The Walking Dead returned to massive rating with “No Sanctuary.” The episode was written by Scott M Gimple and directed by Greg Nicotero – the dream team (at least for me!). The episode picked up right where we left our group and the action and tension didn’t stop for the entire episode. It featured the great special effects and brilliant performances we’ve come to expect. But it also featured the careful, thoughtful writing that really stood out last season. In fact, the episode picks up the major thread that ran through last season – Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) quest to find his way through the violence and death around them. This season, the message is “You’re either the butcher or the cattle.” But Hershel had another answer: Someone has to be the farmer. And we see Hershel’s influence throughout the episode.
First, a few words about Greg Nicotero’s fantastic direction. The episode is wonderfully paced – I loved the nerve-wracking scene in which the bat keeps whistling at Glenn’s (Steven Yuen) head. The exploding, flying, burning zombies? Amazing! The early shot from Rick’s perspective after he’s been gassed and is being dragged through the slaughter house? Brilliant. The tension that builds as we see Tyreese (Chad L Coleman) forced out of the cabin and we stay with Martin (Chris Coy) until it goes silent again – wonderful – and it proves it’s never just about the gore. And finally, the sequence of Carol (Melissa McBride) “arming up” to rescue the rest of the group is simply fantastic. Really there just aren’t enough superlatives to go around about this show. For my money, this is the best season premiere this fall, bar none.
The episode clearly parallels Gareth’s (Andrew J West) group to Rick’s by having a flashback to them in the same car. We learn from the flashbacks, and even more through Carol’s standoff with Mary (Denise Crosby), that they started very much from the same place. Gareth tells his followers that the “were being human beings” when they started Terminus. However, they were overrun, raped, killed, and laughed at, suffering for weeks. They learned they had to be butchers in order to survive. Yet it seems that they at least didn’t resort to raping and laughing and made short work of their captives. It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for the group. Crosby gives a wonderful performance, but it seems unlikely we’ll see her again.
Mary tells Carol that she could have been one of them – they’ve only done what they had to and they’re still here. Carol replies that “You’re not here – and neither am I.” Clearly, she is referring to the fact that the real trade off in the way Terminus has chosen to survive is their humanity. Carol has made the hard choices, but I think this is an indication that she really hasn’t lost her humanity. Mary – the human – is gone, and Carol the human isn’t staying to lose her humanity. Carol tells Tyreese that she isn’t planning on staying at Terminus before they find Martin. She doesn’t feel she deserves sanctuary because she thinks she lost her humanity when she killed Lizzie. Seeing what the people at Terminus have become shows her that she is far from what they’ve become and that she can still play an important role with the group. It’s a nice touch when at the end of the episode, Rick wonders if the fire is still burning. They look at the black smoke and Carol says it is still burning, remembering what Mika taught her about the smoke turning white when the fire goes out. Is this also an indication that the evil and danger from Terminus isn’t over yet?
Carol’s redemption seems complete as she is reunited with the group. Is there any fan who didn’t squee just a little when Daryl (Norman Reedus) ran into Carol’s arms? Reedus delivers his usual fantastic performance. He doesn’t need to say one word to Carol as he hugs her, steps back, lays his head against her heart, and then watches as Rick also hugs her.
Rick, of course, is the first to speak to her, asking if she’s the one who rescued them. He smiles and hugs her, clearly accepting her place within the group. It wasn’t entirely clear to me if Carol actually told them about Judith and Tyreese or whether she simply lead them to the cabin. It would make sense that she wouldn’t get her hopes up – after all, she knew that if anything happened, Tyreese might not have been able to prevent it as he was having trouble killing when she left. His eventually beating Martin to death while saying “I won’t” was poignant, and another declaration that while he might have to do horrible things to survive and protect a baby, he would never become like Martin. The reunion scene was also beautifully shot with no dialogue – just the reactions of Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Tyreese, Rick, and Carl (Chandler Riggs).
There are lots of indications of the differences between the two groups. Martin keeps asking Tyreese if the others are his friends. Tyreese describes them as such, while Martin says he doesn’t have friends – just assholes he stays alive with. Martin avoids naming people which would humanize them. There’s a really nice cut between the scene in the slaughter house after the explosion and the scene in the cattle car. In the slaughter house, Gareth’s guy is panicking – he doesn’t trust Gareth. In the cattle car, Carl insists that Rick is coming for them and Maggie (Lauren Chohen) immediately backs him up – this is another instance of Hershel’s presence too. Maggie is focused on the job at hand – being ready to fight their way out.
Glenn is very much the voice of reason, and of Hershel. He tells Rick that they have to let the others out of the cattle cars because “it’s still who we are. It’s gotta be.” Rick is determined to get the weapons they’ve hidden and go back – “They don’t get to live.” As they walk through the slaughter house earlier in the episode, Rick says, these aren’t people. But Glenn insists, “We got out. It’s over.” They may have to do horrible things to survive, but they don’t have to become monsters – mindlessly killing others just like the walkers do.
Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr) also tries to reason with Gareth at the beginning of the episode. He tells him that “There’s a way out, a cure. We can put the world back the way it was.” Gareth tells him, “You can’t go back, Bob.” Once you’ve crossed a line, that becomes true. The others in the group pull Rick back from that line. Gareth, unlike Martin, is also clearly not troubled by naming his cattle. There’s another beautiful shot in this sequence of the blood flowing down the trough towards the drain in front of Glenn, Daryl, Rick, and Bob. It’s a nice picture of the humanity of the butchers disappearing down the drain – never to be seen again.
I doubt we’ve seen the last of Gareth. Rick may have shot him, but it seemed to clearly be a shoulder shot. I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping that Rick gets to kill him with that red-handled machete after all.
Eugene (Josh McDermitt) is pressed to tell more about the cure. I’m still not convinced that he’s really got the ability to do what he says. So far, it’s really just been a great way to get his own personal bodyguard army. He’s explanation doesn’t do a lot to reassure me either. In fact, if he can flip a switch and take out all the walkers, how does that spare anyone? We already know that every person seems to carry the virus, so killing everyone with the virus is killing everyone. Period. And was anyone else creeped out by how he looked at Judith? Is he going to try to experiment on her? Is there some reason to believe that she might hold the key for a vaccine?
I hope everyone stuck around for the final scene and the return of Morgan (Lennie James)! Is he tracking the group? What were those symbols on the trees? Is Rick actually leaving them? Do they have anything to do with what Abe (Michael Cudlitz) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) need to tell the rest of the group?
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| The author at The Walking Dead booth SDCC 2014 |
Two quick final comments – on the commercials that aired during the episode. One was a heartfelt thank you to the fans from the cast and crew from San Diego Comic Con. It was nicely done and a classy move – if for no other reason than that was a prime advertising spot that they dedicated to their fans. The other was a small snippet from Bear McCreary about the music on the show. McCreary is the hottest composer on television (and in film!) today – and The Walking Dead is just one of the shows that proves it.
Of all the season and series premieres, this one is the stand out of the Fall 2014 season for me. It’s so well done from the acting to the writing to the direction to the effects. Lincoln, Reedus, and McBride have consistently delivered Emmy-worthy performances, and this episode is no exception. What did you think of the episode? Will Gareth be back? Is Morgan friend or foe? Do you believe Eugene? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
