The Walking Dead, Season 5 Episode 9

So The Walking Dead is back after a little mid season break and the pain continues.

The last episode left the viewers

(those that have managed to retain a sense of compassion for the characters) distraught. Beth, one of the longer serving members of the team that made us feel hope with her positivity and sweet music, was shot in the head by the cop-turned-apocalyptic-utopian idealist, Dawn.

With Dawn dead (as payback) Rick’s crew left the hospital feeling understandably low and it wasn’t hard for new member Noah to encourage a few of them to check out his home town.

But the misery piled on as Rick, Michonne, Noah, Glenn and Tyreese found the all-to-familiar derelict town just filled with zombies and little else.
As the team moped about on a more lacklustre-than-usual scavenge hunt, Noah took Tyrese to his old place in the hope that there might be some survivors. Sadly, there were none and instead we found yet more pain as one of our other long-ish running characters met his bloody end.

It has to be said, this was the most uneventful episode of The Walking Dead for a long while, which is kind of understandable given the gripping climax to the end of the previous episode. But still, kicking off 2015 with an episode basically documenting Tyrese’s hallucinagenic journey to death did seem a bit uninspiring and depressing.
No doubt the spaces of our dearly departed characters will be filled, but seriously, two gone so close together?

The only hope is that Michonne’s determination to push the group onward will bring forth more excitement as they head in the direction of Washington.