Thoughts on The Walking Dead Sneak Preview of Ep 501

Sunday night on Talking Dead if you haven't already heard, a trailer of Season 5 was aired. If you haven't watched it you can view it below. 

During an on set interview by Chris Hardwick's with Lauren Cohan (aka Maggie Greene) she states, "You'll see members of the group you didn't know were bad ass get to be bad ass." I think we should all brace ourselves and expect a very action packed, disturbingly bloody premiere like no other that we have witnessed before on this show. 

The preview clip focused on Carol and Tyreese as they traveled to Terminus with baby Judith in tow. You can see the back of the Terminus sign in the beginning of the clip. Also if you remember, just before Rick, Michonne and Carl reunited with Daryl they saw a herd of Walkers attacking a screaming man in the field. Based on this scene, I'm thinking Carol and Tyreese should approach Terminus shortly after Rick's group.

Remember both Rick, Michonne and Carl were staying in a house for a couple of days, as did Carol and Tyresse when they had all the kids. Unlike Glen and Maggie, who were on a constant search for each other and covered more ground quickly. Carol and Tyreese timeline seem to be in sync with Rick's group instead of Glen's group (who arrived first).

I'm thinking Carol and Tyreese may hear the gunfire/witness the capture of Rick's group or be accepted into Terminus as a member and later find out the fate of the others. Subsequently, they will be instrumental in the group's freedom. What do you think? Do you think Carol and Tyreese will be trapped as well or do you think they will be the catalyst for the group's escape?

To hold us over until the premiere, AMC has scheduled two additional behind the scenes shows. If you're interested in learning how the show coordinates stunts, weapon uses and explosions don’t miss Inside The Walking Dead tonight, Tuesday July 8th at 10pm est. 

Next week another episode Walker University, this special will show how extras transition to on-set Walkers in the series. We'll see the behind the scene choreography on walking, moving and vocalizing as a Walker and the motivation behind each zombie. If interested, tune in Tuesday July 15th at 10pm est.

Sneak Peek of The Walking Dead Season 5

In case you didn't know, I'm just as hungry for the return of The Waking Dead as you. My usual drill is to troll the internet looking for info about our favorite show in hopes that it holds me over until the premiere. 

Through my research I have come across a lot of chatter about Season 5 and especially episode 501. The opening episode will deliver some hard hitting action at a rapid speed.  

If you didn't know, AMC has kicked off a Walking Dead marathon today Friday July 4th with Season One. They will continue airing all 4 Seasons until the anxiously awaiting Talking Dead Preview Special on Sunday July 6th at 9pm est. We will finally get a glimpse of the upcoming season in just a matter of days so hang tight. But until then, here's the cast and crew chatting about the upcoming season. 

The Waiting is Brutal FOUR More Months Left

If you're like me you are counting the days or should I say months down to the start of the new season of The Walking Dead. I can't believe we still have a four month wait, the show returns in October. There has been talk that a trailer will be released some time in July (fingers crossed).

 

In a recent Produced By panel appearance at a Producers Guild event, someone asked “Walking Dead” producer David Alpert how he feels about working with "pre-existing" material and the challenges of adapting a long-lasting, successful comic book for television material for the series. 

According to Alpert, using Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead comic series as a template for the show has laid the ground work for many more seasons to come.“I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what season 10 is gonna be,” Alpert said. “We know where season 11 and 12… we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we’re lucky enough to get there.”

Given the show’s exceptional ratings, The Walking Dead won’t go anywhere as long as the audience continues to grow and watch. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the AMC will keep it around for a very long time. I realize there is nothing I can write my fellow Dead Lovers that will make the wait more durable. So I'm guessing you are a bit starved by now and possibly looking at old episodes. Here's a video of the cast talking about the upcoming season. I hope this takes some of the sting away Cast Chat Enjoy!

The Walking Dead - Terminus "The Church"

There has been many questions about "The Church" located deeply within the maze of Terminus. It looks like a spooky altar, but it's their way to honor the fallen residents of Terminus.

At the Church, you can see the proverbial writing on the wall. These cryptic messages are  cautions from the residents to the newcomers: NEVER AGAIN, NEVER TRUST and WE FIRST, ALWAYS. 

I believe one time Terminus was probably a very nice place to reside. An actual sanctuary of sorts, but something obviously went awry. Somebody deceived them and the survivors want a constant reminder by the messages on the wall along with the memorial on the Church floor. 

I think it's safe to say the names on the floor are loved ones who have perished during an insurgence at Terminus. I’m sure you noticed belongings carefully placed by each name obviously left by the residents in memorial for their dead. Which is the complete opposite of the flagrant pillaging of the living, Glenn’s pocket watch given by Hershel, Dr "Mullet" Eugene's borrowed riot gear and Maggie’s poncho. 

“There’s a big story to Terminus,” series creator Robert Kirkman explained in the finale’s postmortem. “There’s a very long and involved way that Terminus came about, and that memorial is a big part of it. It’s what these people have lived through and what’s happened to them and what’s built them into what they are, which will be revealed in Season 5.” 

