“Re-Entry”
re-en-try: noun
1. the action or process of re-entering something
2. (law) the action of retaking or repossession.
3. (atmospheric) the movement of an object into and through the gases of a planet’s atmosphere from outer space, which exposes the object to the opposing and potentially combustible forces of gravity, atmospheric drag, and aerodynamic heating. These forces can cause objects with lower compressive strength to explode…
_____________________________________________________________________
Well gang, it was quite the epic summer, full of beach trips, little league games, summer camp, and many lazy, blissful hours spent floating in the pool, beverage in hand, getting hosed down by trigger-happy kids and their super soakers. Ahhh, memories.
But now, Labor Day weekend has come and gone, the kiddies are back in school, and it’s time for me to get back to work. The Walking Dead’s Season 5 is coming, people, less than a month away, and if the recent interviews with Andrew Lincoln, Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, and the rest of The Walking Dead cast and crew are any indication, Season 5 is going to be balls-to-the-wall, more gory, brutal, and savage than any season thus far.
When we last left Rick and the gang, in The Walking Dead’s Season 4 finale episode, “A,” many had found their way to Terminus, only to be stripped of their weapons, riot gear, and choice items of clothing and accessories, forced at gunpoint into a train car (where they reunited with some old, and new, friends), and were left to marinate in their own sweat, blood, and tears before, ostensibly, being harvested into Sunday barbecue by Gareth, Mary, and their creepy comrades at the Sanctuary Cannibal Co-op.
Um, Rick-In-Charge don’t think so, Terminans. Neither does Rick Smash!
After dropping the Season 4 finale bomb on us, Kirkman, Gimple, and the WD cast and crew took a well-deserved break, bid us farewell for the summer, and left us WD fans to catch our collective breaths, scratch our heads, look at each other, and ask, online and in the IRL, “What the hell just happened? Were those Sanctuary people…cannibals?”
In various interviews throughout the summer, Scott M. Gimple deftly evaded the cannibalism question whenever asked…which was often. On The Talking Dead summer preview special (which aired after the July 4th “Dead, White, and Blue” Walking Dead marathon on AMC),Chris Hardwick finally turned to Gimple and asked, in mock exasperation, “So, Scott M. Gimple, what is the deal with Terminus? Are they cannibals, or what?”
In response, Gimple smiled his enigmatic, Mona Lisa smile and make some clever, diverting comment, but he wasn’t giving anything away. It was clear that Gimple was holding onto that juicy tidbit tighter than a virginal coed putting her boyfriend through the paces of the “10 Date Rule.”
In response to Gimple’s non-response, Chris Hardwick and Aisha Tyler gleefully got their young and irreverent revenge on Scott M. Gimple by pouncing over to him and pawing playfully at him, petting and rubbing his head, as if trying to absorb the secrets locked inside by osmosis, goading, “C’mon, tell us! Tell us!”
Gimple’s initial horror as he realizes what is about to happen….the fear is real.
“Tell us! Tell us!” (Gimple’s silent prayer, “This is not happening, this is not happening…”)
As the cute young people playfully paw at him and rub his head, Gimple tries one last vain attempt at escape…curling up into a human ball and imploding unto himself like a collapsing star.
Three weeks after the hilarious TD Gimple Incident, the WD cast and crew held court at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con like the rock stars they are, and unveiled the official trailer for The Walking Dead, Season 5.
Check it out…you have probably watched it already, of course, any number of times by now, scanning it again and again for any new clues about the season to come, as I have, and will again.
Now, before we deconstruct The Walking Dead’s Season 5 trailer, I would like to take a moment wish a very Happy Birthday to our main man, Andrew Lincoln, who turns 41 today, September 14, 2014. Much love, much love, Andrew Lincoln!
May I speak for all of us on Team Rick when I say: Thank you, Andrew Lincoln, for being born, and for bringing us Rick Grimes, Rick-In-Charge, and Rick Smash! And thank you for bringing us that cute guy in Love, Actually, who told the Keira Knightley character he loved her with the series of cue cards, out in the cold…that guy was totes adorbs.
