HOLLYWOOD—When “The Walking Dead” last concluded, it left the audience stunned. Not only did beloved character Beth RIP Emily Kinney die in tragic fashion, our survivors were left without any direction. So how did the series pick-up where it left off?
Well in ‘What Happened and What’s Going On,’ Rick and the rest of the crew looked for direction in the aftermath of tragedy, after what appeared to be a burial for Beth (I’ll elaborate more on this later). Beth had a larger impact on the group than they realized. Tyrese took on the role of big brother to console Noah in his time of need. Noah, Michionne, Rick, Tyrese and Glenn took a road trip to Noah’s home town hoping to reunite him with his family.
A supposed place of sanctuary became a place of horror; when Noah jumped over the fence all he found was tons of destruction, and walkers layered across the streets. Rick’s confession to Glenn that he wanted to kill Dawn out of spite seemed to unnerve our quiet one slightly. Noah was determined to venture into his childhood home, against Tyrese’s discretion. He stumbled upon a horrific scene.
Tyrese heard knocking coming from within one of the rooms, and went investigating. He learned that Noah had twin brothers, and he found himself the victim of one of the zombied brothers who took a bite out of his arm. Nooooooooooooooooo! Is this really happening, is Tyrese about to die?
He began seeing images; a sure fire sign that death was imminent. He first saw Bob, then The Governor, which only led to another attack by a walker who took a bit out of his already injured arm. Michionne, Rick and Glenn stumbled across a wooded region that was literally full of body parts. The team began to fracture, as Michionne acknowledged that she was tired of trying to just make it. That response prompted Rick to make an executive decision to travel to Washington.
Tyrese waited in agony as all of his past friends informed him it was ok to let go, and he emotionally let go of all of those feelings that he had been keeping tangled inside. Which led to one of the most disturbing moments of the episode as Rick and Glenn held Tyrese still to allow Michionne to slice off his infected arm.
As walkers stampeded towards the compound, a bloody assault took place, and it became evident that time was indeed running out for Tyrese, but the gang was desperate to try to keep him alive. All of the imagery at the beginning of the episode began to make sense; the gang was not mourning Beth’s demise, it was Tyrese.
Just like that another beloved member of the crew saw his demise. Man this show knows how to pull the heartstrings of its viewers. I have the eerie feeling that the rest of season five will become a bloodbath for those we adore most. Until next Sunday “Walking Dead” die-hards!