Many viewers are wondering if Rick's group understands why they are being held in train car. Are they aware it's a cannibalistic community? Kirkman suggests watching the finale again because there are some hints of next season. I took his advice and watched the episode again. This time I noticed when Rick and the group ran through the trap and came along this scene. Rick and Carl stared directly at the strewed carcases as they ran passed. The following scene we watched the group still scrambling for an exit. As they run passed a couple of train cars, Darryl says "What the hell?" in response to hearing calls for help from people trapped within those train cars. Check it out for yourself. Click Here

The Walking Dead - Trapped Like Prey

Prey - hunted or caught for food, defenseless in the face of attack. 

In the season finale of The Walking Dead, Rick showed Michonne and Carl how to catch an animal in a trap. He explained if you camouflage the trap, you can control the movement of the animal and force them directly into the trap.

The irony of his statement is we now know, Rick's group was in fact the big catch of the day. The maze layout of the compound is exactly what Rick described as the perfect trap. The group was forced through the facility guided by snipers on the rooftops shooting at the ground and directing them to boxcar "A" by gun men in the bushes.

There is no question that they have done this before.

AMC released this photo of a deleted scene from the finale. We see Rick, Carl, Michonne and Daryl fighting off a several Walkers chained-up with stacks of human remains sprewed all over the ground (note how the remains look).

It's not zombie ravaged victims but carefully cut leftovers. If you read my previous post Come for Sanctuary - Stay as a Meal, I've suggested that  humans are butchered for their meat by the cannibals of Terminus. This photo is further proof of their practice. 

We have witness survivors feeding the undead before. Remember The Governor caring for his daughter Penny and Hershel keeping Walkers in the barn on the farm. Could the well-fed Walkers be former members of Terminus who now serve as part of the trap? What do you think?

The Walking Dead - Terminus Come for Sanctuary - Stay as a Meal

Walking Dead comic book fans and Telltale game series players suspected that Terminus had human ribs on the menu. But seeing decaying carcass of human remains tossed aside, like a turkey the day after Thanksgiving was shocking. Note: These remains look like something a butcher would throw out, cut with proficiency.
I believe Terminus is a remix of the two groups found in both the game and comic book. A group known as The Hunters were a roving band of cannibals. They appeared in Fear the Hunters storyline in the comics. They stalked, trapped and slowly killed other survivors for meat. Keep in mind, in this world you can't just kill people for food without them turning into Walkers. The Hunters would cut limbs off, tourniquet the wound and use the meat immediately. They always had fresh meat.

The second cannibalistic group resided on a Dairy Farm, led by Brenda St John. Her character appeared in Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Season One episode, Starved For Help. Like
Mary, Brenda appears to be a kindly older woman who is very welcoming to strangers. Her family lured survivors to their farm, similar to all the signage leading survivors to the welcoming doors of Terminus. Where Mary stands grilling slabs of meat.

Do you remember this guy?

Tryesse tried to help him on the railroad tracks. His dying words to Carol and Tyresse was "There's a safe place to bring the children. Trust me please ...follow the tracks." He sounded like a commercial for the place. Why was the man so infatic for them to go there? Could it be those men were scouts to lead unsuspecting people to the grill? 

I think we'll find that Terminus is probably a little bit like both groups. But they all have one thing in common ... a belief that everything taste the same with ketchup. If you are interested - I wrote an article on a news story about cannibalism in South Africa entitled Human Meat Burger. Fiction is not as far away off reality as you may think.

Rick the Fearless Leader is Back

Watching the season finale of The Walking Dead was a bittersweet experience. After my thirst to find out how the season was going to end was quenched, the reality of the seven month hiatus became quite real.

This season Rick struggled with the lost of his daughter, the group and mostly the prison. I say mostly the prison because it offered a security that pales to anything else since the onset of the zombie apocalypse. The group became comfortable at the prison and let their guard down from the Governor. This one act set the course of the events of season 4. 

When Rick and Carl fled the burning Walker overrun prison, he was batter and weak. Carl had lost respect and trust in his father's judgement. He blamed Rick for the lost of his entire world. I think it's safe to say Rick doubted his leadership abilities as well.

Rick's only focus is keeping Carl safe. Because of that, he taps into a part of himself that I don't think he knew he possessed. This entire season all the characters were pushed to the brink and only the strong survived.

When you have nothing to lose ...you will do anything. 

Rick morphed into a true gladiator when he unleashed the warrior within and ripped Joe's jugular open with a single bite. In the face of unavoidable brutality, Rick has not lost his humanity, it's just been altered. In fact, he found the necessary drive within to motivate himself Daryl, Michonne and I'm sure the rest of the captured group (who seem discouraged by their situation).

Despite Carl's traumatic encounter with the attempted rape, he was still frighten by his father's actions in order to keep him safe. We forget sometimes that Carl is a boy and he has deep felt fears as all children possess. But the loving

relationship with Michonne (his mother figure and best friend) allowed him to cling to her for the emotional support and nurturing needed for him to feel safe again. Through her loving and insightful words, Carl gained understanding and reignited his respect and devotion for his father. 

For Rick, reconnecting with part of the group brings inspiration and propels him with the drive to be the great leader they need. He has never been stronger and more willing to do anything to keep his group alive. Season 5 promises to show us Rick at his very best.

Check out this video released by AMC behind the scene of episode 16