Walking Dead Season 5, Vol. 5: The End is Near {No comics spoilers}

[gribbles]

coming off the awesome black sails finale, this finale was so damn disappointing by comparison.

[Jack Bauer 24]

coming off the awesome black sails finale, this finale was so damn disappointing by comparison.

I was thinking the same thing. Now that was a finale! This was like any other episode.

[Cyvasse Khal]

Well, everything worked out surprisingly peachy for absolutely everyone in our main group. I don't want to say I'm disappointed - of course it's good no-one in Rick's group died, and we still got a few obligatory finale deaths. It was very underwhelming though. I was 99% sure they were going to go through with Sasha & Gabriel murder/suicide.

I'm not sure why Carl & Judith had to stay in the house. I would have thought they would have been an instrumental strategy in convincing the group at the meeting that above all else Rick protects his family. Morgan, Darryl & Aaron meeting up was very predictable.

That Maggie & Glenn convo annoyed me. They talked for like 30 seconds then Maggie is just like "well see ya tonight". Why are they never together anymore? You can't say either of their duties would keep them away from each other for such long stretches at a time that they just never have time to spend time with one another or even just quickly fill each other in on what's going on. I know this has been brought up the last few weeks, but it's just very lazy writing.

[gribbles]

putting aside the fact that this finale was pretty uneventful, there were some moments that were just laughably bad.

the nicholas dude going over the wall, for example. how did he know that glenn would follow him?

also, the whole crap with gabriel, sasha and maggie. i was just shaking my head with them holding hands a circle together praying. i was half-expecting them to start singing kumbaya it was so cringe-inducing.

[igrewupinKL]

Very relieved Glenn didn't die. But i wish someone did. Not naming anyone but the priest, sasha and nick should've died

I was kind've disappointed by how the 'wolves' were presented. They just seem like another 'termites' groups except they don't eat you. Now i haven't read the comics so i didn't know what to expect. Still i don't know why Morgan didn't kill them. I get 'life is precious' but i wish he just pulled a Rick and executed them.

Agree that it didn't feel like a season finale. I thought it went a bit slow.

[The Anti-Targ]

Well this isn't going to have people gagging for the next season to get started. I'm glad Glenn didn't die, but quite how he got away from those walkers without [probably] a single bite is also lazy writing. I hate it when shows show you that your "hero" is in peril and then don't bother showing him/her get out of trouble. He/she just magically turns up in the next scene looking a bit rough but none the worse for wear.

I liked that Morgan's last words were life is precious, and the first thing he sees is Rick execute someone. But it's hardly a cliffhanger way to end the season. It will be interesting to see how Morgan reacts, whether he decides to stay or go. Please let Morgan have plot armour for the rest of the series, or at least until after Glenn, or Maggie, or Carl, or Carol, or Darryl, or Rick dies (only one of them of course, not all of them).

I dunno why people thought the prayer circle was cliche. Maggie is religious, deep down, like her daddy. Father Sgt Carver finally confessed his sin and felt a bit cleansed. Psycho Sasha finally let go, and maybe she was also a religious woman before the dead started walking. So it's not unreasonable for them to decide to have a prayer circle after such a moment of intensity and catharsis.

So the community now has no architect or doctor. I guess that will cause some issues.

[MisterOJ]

I liked the finale a lot. So many of the the threads paid off in satisfying ways for me - none more so than Morgan. I really liked his character and can't wait to see his "origin" story next season. I thought the Wolves were also interesting. But, I don't think they will be the "Big Bad" next season like some folks are expecting. Scott Gimple's letter that was read in Talking Dead said:

“For a good while now, humans have been the bigger threat. At the start of our next season, that will change. I said the show reinvents itself every 8 eps, and we’re doing it again, friendos. Now that these characters know they have what it takes to survive, what are they going to do with that power? How will they choose to live? Beyond answering those questions, we’re currently putting into motion some of our most ambitious stuff yet, and things are going to get very big, loud and scary.”

To me, that says that the Wolves won't be the real threat. Now, what the actual threat is, I have no idea. But I don't think it will be something as simple as the Wolves trying to take Alexandria.