In honor of Andrew Lincoln’s/Rick Grimes’ birthday, I am bringing you a little Metallica-dance-party blog-break…so, get on up and shake one out for our man, Andrew Lincoln, to Metallica’s Seek and Destroy:
(And, just because Andrew Lincoln’s birthday is the gift that keeps on giving, we at barnfullawalkers bring you this tasty treat…Entertainment Weekly’s spread, “27 Times Andrew Lincoln Looked Hot During the Zombie Apocalypse”):
Well, that was fun! Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the Season 5 trailer.
First off, watching the trailer, I would say that the cannibalism theory is all but confirmed at this point. The Season 5 trailer opens with the now-iconic shot of Rick, as he turns from peering out the train car door he has cracked open, letting the light from the outside world pour into the darkened train car, and onto his people, and utters the famous “made for primetime TV line” from The Walking Dead comic series: “They’re gonna realize they’re (fucking) screwing with the wrong people.”
If Rick-In-Charge says it is so…then it is so.
But, Daryl doesn’t look so sure…
Especially when Abraham yells, “Move!” and someone tosses in a canister of…tear gas? sleepy gas? into the train car. Enter…the Dicks With Gas Masks, come to gather up the human harvest…
As the trailer continues, we hear Gareth’s voice in a soft, whispery voice-over, “I just hope you understand…we didn’t want to hurt you…nothing was personal.”
Oh, I’m sure it never is, Gareth…nothing personal, we don’t want to hurt you, we just want to eat you.
What an a-hole. Trying to sound all reasonable and shit. Gareth looks like a vegan emo-punk scenester, but is probably the king of the cannibals. That guy can eat a bag of dicks…wait…he probably already has!
Ewwwwww!
During Gareth’s creepy voice over, we see scenes of Rick and the gang trying their desperate escape out of Terminus, their paths getting blocked again and again by snipers’ bullets as they are corralled, trapped. We see a (scary) shot of Rick’s head, slamming into the concrete, then he looks up, dazed, to see the back of a man, who seems to be sawing apart a human body, laid out lifeless on a chopping block table.
Blurry, dazed shot before Rick blacks out of what looks like a man, clad in butchering apron, goggles, and chainsaw, going to town on some poor doomed somebody, as the piercing shriek of the chainsaw escalates into a deafening cacophony.
Next shot is of Glenn, Daryl, Rick, and Bob on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. It seems they have been forced to kneel in front of what looks like perhaps a combination of chopping blocks/sinks, or collecting tubs, presumably to catch the blood that will spill when the goons behind them beat their heads in with bats, and slaughter them. They are all gagged, except Bob.
Gareth is standing before them, on the other side of the blocks/tubs, with a pen and a journal-looking notebook…collecting memorable last words, perhaps, for the Sanctuary Cannibal Co-op creepy comrades to read aloud and laugh at while stuffing their faces with peeps burgers, later, at dinner?
I call them the “Creepy Comrades,” while Chris Hardwick and Aisha Tyler call them the “Terminans.” Andrew Lincoln, and many of the cast and crew at WD refer to the Sanctuary citizens as the “Termites.” Whatever you call them, it is clear that these Sanctuarians have a lot of explaining to do.
Bob seems to have the wits and resourcefulness to use his last words to throw a quick, desperate Hail Mary pass out there, telling Gareth, “You don’t have to do this…we can turn the world back to how it was!” Bob’s eyes are huge, and earnest, as he explains to Gareth that they have a man in their group that holds the cure to the zombie outbreak. “We just have to get him to Washington…you just have to take that chance!”
I have grown to love Bob Stookey, despite having a major “stranger danger!” initial vibe about him. Big ups to our man, Bob, as he uses his quick wits to adapt to the situation at hand, saving the day, once again…or at least buying the gang some extra time, and us WD fans a couple more seasons of our fave show. Thanks, man! (Sorry I was such a B before.)
The next shot shows Gareth, who has bent down to be face to face with Rick Grimes. Gareth has a sick little smile on his face as he stares into Rick’s eyes, challenging him…it feels to me that he is really getting off on having a true adversary, one who equals (surpasses) him in intellect, cunning, and leadership mojo: Rick Grimes.
Rick, whose mouth is not gagged, returns Gareth’s stare in a silent look of unbridled hatred and defiance.
It’s a powerful moment, the silent standoff between Gareth, and Rick, who is so freaking hot in his defiance.
