The Walking Dead Season 5: Try Review

It’s sort of ridiculous to call this episode “the calm before the storm,” but I guess this is The Walking Dead‘s version of calm. In the penultimate episode of season 5, we get a lot to chew on. Again, it’s an episode that needs to cover a lot of territory with only an hour to do so. The writers really needed to start pulling in those loose threads and tying things up. 

Tonight, Rick finally confronted scumbag Pete and gave him a very stern talking to with his fists. It’s awesome to listen to a fight from the outside before seeing the combatants flying through windows. It reminded me of so many Westerns, and every time Rick gets into a fight, it’s nothing if not a Western. 

We also got to really witness the evolution of Rick’s character. What would season 1 Rick think of season 5 Rick? Surely, the younger, less scarred Rick would put the mad dog down. After an entire season of murdering things in cold blood, everyone finally turned on the man who was once a symbol of hope and goodness on the show. It brings me back to the way he killed Officer Bob in the midseason finale. “You can’t go back, Bob,” he said right before killing the cop, the same words Gareth uttered to our Bob in the season premiere all those months ago. Can Rick really be considered one of the good guys anymore?

Abraham told Rick that the new world would need him, even after the massacre at Gabriel’s church. It doesn’t really seem that way anymore. Rick is a product of the outside world, and civilization no longer suits him. Michonne, who also fed her violent side a bit this episode, is the one to knock Rick out at the end of the episode, and it totally had to be her. She was most likely the second most bloodthirsty character on the show, but unlike Rick, she’s been able to change for the better quite a bit. 

In fact, so much of this episode is about change, putting some of these characters under a magnifying glass to see how much the tragedies and the darkness beyond the walls of Alexandria have changed them. Sasha, who’s completely losing it, is almost catatonic except for her ability to slaughter walkers. Michonne realizes the right thing to do is not to stand by Rick’s side at the end of the episode. Carl was on the verge of becoming a sociopath a few seasons ago, but now has a lady friend. Rosita is wearing pants. 

Things are changing, and that ultimately has been the theme of the entire season. How does this new world transform these characters? What will be their path in this new world? Tonight, we found the new world doesn’t need this Rick Grimes.

John Saavedra is an assistant editor at Den of Geek US. Chat with him on Twitter! Or check out all his work at his website.