mask off, we see it’s Morgan who Rick met earlier in the show, but he’s on his own!

There are still questions unanswered including the whereabouts of Beth. Will we find out in episode two who took her and where they went?