In the next series of scenes, we hear Gareth’s voice, again, telling what I assume is the group, “You don’t have a choice…none of you…You join us, and (we?) go to Washington and cure this thing.”
I put the word “we” with a question mark, because while I played the trailer over and over again, I couldn’t be sure if Gareth said “we go to Washington” or “you go to Washington.” Too many years of going to out to hear live music, and blasting tunes directly into my ear canal via ear buds, has probably ruined my hearing by this point.
It really sounded like “we,” and that makes me wonder if Gareth is as sick of Sanctuary as we all are by now, and if he’d rather take a chance outside the safety of its walls and go on a suicide mission to D.C. just to get the hell out of there…especially if Mary is his mom.
In the following group of scenes, we see a shot of Rick holding…Baby Judith! It appears that Carol, Tyrese and Judith found their way into the Sanctuary Cannibal Co-op by this point….wonder how that first scene between Rick, Carol, and Tyrese is going to play out…
Baby Judith is surely going to be held behind at Sanctuary as a hostage while our gang goes to Washington.
In another scene, we see a shot of the gang, reunited, in the woods, Glenn’s voice saying, “We get to start over…all of us. We’re not splitting up again.”
We hear Sasha’s (?) voice: “We don’t know what’s coming next.” Then, a shot of Abraham, glass in hand, as if giving a toast, or a sermon, or a Braveheart-style rallying speech.. He seems to be addressing our gang, who are seated in what looks like a chapel area, in pews. The room is lit with the kind of tall vigil candles we saw in the rooms at the Sanctuary when the gang was trying to escape, the rooms with slogans like, “We first, Always” scrawled on the walls.
Abraham’s voice resonates with the feeling, the conviction, and the fervor of one who truly believes what he is preaching, even if it’s just in the moment, while the others in the group sit silently, listening to his words.
“When we get to Washington, we will make the dead die, and the living will have this world again.”
It seems they have wine in Terminus, which is a good thing…the Terminans would need a whole bunch of wine to wash down the taste, and the bad karma, of eating human flesh, if they are indeed cannibals…and I am 99.9% sure that they are.
So, by this point in the trailer, it seems reasonable to surmise that our gang narrowly escapes becoming another Sanctuary Cannibal Co-op human harvest by cutting a deal with Gareth and the Terminans…it seems our gang must “join” the ranks of the Creepy Comrades and head north to Washington D.C., to deliver Eugene to our nation’s capitol, and try to get a cure going for this walker epidemic thing that’s been happening all over the world for the last year and a half.
Watching the trailer, it looks like it was a super-close call for our gang, as we see one shot of a Terminal Thug wielding what is either a bat or sword, winding back, getting ready to bash or slice into Glenn’s head/neck. Glenn, who is kneeling, and gagged, squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his gag with his teeth, anticipating the blow:
This image sent rumors flying around social media that Glenn was going to die in the Season 5 premiere, but I am happy to say that it appears that Glenn will be with us, and Maggie, for a while longer…yay!
So, it seems that Mr. Grimes (and the gang) is going to Washington. It is 638.1 miles from Atlanta to Washington D.C. If our gang were to follow along the highways (which seems a logical and fairly direct choice) they would need to go through, or near, some major cities and populated areas, including the cities of Atlanta, Greensboro, and Richmond, before getting to Washington D.C.
In Entertainment Weekly’s recent feature on The Walking Dead’s upcoming Season 5, WD executive producer Gale Ann Hurd confirms that our gang is embarking on an extremely dangerous journey, “You’re never going to find the cure to the zombie apocalypse in the sticks. Now they have to re-enter The City of the Dead (a.k.a. Atlanta), and there are many cities of the dead that they’ll have to encounter to complete their mission.”
It is a tall order, even for our beloved gang of seasoned warriors. The next scenes in the trailer show many flashes and moments of walker hordes, walker kills, and explosions, both ballistic and emotional. In one scene, Rick is talking to Carl, telling him, “I don’t trust this guy…no matter what anyone says, no matter what you think, you are not safe.“
In another voice over, we hear Gareth’s voice, saying, “You don’t trust us any more.” and then Rick’s soft threat, as he grinds out, “These people are my family, and if you hurt them in any way, I will kill you.”
