The Living Death, Soon

Every week for the fifth season of AMC's post-apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead, David Simsand Lenika Cruz will discuss the latest threat—human, zombie, or otherwise—to the show's increasingly hardened band of survivors.

Sims: For much of this episode, I thought I had The Walking Dead figured out: After 2014’s mid-season finale and Beth’s death, the first episode back would give the group some time to grieve and decompress, maybe find a new direction to head in, and set a course for the latter half of season five. "What's Happened and What's Going On" opened with a montage of funereal digging, and the image of blood pooling on some picturesque watercolor. A little cheesy, maybe, but the show can do good things with cheese, and while Beth was never a character very close to my heart, it’s always good to lend some focus to the weight of things going forward.