If you are of sound mind and memory, you will recall that Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and many of the others, save for Carol, Tyreese and baby Judith who were yet to arrive at the “sanctuary” of Terminus, finished up season 4 locked tight inside a rail car, after being herded in some sort of macabre game by Gareth (Andrew J. West) and a host of gun-toting, rooftop-standing cronies.
It was frightening, adrenaline-pumping stuff and left you wondering how on earth Rick and the gang were going to escape, trapped as they were in full view of their enemies, with no weapons and no real options.
It is possible that Tyreese and Carol could come to their aid but again they would be up against massive, almost overwhelming firepower, assuming they aren’t sucked into the Terminus honey trap just like Rick and the others were.
One certainty is they will escape the rail car.
How do we know this?
Why series creator Robert Kirkman said it himself, and the good folks are Bustle were obliging enough to get it in “print” for us:
“They definitely get out of that of that train car. They do not spend the entirety of Season 5 in that train car. It is through ingenuity, creativity, and somewhat savageness that they are able to make it out of the train car. There will be resolution.”
While exact details are, as always, scarce on the ground, there are some things we know about season 5 courtesy of The Talking Dead‘s Summer Preview Special which was broadcast over the US 4th of July long weekend as part of AMC’s Dead White and Blue The Walking Dead marathon (recap courtesy of Cleveland.com).
* We find out Beth’s fate relatively quickly.
Kidnapped from the funeral home in which she and Daryl were sheltering in the episode “Alone”, Beth may or may not be alive.
Showrunner Scott Gimple wouldn’t be drawn on what state we will find her in but he did have this to say about the younger of the Greene sisters, who some fans speculate has been kidnapped by Gabriel Stokes, a character featured in the comic books:
“Beth’s story, whatever it is, will be told. That question will not linger.”
* There will be action piled upon action right alongside more action.
In the words of Lauren Cohan, who plays Beth’s sister Maggie Greene, “You’ll see members of the group you didn’t know were badass get to be badass.”
* Gareth is Rick is Gareth is Rick is …
The idea that Rick and his gang are Good and the Terminus group are Bad is looking at things in too much of a black and white fashion says Andrew J. West who plays the calm and cool leader of the possible cannibals, pointing out that he and Rick are more alike that you might initially realise:
“He falls way more towards the Rick character or even Glenn [than The Governor]. He’s a way more normal guy who’s just trying to survive.”
* There is a Star Wars / The Walking Dead connection
Gimple, in what Cleveland.com referred to as an “uber geek” moment drew corollaries between the two pop culture giants, making the point that Luke Skywalker could have just as easily gone to Dark Side as not, and that where people end up is often just a capricious twist of fate.
The moral of the story – don’t judge the folks at Terminus too harshly.
What is clear is that season 5 is going to ratchet up the tension, if that is even possible, from episode 1 with Andrew Lincoln declaring in one of the videos inserted in the post that it’s the “most ambitious first episode we’ve ever attempted. It moves like no season premiere we shot before.”
And yes there is a good chance people we love and cherish will die, the escape from Terminus will be a bloody and brutal affair and …
Oh yes, there will be LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of zombies.
Get ready to fight for your life once again!