Our favorite moments from The Walking Dead season 5

Daryl Brings Noah To The Group

Season 5 Episode 3 “Four Walls And A Roof” and Episode 10 “Them”

Tim says:

Season 5 is chock full of interesting moments, including three major character deaths. There’s the conclusion of the Terminus storyline, the events in the Atlanta hospital, and the trek to Washington, D.C.

What gets me, though, are two small moments. There’s some brutal stuff to take in during the season – the aforementioned deaths, Eugene’s reveal that he lied, the attack on the cannibals at the church, Gabriel’s admission of what he did to his congregation – but these two moments represent hope.

One comes at the very end of “Four Walls and a Roof”, the season’s third episode. Daryl returns from his mission to rescue Beth, startling Michonne and Gabriel, who are outside talking while Gabriel tries to process the violence he saw in his church as Rick’s group terminated the remaining Terminus residents. Daryl appears alone at first, but then whispers to someone to come on out. We suspect it’s either Carol, who went with him to find Beth, or Beth, or both.

We find out later, both at the end of “Consumed” and the start of “Crossed” that Daryl has actually brought Noah back with him. I love this moment in part because it’s such a tease – we have to wait for almost three full episodes before we know Daryl brought back – but also because it introduces a new, young survivor to our group. I remember watching the episode in real-time and even though I didn’t know exactly who Daryl brought back, I knew it would be an ally, if not Carol or Beth. It was a great bit of storytelling, and the right kind of cliffhanger.

That applies to “Them,” as well. The 10th episode of Season Five is probably mostly known for the major thunderstorm the group survives, and for Rick using the phrase “the walking dead” for the first (and to my knowledge, only time) in the series. But it’s the very end, when Sasha and Maggie are bonding, that Aaron appears.

Comic-book readers already knew what his appearance would lead to, and even those of us who don’t read the comics may have known about Alexandria. That meant Aaron’s appearance signified hope for many viewers – hope they’d reach Alexandria, hope for a better future, hope for new allies.

That’s why I love both these moments. They represented the arrival of new allies while also signifying shifts in the story (including shifts in the geography). Season 5 contained a lot of change – the fall of Terminus, the church, Atlanta, Richmond, and finally, Alexandria – and these two minor moments set up two of those major changes.

I usually get excited when The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead add new characters, particularly when it’s clear from the beginning they’re allies. But some additions are more monumental than others. Aaron quickly became a core character that remains so, and while Noah’s time on the show was shorter, it was still important.

Season Five accomplished a lot, and adding these two characters (both in clever ways) is a big part of that.