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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

From Terminus to Alexandria (The Walking Dead, Season 5)

Season 5 of The Walking Dead continued to dominate the ratings for cable TV shows. It also continued to offer a thought-provoking storyline that wrestles with the complexity of life and death.  Rick's group finally finds a city that offers safety, but not all of them are able to settle back into civilized life. They have spent a lot of time in a Darwinian wilderness. Abraham notes, "It's gotten to the point where everyone alive is strong now. We have to be. You're either strong and they can help you so you help them or you're strong and they can kill ya. So you gotta kill them. You gotta kill them and... I want to say it's never easy. That's not the truth. It's the easiest thing in the world now."

Daryl believes that "the longer [people are] out there, the more they become what they really are." If that's true, then life among the Dead has brought out the best in Michonne and Daryl. When Carol asks a formerly renegade Daryl if he's "starting over" since the plague hit, he responds, "I'm trying." That's something of an understatement. Michonne has gone from being the psycho who kept pet walkers to the moral compass of the group.

On the other hand, Rick and Carol have not fared so well. "We do what we need to do, and then we live," Rick says, and that includes a willingness to slit human throats and conquer peaceful towns if needed. Carol has become frighteningly good at being whoever she needs to be to survive. Yes, I want them on my side in a fight. No, I don't want them as neighbors. Season 5 began with "No Sanctuary," an episode that suggested no place was safe for them. By the time "Conquered" wrapped up the season, it appears that no one is safe from them.

Aside from the gratuitous violence, it was an exceptional season of television. What follows are a few general observations as I look back over the last year.
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"How many of you do I have to kill to save your lives?" – Rick

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1) Season 5 continued to ask a crucial question: what are we deep inside – hero or villain? If we were ever thrown into a situation where our courage and integrity were tested, how would we respond? Is it mostly good or evil that lurks within us? While The Walking Dead does not offer answers about our nature, it certainly offers a storyline in which we cheer for goodness to arise. When Michonne tells the residents  of Alexandria, ""You'll all turn into [Rick]... If you're lucky," we want Michonne to be right - and for Rick to step out of the darkness in which he's been wallowing and into the light.
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"We can walk away, and we will never cross paths again! I promise you!"
"But you'll cross someone's path." - Rick to Gareth, right before he kills him.

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2) Terminus was a glimpse of hell on earth, but (as Glenn points out) Rick is ready to replicate it in the season finale. He is also ready to commit adultery and kill the woman's husband. Has the nobility and goodness in Rick been irretrievably lost, or is it still simmering beneath the surface? Are we ever beyond redemption? Does there reach a point where the evil that overtakes us overwhelms us, or can we be redeemed? Meanwhile, Morgan showed up again after having honed exceptional fighting skills along with a penchant for mercy. If this former shell of a man has found redemption, surely Rick has hope.
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"We were trying to do something good. We were being human beings."
"What are we now, Gareth?" 

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3) The big questions continue to loom. What does it mean to be human? Is there something about society that transcends the social contract? How do you know when you have become the monster instead of the savior? Can people change? What is the difference between justice and revenge? What is the greatest good anyway? Is there any hope to be found in the midst of this apocalypse? I've always liked that The Walking Dead wrestles with these questions in a way most shows don't.
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"The living will have this world again." - Abraham

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4) Viewers can log on to AMC's website and participate in an interactive poll during the show. While there were plenty of trivial questions, many times viewers were asked to choose a particular course of action during a moment of crisis. In one episode, two characters were trying to decide whether or not to save a friend even if it put their life and their mission in danger. A poll popped up offering multiple choices, and most viewers chose (and I paraphrase) that it was the right thing to do even though it put their lives in jeopardy. I don't know if it was the producer's intent, but the poll is causing viewers to engage with the story rather than mindlessly absorb entertainment. 
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"Nightmares end. They shouldn't end who you are." - Bob

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5) One of the more disturbing aspects of The Walking Dead has been the way in which the audience seems to revel in the violence. "No Sanctuary" offered perhaps the most disturbing scene I have ever seen on cable TV - until Noah met his doom in another shockingly graphic ending near the end of the season. However, the online response to Noah's demise was immediate and unhappy. It turns out that gore ceases to entertain when it effects someone about whom we care. Sometimes, the best thing the camera can do is look away. The bad news is that we apparently need to personally feel the impact of horrific things before we react appropriately. The good news is that at least we still do.

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