There are also many suggestions that certain members of the group may come into some danger, most probably from Gareth and the Terminans…one scene shows Sasha yelling, at someone, “Where are our people?”
There is a chance, however, that the danger to our people could come from a new character coming, Father Gabriel, who is a character taken from the comic series. I am not familiar with the Father Gabriel character of the comic series, as I did not read that far into it.
I also have avoided researching Father Gabriel, as I want the television storyline surrounding him to be unspoiled, but Father Gabriel seems like he’s done some things, things that are probably pretty bad. Anyone alive still at this point in the walker apocalypse has had to see, and do, some horrific things to survive this long.
Apparently, Father Gabriel’s church, pictured here, was created exactly from the church in the comic series..
It looks like Father Gabriel has def seen, and done, some dark things to survive. ..the dude looks pretty tortured.
Both Robert Kirkman and Scott M. Gimple have confirmed that the WD story lines for Season 5 will be following the comic series more closely, and we can expect to see more iconic characters from the comic series to come.
There is also potential, it seems, for discord and division within the core group of Rick and the gang. What is the dynamic going to be between Rick and Carol, at last reunited after Rick singlehandedly banished Carol from the prison community back in Season 4?
How is Maggie going to react if/when she finds out that Tara was part of the Gov’s Makeshift Army 2.0 and was playing for the bad-guy team when the Gov beheaded Hershel? And how are Rick and Abraham, who are both used to being in the leadership role and calling the shots, going to be able to get along and find a way to work together in this epic and perilous journey to Washington D.C.?
And, a couple of core questions burning a hole in my heart: Does Eugene’s mulletted head truly possess the cure for the walker epidemic? Is this guy for real, or is he faking?
What do you think?
What is going on under that epic mullet of yours, Eugene?
Another burning question in my heart: Are we going to get to see some of our favorite characters get busy in Season 5, or what?
Robert Kirkman confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that, “There are certainly more couples.” While we know the obvious pairings of Glenn and Maggie, Bob and Sasha, Abraham and Rosita, we fans are wondering if our favorite hot dudes, Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes, are going to get another chance at love in the zombie apocalypse…
Rick…he’s a tough one. Still wearing his wedding ring, super focused on keeping his people safe and getting the job done…doesn’t leave much room for romance. But he’s so freaking hot, and it’s been, like, forever since our man’s gotten some. I have always wondered if maybe something was in the works with Rick and Michonne…that would be…so hot.
And now, to Bachelor Number Two…Daryl Dixon.
Daryl and Carol 2.0? While I love the thought of Carol getting a second chance with Daryl, can things really go back to the way they were? Carol’s kill-happy shenanigans at the prison, and Daryl’s brief foray into young love with Beth, may put the Daryl/Carol pairing into the “let’s just be friends” file. But we shall see, won’t we?
And speaking of Beth…
I thought it was quite the masterful presentation for the Season 5 trailer to seemingly end, and go to black screen, after a particularly gripping (and hot) scene showing Rick singlehandedly mowing down about five living, enemy dudes armed with assault rifles, then turning to face…someone, or something, with a grim, unremorseful, totally smoking hot look before lowering his gun…
I texted my WD buddy, while watching the trailer in the writing process: Rick just singlehandedly mowed down like 5 live, weapons-baring enemy peeps on a bridge.
(Sigh…) ❤
My WD buddy texted back: Such a man, that one.
…then, the screen goes black, the Bear McCreary music hums darkly, and then, we see…
Beth’s new digs…what is this place? Prison? Mental ward? Looks shitty…
…especially when we see some sadisic-looking lady cop telling Beth that her personal needs are not jiving with this institution’s mission, to serve the “greater good.” Uh, oh, that’s never good news.
We see poor Beth, dressed in prison-looking fatigues, peering down a steep elevator shaft, looking for a way out of what looks like Hell.
Beth freaked, trying to offer some comfort to a poor woman who looks like her bitten arm is about to be amputated with cape wire…
Beth seems to be connecting with her own inner warrior in this hellhole…
Damn…another walker prison riot?
Whatever Beth is doing to survive in this hellish place, it seems that she has earned the unlucky top slot on the sadistic lady cop’s hate list, earning poor Beth a savage blow upside the head with the lady guard’s baton…
Run, Beth, run!