I dunno why people thought the prayer circle was cliche. Maggie is religious, deep down, like her daddy. Father Sgt Carver finally confessed his sin and felt a bit cleansed. Psycho Sasha finally let go, and maybe she was also a religious woman before the dead started walking. So it's not unreasonable for them to decide to have a prayer circle after such a moment of intensity and catharsis.

I thought it was a really nice scene. I'd expect people without faith to have a hard time understanding it though. Years ago, before I rediscovered my faith, I would have thought that scene was silly too, but now that I'm older and wiser, I get how powerful something like that can be.

[Ser Cold Fingers]

Finally catching up on the thread...been away for several days.

I liked the finale...and I loved how it did not end on a massive cliffhanger. At least the first part of next season is setup with the Wolves Not Far. So basically, the Wolves are just jerks who take everything from you, even your life just because they can?

And what is the point of the Walker torsos on meat hooks in the semi container trailers? Are they there to help lure or entice the fully legged Walkers into the trailers when the music & light show starts?

Are there only two members of the Wolves? or are those the only two we saw? Seems like a ridiculous trap for just two people.

So who do you think wrote the note that Aaron found in the car? Seems very short notice for someone to write if they were trapped in the car...by the time they realized that the people who saved them are evil, it would be too late to write a note. Could the woman have been a former member of the Wolves? She was caught writing similar notes at other locations and that notes was just not discovered yet?

And Gabriel can Burn In Hell!

[The Mance]

Yeah i still don't get the torso thing either. Or the Ws, for that matter. The wolves are clearly the exiles from Alexandria, though, assuming the woman tied to the tree was their third. Wonder what she did to piss them off. And I'm going to go ahead and predict that we'll see how well Alexandria's gate/fence will stand up to a couple of speeding semi-trucks full of walkers.

And I'm still wringing my hands over Glen. From the shot of him getting swarmed by those walkers I've been convinced that he got bit. The whole time he was beating on Nick after he reappeared I've was expecting a bite reveal. Even after he didn't kill Nick I was thinking "Glen is so awesome that even after getting bit because of this loser he still doesn't want to kill him". And when he and Nick are helping each other back to Alexandria I'm still expecting that after a relieved and knowing reunion with Deanna and the gang we'll get a closing shot of Glen's bite. I am only somewhat mollified now that the episode is over.

Loved Rosita dropping the pan to wake up Eugene. And I'm glad to see Abe and Eugene make nice. Though i think the writers missed a chance to have Abe thank Eugene for saving his life too. Also agree that Abraham's speech about Rick was the best. Really I was happy to hear everybody in the group pulling behind Rick. I was concerned about Michone, and i was half expecting Glen and Maggie to be at odds with each other.

I'm disappointed we didn't get to hear more from the Alexandrites at the meeting. Jessie spoke up for Rick, which I figured, and ex-construction dude said something, but I couldn't tell which way he was leaning. Would have been nice to hear from the woman that Abe saved, especially after Maggie's bit about being part of Rick's family. Also, wow, if that was a meeting for the whole community I think Rick's group currently outnumbers the Alexandrians. I didn't get an exact head count, but they really do need people. And they were going to evict Rick how, exactly?

It was good to see Morgan again. Great reintroduction imo. He seems to have pulled his shit together since Clear, though I wonder if his new zen outlook will come to be at odds with Rick. Not sure I buy the sudden quarterstaff proficiency, though it was interesting to see that the Wolves are out of ammo. Also really liked that his map was all blurred out, and then Daryl's dawning recognition of who he was.

[Myrddin]

I think I would've enjoyed the finale more if not for the hype. I spent the whole time expecting a main character to die, so much so that I didn't appreciate how well the various plot and sub-plot threads across 12(?) recurring characters were brought to close and/or a place of rest before season 6 starts up.

But it was a satisfying finale. It's nice not to be left with a cliff hanger for a change.

Nice to see Morgan back. He's now a cross between Darth Maul and Yoda.

Yeah i still don't get the torso thing either. Or the Ws, for that matter. The wolves are clearly the exiles from Alexandria, though, assuming the woman tied to the tree was their third. Wonder what she did to piss them off. And I'm going to go ahead and predict that we'll see how well Alexandria's gate/fence will stand up to a couple of speeding semi-trucks full of walkers.

I disagree the Wolves are the exiles. Now, I think the exiles will join or have run afoul with them, but I don't think they currently make up the core. The exiles know how ripe the town is for raiding. And weak. Noah's neighborhood wasn't that much less defended and the wolves ran over it like a truck full of zombies. I mean, ran over it with a truck full of zombies.

