Explosive action, deeper character moments, incredible atmosphere and impeccably smart writing makes The Walking Dead Final Verdict a rousing thumbs-up. Season 5 is must see TV.

The Show: The Walking Dead

The Network: AMC

The Genre: Drama, Horror

The Challenge: Give a show four episodes with which to draw you in, impress you, challenge you, make you feel something deeply. Four episodes for the chance to find out if you care what happens to the characters you’re watching enough to become invested in the story. If after all that, it does none of those things for you? Then no biggie. You gave it a good shot and you can move on. But if you love it, you’ll be glad you stuck around.

The Premise: The fifth season of The Walking Dead finds Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and most of the group that has been scattered since the fall of the prison mid-way through season four finally together again, but imprisoned by the inhabitants of Terminus. With only their wits and determination as weapons, the group faces perhaps their most imminent threat in five seasons against a group that has clearly baited them into a trap. Confined in a rail car and awaiting an unknown fate, the group prepares for the worst. What they find may be the most shocking and gruesome truth of the new world yet.

#1: How did Season 5 of The Walking Dead start? The darkest, most tense first few minutes of any show, we can think of—period.

We know some fans grumbled a bit about the second half of season four’s slower pace. Anyone with complaints about the pace of the season 5 opener obviously fell asleep before it started. To say it started with a hellacious bang, would be an epic understatement. The tension and fear sucked us in immediately and it lived up to the hype as an action packed tour de force. Though a bit lean on character development, the opener included stunning visual effects that felt like they were ripped right out of a massive Hollywood blockbuster. Raining fiery walkers in every direction is one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen on this show. Period.

RELATED | The Walking Dead 5×01 “No Sanctuary” Review

Spectacle aside, the opener was a smartly written, crisp action thriller and a stellar payoff to the season four build up. Kudos to Executive Producer and writer, Scott M. Gimple for scaring the hell out of us and then sharply changing the direction of the series in one fell swoop. Praise must also be given to Director Greg Nicotero, the visual effects guru, for weaving such an explosive script into an episode that made complete sense and was a thrill to watch. In short, a show that has defined itself as one of the most atmospheric, tense and gut wrenching dramas of our time set the bar higher than ever. We were giddy. And we’re betting we were not alone.

#2: Characters have driven the success of this show and after the explosive opening, this show got back to it’s roots.

The second episode felt very much like the calm before the storm. The survivors of the Prison and Terminus look to find safety and purpose after all that’s happened. We’re treated to the quiet character moments that have come to define The Walking Dead as we see how each of these individuals is either coping with or deflecting things they must face. Every one of them has been changed by the events that brought them back together. No one is the same. One can’t help but ask—as they settle in to a church for refuge—can they forgive each other, and more importantly themselves, of all they’ve had to do to survive?

RELATED | The Walking Dead 5×02 “Strangers” Review

There may very well be a new understanding of right and wrong in a world that’s eroded into the rotten decay of the dead. That reality may ultimately have a profound effect on everyone going forward and it brought this show back to it’s roots. Characters that grow, evolve and change in challenging new ways is an earmark of The Walking Dead and after the explosive opening, Robert Kirkman’s script for the second installment reminded us exactly why this is such great television. Characters keep us watching week after week and the chills, thrills and creative new walkers are the cherry on top.

#3: If there’s a better show at creating an atmosphere of tension, fear and emotional impact, we’d like to see it.

We weren’t sure an enemy could be hated more than The Governor (David Morrissey) but Gareth (Andrew J. West) quickly made us believe there are darker places humanity can reach. The writing team took a bit of a bold chance with the cannibalism storyline of Gareth and Terminus. That could have easily backfired, but it didn’t. We were creeped by the visuals, but in the end, there was little doubt that Gareth was beyond redemption. Some behaviors are simply not acceptable and Gareth clearly crossed that line. From that emerged a new and resolute Rick and group that no longer hesitates. Judge, jury and executioner was a role they didn’t shy away from in one of the most intense episodes to date.

RELATED | The Walking Dead 5×03 “Four Walls and a Roof” Review

We’ll not soon forget Rick standing over Gareth in a nice role-reversal from the season opening at Terminus. But despite the third installment being one of the most bloody of the series to date, it was also one of the most emotional. It would have been easy for the brutality to taint one of the more empathetic moments of this series, but that shift in tone amazingly worked without it feeling awkward. The intensity in the black of night and the transition to the calm, bright sun of the day helped us put aside the darkness and remember an emotional, sad, but hopeful message. In a show filled with violent, intense moments, it’s the surprising and emotionally moving ones that help make this series something special.

#4: Intelligent writing shows us a much larger world and contrasts nearly ever decision our group has made.

The writing team for The Walking Dead has proven they are not afraid to take chances. They took yet another by focusing an episode entirely on Beth (Emily Kinney) to show us what may have been if had our group made different decisions along the way. When Beth wakes alone in a hospital bed, it’s a definite nod to the series opener where Rick wakes into the world that is The Walking Dead. Beth however, is in a very different place. As she is introduced to the odd, enclosed world of Grady Memorial Hospital in the heart of destroyed Atlanta, it becomes clear that despite the clean and safe confines, things here are very different.

RELATED | The Walking Dead 5×04 “Slabtown” Review

The clean, neat Grady Memorial is a stark contrast to everything we’ve come to know. An unsettling and sometimes brutal system of barter between the staff working the hospital and the officers protecting it show a completely different world. One where a good leader cracked, made decisions that got several killed and was eliminated by someone willing to make the hard choices and turn a blind eye to atrocities for the sake of survival. What if Shane (Jon Bernthal) had eliminated Rick and led the group in a very different direction? What if the group had stayed in the city instead of staying on the run in the wilderness? What if the group only took in the weak that they could control? All of these questions of morality and circumstance had very different and dark answers in Grady Memorial.

FINAL VERDICT:

Is the fifth season of The Walking Dead worth your time to watch? Absolutely. And we don’t plan to miss a minute. Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) both said it well—the new world is going to need people like Rick Grimes—because there are far too many that have compromised their sense of right or wrong. As the season progresses the clashes between those philosophies may have catastrophic effects. We have no idea what some of those consequences may be, but if the first four episodes are any indication, they’ll be chocked full of shocking and jaw-dropping moments.

This show is just too riveting to not watch and we plan to be there for every twist, turn and shocking event. Chances are that anyone that’s already committed to watching the first four seasons will undoubtedly do the same. Is it perfect? No. The decision for the group to split again seems an odd one, but we’ve got faith in the writing team. They’ve earned it. Is it damned good? Absolutely. We’re completely invested in this show and that’s not about to change.