The Walking Dead (Season Five: Part 2)

Rick Grimes and his band of not so merry men and women continue to fight for survival in a post zombie apocalyptic world. Things recently took a turn for the worse, and it doesn’t look like they’re getting better any time soon as season five of The Walking Dead returns.

Why we’re looking forward to this: Stop! Spoilers ahead! If you’re not up to date as at the mid-season five finale then look away now.

Still here? Great! The first half of The Walking Dead’s fifth season was a strong as it’s ever been, with choice morsels from the comic book (pun fully intended) as well as some great character development for Tyreese, Abraham, Beth and Carol. We’re seeing a different, more brutal side to Rick as well, which may end up alienating some of his clan, but there’s a part of us which wants to see just how far he can be pushed before he completely breaks.

The immediate issue, of course, is how the group will deal with Beth’s death. The rumour mill is in full grind mode with regards to there being some ‘catastrophic’ consequences that stem from Rick’s attempt to honour her death, which if true could make for some pretty intense viewing over the coming eight weeks, and one thing we are certain of is that we wouldn’t like to be in Rick’s shoes if he ticks off Daryl.

So what’s on our wish list, then? Well, number one with a bullet, or to be more accurate, with a barbed wire covered baseball bat is that we want to see Negan introduced into the mix. The psychopathic, foul mouthed big bad who has stomped all over the comics for the last eighteen months is definitely on the way, but whether he shows up before season six or not remains to be seen.

Somebody who is already on the scene, though, is Morgan and we’re hoping to see a big reunion between him and Rick. Again, this is not a cert, and there’s speculation that he’s being introduced to meet up with one of the characters from the new spin off show and won’t meet the regular cast again at all, but this is the joy of watching The Walking Dead, the not knowing just where the show might go from one season, and indeed week, to the next.

One thing we can be certain of, though, is that with the writing continuing to shine, and the cast nothing less than stellar, the second half of season five should prove to be just as gripping as the first.

The Walking Dead shuffles back onto US screens on Sunday 8 February, and UK screens the following evening.

RICHARD COSGROVE