This premiere was rather surprising. After the group's arrival at Terminus, we were convinced they were going to spend the whole season there, fighting off the cannibals inside and the zombies outside. The "Termites", as Talking Dead called them, are incredibly unsettling. Our main characters are forced into a room and knelt over a trough with a few other people. One by one, the Termite butchers whack these people on the head and slit their throats, letting the blood drain out of them. That alone is unnerving, but what's really scary is just how nonchalant these people are about the process. It's all a routine to them. Gareth supervises with an irritating calm. Bob pleads with him and tries to tell him about Eugene, who allegedly knows how to stop the zombie plague and needs to get to Washington. Gareth doesn't care.
Meanwhile, Tyreese and Carol are on their way to Terminus and end up surrounded by zombies. They get off the railroad tracks and hide in the woods until gunfire attracts the horde's attention. Once the walkers are gone, the two (three when you count baby Judith) continue after them at a safe distance. They then come across a Termite who's in communication with Terminus on a walky talky. They overhear him mention a "girl with a sword" and a "kid with a hat", immediately realizing they're talking about Michonne and Carl. They subdue the man, Tyreese staying with him and the baby, while Carol embarks on a rescue mission. Covering herself with zombie guts, she blends in with the walkers and makes her way to Terminus.
On her arrival, she witnesses Rick and others being taken out of the boxcar and taken away for the slaughter, while at the same time, others try to fend off the horde. Noticing a gas tank by the fence, Carol shoots a hole in it, and then sends a firecracker straight for it. A large hole is blown in the fence, allowing flaming zombies to get into Terminus. Rick, Glenn, and Darryl are able to use this commotion to kill the butchers and escape. They grab some weapons and make their way back to the boxcar.
Meanwhile, zombies begin to surround the cabin where Tyreese and the Termite are. The Termite frees himself and gets his hands around Judith's neck, forcing Tyreese to go outside and face the walkers.
Back at Terminus, the group is getting ready to make a break for it. When asked repeatedly about the zombie cure, Eugene admits a theory about using another virus to kill the plague, and it seems to make sense. Rick gets them out and they fight through the zombies with makeshift weapons they put together in the boxcar.
Carol grabs a couple weapons making her way through Terminus and inside the bizarre candle shrine, is confronted by Mary, who tries to explain how Terminus began as the sanctuary they claim to be, but they let the wrong people in, and had to adapt to ensure their own survival. Carol's not having any of that, shoots her leg and opens the exit, leaving her to be eaten by walkers while she just slinks out.
Tyreese, after having successfully fought off the zombies, bursts back into the cabin and beats the Termite senseless and kills him, saving Judith. It's an important moment because Tyreese was apparently hesitant to kill even a single walker at the beginning of the episode, still shaken up from their experience towards the end of the last season.
After their escape, Rick digs up the bag of weapons he hid in the last season's finale. He's prepared to go back to Terminus and put all the Termites down, avenge all the people they've eaten. The others, however, are quick to talk him down. They just escaped and the place is on fire and overrun with walkers. He reluctantly concedes, and then Carol reveals herself, leading to some scenes I had been waiting for. Daryl runs up to Carol and gives her a big hug, and Rick realizes how she helped them escape by starting the fire. He hugs her too, and seems to have forgiven her for what happened to Karen and David. She then leads them all back to the cabin. Rick immediately runs to Tyreese and takes Judith in his arms, he and Carl so amazingly relieved to see her alive. This moment rivals Rick's reunion with Carl and Laurie back in the first season. All together now, the group sets off again, Rick vandalizing the Terminus sign so that it now reads NO SANCTUARY before they all walk away.
This was a very satisfying premiere. There are still a few loose ends in the story, however. Gareth isn't shown dying on-screen, which might indicate he'll resurface later this season. The characters may be out of Terminus, but considering what it used to be and the short flashbacks we're shown for the people who lived there, their story might still be told. One of the biggest loose ends is Beth, who was separated from Darryl last season and abducted. Many assumed she was at Terminus, and might even be dead. Her name is still in the opening titles, which would seem to indicate she is alive for the moment, which was a small relief, as we still don't know where she is. There is a neat surprise at the end after the credits, revealing that Morgan had been making his way to Terminus, but stops when he sees the NO SANCTUARY sign. He then sees an X on a tree and heads in that direction instead. It is likely only a matter of time before he runs into Rick again. And since Terminus isn't the setting for the season, it looks like the group is going to be on the move for a while instead of settling in one location all year, which should make story lines more unpredictable. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to it.
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