Kirkman adds to the Beth Mystery, telling Entertainment Weekly that while the Beth storyline may take some time to unfold, “It’s going to have some far-reaching ramifications for all the characters.”
Yikes!
While the answers to all these questions will surely unfold with the debut, and progression, of The Walking Dead’s Season 5, I think I can safely say that Season 5 is going to reward us WD fans with lots of hot flexing, epic berzerker-style zombie-killing mayhem, unparalleled effects and super-gruesome walker characters, like this guy:
Ummm, Nicotero? You’ve got some explaining to do here, buddy.
Scott M. Gimple says this of the Season 5 premiere:
“(The premiere) is epic, intimate, emotional, insane, bloody, and, hopefully, surprising.”
October 12th, people…it’s just around the corner. I advise that you stock up on your choice beverages, and get yourself some Bach’s Rescue Remedy and a Daryl Partner, if you don’t already have one. (See my Season 4 mid-season prepost, “What Happens After?” for more on Daryl Partners and other WD coping mechanisms.)
Note: (All images used in this post are screen caps from AMC’s The Walking Dead, unless otherwise specified.)
__________________________________________________________
On a final note, I do need to apologize for not keeping my promise to post over the summer about The Walking Dead webisodes. I love the webisodes and look forward one day to writing about them, as well as past seasons of The Walking Dead television series. Those of you who read my blog know that my writing style seems to involve deconstructing scenes, dialogue, etc, ad nauseum, imbedding lots of DIY-style photographs, captions, music into each post.
The result is some serious word-count, tweaker-style recap madness…and if you are still reading after all this, then I guess you like it, and that’s good, because that’s just how I do, people. It takes me an average of 8 hours to complete a post, with the watching, rewatching, picture-taking, writing, rewriting…and I’m ok with that. Just know that the post on that Sunday’s episode may not be up until Tuesday/Wednesday night…or maybe even not til Friday.
And know that when the post does come, it will be another act of love, filled with juicy bits, for our favorite show…and once it’s up, it’s on the internet forever and ever!
So, this summer, I did choose to set the blog aside and to savor the sweetness of being in the real world, sharing adventures and fun times with family and friends. My kids are at such fun ages, and they are growing up so fast, that I wanted to fully immerse myself in the good times while they were happening. The result was one of the best summers of my life. I have no regrets.
I am happy to say that my readership has grown over the summer, with barnfullawalkers getting views from all over the world. I seem to be developing an awesome Brazilian fan base, which makes me super happy, as I love all people, and things, Brazilian.
I asked my Brazilian friend if she could teach me how to say hello, and welcome, to my new Brazilian friends, and she taught me this phrase:
“ALO ALO para todos os Brasileiros!!”
(Which means, I think, “Hello to all Brazilians!”)
My final gift to you, dear readers, before we part ways, for now…epic covers from EW’s amazing WD feature. And because those haters in Hollywood snubbed The Walking Dead television series for the 2014 Emmy Awards, and because at barnfullawalkers we do not let such insults go unchallenged, we will award a “Deadie” at the end of each Season 5 post, for some outstanding acting feat, walker-kill, special effects, or just epic awesomeness.
Until October 12th, my WD darlings…enjoy the playlist.
Playlist:
Gang Starr, “Mass Appeal” (Dedicated to the pop culture phenom that is WD)
Fidlar, “Blackout Stout” (For the poor peeps who came expecting a true Sanctuary, and instead woke up in a dark, locked train car…)
Phantogram, “Blackout Days” (…and for the poor peeps that met their final end on Mary’s grill)
The Lions Rampant, “Shot Gun Shells” (Rick Grimes don’t beg, Gareth!)
Ramones, “Blitzkrieg Bop” (For Rick Grimes and the Train Car Superstars and the other prison peeps…may the powers of Dee Dee, Johnny, Joey, and Tommy be with you all)
Beastie Boys, “Rhymin & Stealin” (Dedicated to MCA, who would have turned 50 over this past summer…B Boys forever! And, p.s., I too am most ill when I’m rhymin’ & stealin’. <3)
Radkey, “Start Freaking Out” (Season 5’s coming, people…start freaking out!)
barnfullawalkers 