The Walking Dead - Strangers - Advance Preview: "Never Let Your Guard Down"

   After an explosive season premiere, The Walking Dead is back next Monday, the 19th on FOX UK, and this Sunday on AMC in the US, with an all new episode : "Strangers".

    "No Sanctuary"; the season premiere,  was an excellent- if not the best, way to start the season. I absolutely loved the episode, it was filled with so much action (I loved that big explosion !) and so many walkers (zombies on fire will always be my favorite).
   I've never expected Terminus to go down so fast. I thought it would happen during the winter finale, and then everyone would be reunited with Carol. I'm so happy the writers wasted no time and got rid of those freaky cannibals. But Gareth is not dead for sure, so we can expect him to show up like Brian did last year...
   The reunions of last week were so sweet and touching : Daryl with Carol, Sasha with Tyreese and Rick and Carl with Judith. Those happy, touching moments happens rarely on The Walking Dead, it makes them even more precious and heart breaking. I cried when Rick and Carl ran towards Judith. Of course, those happy moments can't last forever when you're surrounded by walkers.
   Now, our favorite group of survivors is reunited and armed like an army. They're really a strong group now, they have learnt from their mistakes so they're more prepared. I like them way better this way. They have survived so much, of course there are still much troubles ahead of them, but now I'm confident they can do it, without losing too much members.

   "Strangers" will introduce a new character from the comics : Father Gabriel, played by Seth Gilliam. I haven't read the comics yet, I really want to but I'm so not into comics. I'll probably read them once the series is ended (in many, many, many years) ; but I know a little about the comics (I love Wikipedia) and I did some research on Father Gabriel. He's described as a man with a secret and without any doubt, he is hiding something. The big question is what, and mostly if Gimple has decided to change him from the comics. Father Gabriel can be an interesting character to the group, maybe like Hershel was, he can be a moral compass. Gabriel is is quite different from the others because he's a priest, and even during this apocalypse, he still believes in God. It doesn't mean he's a good person.
 
   Father Gabriel's introduction isn't all of what you can expect from "Strangers", here's a list of what's going to happen :

- Three very important scenes with Carol, all three happening before the opening titles. My girl is the center of attention since she's back into the group. She will have three important chats with three different characters. I'm so glad to finally see Carol interact with everyone else, and not only those creepy children and Tyreese. And I missed Carol and Daryl so much (I know I'm not the only one)
- Father Gabriel's introduction to the group will cause some tension. They all have trust issues, after everything they went though it's understandable. And for us too, it's hard to know if this new character is telling the truth or walking our survivors into a trap. But the group will be confronted to other strangers than Gabriel !
- Those awful walkers never ceased to surprise you and they can attack you in the least expected places. Expect to jump out of your chair during one scene and fear for someone's life. Those walkers want to bite you, never forget that.
- The last scene of the episode is so shocking and so disgusting, it's crazy that The Walking Dead can actually show scenes like that. It was really gruesome. I think I understand now what the actors meant when they talked about being surprised some scenes weren't censored.
- You were excited last week when you saw Morgan, right ? Well, keep your excitement for next week because you won't see him this week.
- Romantic moments for our favorite couples ! There's Maggie and Glenn on one side, and Sasha and Bob on the other; a,d they're so perfectly in love. It's nice to have someone during those dark time, everybody needs comfort and affection. They better enjoy it while they can.
- A walkers pool ! Those wet walkers are be so disgusting. What the water and humidity can do to a corpse is just sickening.
- Well, about that, someone will throw up because walkers are really disgusting.
- Rick will make one of his best speech, to Carl. For once, he will be very honest and direct, I was very touched during that scene. Andrew Lincoln was perfect in it. It will really show how much Rick and Carl have both changed and evolved into two different person, but they have kept, and even strengthened their father and son's relationship.
- But Rick won't be the only one to make a great speech, he has a new rival. Because the survivors will have to make a choice between staying and catching up some rest or hitting the road again, two sides will argue and one character will deliver an efficient speech.
- Michonne will open up about her feelings at a very surprising moment,. She is always unexpected and full of surprises.

   "Strangers" is an excellent follow up to "No Sanctuary", this 5th season is on a really good path with two episodes in a row without any filling elements, Of course the tension isn't the same, they aren't trapped by cannibals but there is still this sense of danger, of unexpected all around the survivors. Anyone can be attacked or bitten.
  And now, with this newly reunited group, there are more dynamics between all of them and it's a real pleasure to watch all of them surviving together.

   And finally the quotes game ! Guess from which characters those quotes are :

1- "I owe you everything"
2-"We need to start over. All of us, with each other"
3- "Do you have a camp ?"
4- "We"re not splitting up again"
5-"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down"
6-"One more"
7-"What have you done ? We've all done something"
8-"Eugene, what's in D.C. ?"
9-"We need supplies, whatever we do next"
10- "They got Beth !"

   Are you excited about "Strangers" ? Don't miss it on Monday 19th October on FOX UK, and this Sunday on AMC in the US.

   Hit the comments !

About the Author - Romain Ossust

I'm a 28 TV addict. Here is a non exhaustive list of my favorite shows : Orphan Black, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, Person of Interest, Criminal Minds, The Strain, 24, Ab Fab, Carnivale, The Leftovers, Lost, The Americans, Hannibal, American Horror Story, Once Upon A Time, Bates Motel, Desperate Housewives, Rectify, Ugly Betty, Scandal, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, Fargo, Banshee, The Walking Dead, Raising Hope, Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, Reign, HIMYM, Girls, Game of Thrones, The Fall, Power, Black Sails, True Detective, ... For SpoilerTV, I'm reviewing The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, The Americans, True Blood & Orphan Black

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