Last Sunday The Walking Dead walked back into our lives with a vengeance. The cliff hanger ending at terminus was finally resolved with this hope filled action packed introduction. This review does contain spoilers so if you haven’t watched the episode yet stop reading now.

The first thing this episode did for me was finally cure my hatred of Carol. She went from being the helpless, short-haired, domestic violence victim to the hero of terminus in just one episode. When she used that bottle rocket to blow up that fence I started slow clapping. She is more and more ruthless with every season, and has become a Walter White style character who went from one type of person to someone completely different in just five seasons. That being said I’m almost positive they will kill her off this year.

This episode comes out swinging placing a very violent slaughter scene near the beginning of the episode. Seeing people systematically kill other people by whacking them with a baseball bat so a man could slit their throats without resistance was an intense and effective way to start the season. Violence can be used lazily when it’s used just for shock value, but this didn’t feel like that this scene felt necessary and after it was over I was happy it was included. Suspense and dark subject matter is what made this show so popular in the first place, and this scene exemplified both of those philosophies.

I love how the writers took the time to explain some of the history behind Terminus. Through a flashback we learned that those who are holding our heros captive were also once held captive themselves. The crazy cannibals who we have learned to hate by the middle of this episode used to be just as human as you and me, but after their sanctuary was taken from them and their people were tortured and brutalized they realized one simple truth. “You’re either the butcher or the cattle.” I like this backstory because it just shows how different the world has become, and what this horrible affliction has done not just to humanity as a whole but to individuals with in it. The best bad guys, to me, are the ones you can’t help but feel a little sorry for. The terminus cannibals are definitely and example of that.

While Carol was off destroying everything Tyreese stayed behind with Judith and watched their hostage. The hostage kept arguing that Tyreese and Carol weren’t the kind of people who could live in a world of zombies because they weren’t ruthless enough. He said that they were the kind of people that try to save babies, and were soft. I love the analogy the hostage made about how saving a baby in a zombie apocalypse is like saving a anchor in the middle of the ocean.

The zombies look great this year Greg Nicotero never disappoints. They look more skeletal this year like they have been aging along with the show. The zombie kills have been amazing so far as well. This first episode features several amazing shots of random sharp objects passing through the brains of the undead. If this is what the zombies look like now imagine how cool they’ll be next year the evolution of the zombie has been a glorious one.

The ending of the episode did everything an opening episode should do. It promised us so much more to come. The group is reunited terminus has been set a flame, and nothing but distance, and zombies stands between them and Washington, at least for now. When Rick found Judith and Daryl hugged Carol hope was restored, and the balance returned. Plus Morgans back how amazing is that I can’t wait to see how he plays into this season.

The Walking Dead is the best show on television and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.