The food plant was 50 miles from the town, and set up with a pretty sophisticated trap/re-trap mechanism. Once the wolves know what an easy target the town is (which they will judge from intel that the town is pre-Rick Rolled) they will be there with music blazing and zombies dancing.

[rogue35]

I thought the finale was disappointing in a way.I thought they spent to much time on Rick. It felt dragged out to me.I myself would have liked to seen more about who these wolves people are.I also couldn't get over the guy at the gate walking away after not making sure it was shut.That basically saved Rick because he was able to show them how careless they are.I also think how is it possible that nothing really bad has happened to these people already.

My thoughts are who are these wolf people? If they were the ones turned out of the community why did it show the guy looking at the pictures Aron dropped.Daryl and Aron are wise to their trap so the means Ricks people will act fast to fix the problem.I think because of all the zombies in the truck trailers something will backfire.I think it will lead to zombie hordes becoming a issue for the community.

[The Fallen]

Another good episode, but didn't quite fill the expectations I had.

I thought Glenn was a goner for sure. The same with Gabriel.

Rick looked crazy when he finally showed up at the meeting.

I also wasn't buying kung fu master Morgan. I convinced myself that he had gotten his hands on some DVDs or something.

[BaseBornBastard]

I'm a little bewildered by the Wolves. I was expecting an army of battle-hardened psychopaths, considering the devastation they inflicted on Noah's camp and the amount of walkers roaming the countryside with W's carved on their foreheads. I wasn't expected two dudes, one gun and zero bullets that got their asses handed to them by a quasi-pacifist with a broom handle. I have no doubt that there are many more Wolves than these two, but how advanced can this enemy be if they're wandering around harassing people with empty weapons?

Also, what's their game? In this world, you expect the bad people to overrun your camp so that they can take it for themselves. After all, it's the survivalist mentality that his lead to so many dangerous people on this show. Yet the Wolves simply run through camps, kill all the inhabitants in a brutal manner, presumably take their supplies, then move on. I guess it makes sense if we find out that the Wolves have their own camp and therefore have no need of the ones they conquer.

And why the fuck do they mark themselves with W's? I thought that was just a mark they used to brand their victims.

Lastly, I think it's extremely unlikely that the Wolves we saw were exiles from Alexandria. When they found the pictures of Alexandria, it seems as though they were only becoming aware of the camp's existence for the first time. I very much doubt Alexandria would have been left alone for so long if the Wolves were already aware of the place.

One more thing actually, I thought the actor who played the main Wolf was pretty damn good. He really sold me on the whole unhinged, psycho who's had to do a lot of fucked of things vibe. I found the conversation between him and Morgan by the bonfire fascinating.

[JamesD2020]

I wasn't displeased with the finale as much as some others on here were. I found it having the action/suspense/horror aspects that I like and then some heart gripping sequences that you just hope doesn't bode ill. Like someone mentioned before having DVR is a must because those commercial breaks arggg!

But back to the wolve's and their trap. If I remember right that was 3 trailers being used as walkers storage bins. I have a feeling the third chick will come into play along with the other two 'wolves guys' and maybe they will eventually use this as a ram the gate style break in to exact revenge on the Alexandrians with a buttload of zombies in tow. Not sure how strong the Alexandria gate is but judging they just need to ram through with bigrigs and deploy those captured zombies while bringing in their weaponry is the only possible way I see this community being destroyed.

Morgan seeing Rick execute a man without seeing the backstory sure leaves it up in the air but I don't think this will detract him from his goal of catching up with his ol buddy. I think if not Morgan will help the community a lot with his own knowledge. If anyone butts heads it will be Morgan and the priest lol.

Anyway im excited for the Summer show and hope we can get more glimpses on the root causes of this plague.

[The Mance]

The food plant was 50 miles from the town, and set up with a pretty sophisticated trap/re-trap mechanism. Once the wolves know what an easy target the town is (which they will judge from intel that the town is pre-Rick Rolled) they will be there with music blazing and zombies dancing.

Well, Aaron told Daryl that he drove the exiles far from Alexandria, so their base at the food depot 50 miles away fits that. We know that the exile happened a while ago, as Aaron says it was 'early on', so whoever they were they've had plenty of time to set up traps etc. And we also know that the wolves have been at least within a short walk of Alexandria, assuming the woman tied to the tree is/was the third exile. With all of that, the timing fits, the locations fit, the numbers and genders fit, and the dispositions fit, as whoever the exiles were, they were unsavory enough to be exiled from Alexandria. Even knowing the high concentration of assholes in the WD world, it would really be oddly sloppy of the writers to put two separate but similar groups into the narrative like that.

[Dr. Pepper]

Well, Aaron told Daryl that he drove the exiles far from Alexandria, so their base at the food depot 50 miles away fits that. We know that the exile happened a while ago, as Aaron says it was 'early on', so whoever they were they've had plenty of time to set up traps etc. And we also know that the wolves have been at least within a short walk of Alexandria, assuming the woman tied to the tree is/was the third exile. With all of that, the timing fits, the locations fit, the numbers and genders fit, and the dispositions fit, as whoever the exiles were, they were unsavory enough to be exiled from Alexandria. Even knowing the high concentration of assholes in the WD world, it would really be oddly sloppy of the writers to put two separate but similar groups into the narrative like that.

The woman couldn't have been the third exile or else Aaron would have recognized her.

The rest of the stuff fits. Though I didn't see the guy examining the Alexandria photos at the end so I might change my mind if I rewatch.

[The Mance]

The woman couldn't have been the third exile or else Aaron would have recognized her.

Hmmm. I'd have to rewatch to see how recognizable her face was, but I don't think that because he didn't voice his recognition it proves he didn't recognize her.

Though I didn't see the guy examining the Alexandria photos at the end so I might change my mind if I rewatch.

Hmmm, again.

[First of My Name]

I'll admit that I was expecting something more explosive, with more deaths. I thought Glenn would pull the trigger on Nicholas and Sasha would pull the trigger on Gabriel, but both resolutions were actually pretty... hopeful. Nicholas dserved to die. but I like that Glenn made this call. There were no major deaths but the plotlines came together nicely.

I never expected Deanna to convert to Rick's way after last episode. Rick takes Alexandria with his mouth instead of his gun (hence the episode title, I think). I don't think this is a bad call, because the setting of Alexandria has too much potential to do away.

The ending is actually kind of similar to the S3 finale: Rick in control of another group, holed up in a safe place.

And thank God there wasn't a big cliffhanger. Overall, I think S5 is one of the best yet.

One thing that annoys me though, is that they promised a 90-minute finale. This was 60 minutes, it wasn't much longer than a regular episode.

I think I would've enjoyed the finale more if not for the hype. I spent the whole time expecting a main character to die, so much so that I didn't appreciate how well the various plot and sub-plot threads across 12(?) recurring characters were brought to close and/or a place of rest before season 6 starts up.

But it was a satisfying finale. It's nice not to be left with a cliff hanger for a change.

Same with me.

[Relic]

The amount of shit that didn't make sense in this episode was at an all time high for tWD. Terribly sloppy silly writing, starting with Ass kickin with a staff Morgan to everything that happened to Glenn and continuing right up to the eyerolling throat slash. I'd love to be a television writer. It's a zero accountability job.

Writer 1 - "Ok, so Glenn is on the ground struggling with the walker on top of him, and we cut to a camera angle that shows two more walkers climbing on board for the gang bang!"

Writer 2 - "Sweet, that's totally bad ass. The viewers are going to shit themselves!"

Writer 1 " Fuck yeah bro!"

Writer 3 - "So how does Glenn get out of this without a scratch or a bite?"

Writer 1 - "Good point. No clue? How about a bear comes along and saves him? Then he rides the bear back to Alexandria or something."

Writer 3 - "A bear? Hmm...that might work!"

Writer 2 - " Fuck it, that scene is just too cool, just cut away from the three zombies and then show Glenn doing something else in the next scene. Everyone will be like wow Glenn is so cool, how did he do that? Glenn equals Batman!"

Writer 1 - "High five guys! We're totally awesome at writing!"

[Fat Mac]

Well Glenn did kill a walker while tied to a chair in S3. Honestly, I don't think him surviving the zombie dogpile was a big deal, though they probably could have written a better way for whats-his-name to get away from Glenn in the first place.