The opening episode of Season 6, titled "First Time Again" begins a short time after the madness that we ended on in Season 5. If you haven't seen Season 5, there will be spoilers up through the finale but not for Sunday's episode in the following post.
In the last episode, "Conquer," an escalation of violence led to a horrible, and totally avoidable tragedy. Three separate conflicts took place at once.
Glenn and the cowardly Alexandrian Nicholas fought in the woods, with Glenn showing his opponent mercy even after he tried to kill him.
Sasha and Gabriel also fought, with Sasha also showing mercy in the end, and the two of them, accompanied by Maggie, sat around praying after.
Of the three conflicts, only the final one ended in something other than Mercy. When alcoholic, abusive doctor Pete accidentally kills Reg with Michonne's sword, community matriarch Deanna tells Rick to kill him. And Rick does, just as Morgan walks onto the scene. It's a moment of pure vengeance and jealousy, Rick flexing his power and his blind self-righteousness. No mercy.
(On a side note, Morgan also shows mercy to the Wolves who try to kill him. That's three for mercy and one for vengeance.)
So that's where we left off last season, and this season we get to see where the chips have fallen, and what sort of shape the Alexandrians are in now that there's, ahem, a new sheriff in town.
While some of the problems with The Walking Dead certainly persist into the premiere---including the perennial question: "Why are they doing this???"---overall viewers are in for a treat. That doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses as the sixth season gets underway, but it's a strong opener.
Read Also: 5 Big Problems With 'Fear The Walking Dead'
Rick Vs. Morgan At The End Of The World
What we see shaping up for the sixth season is a real examination of what it means to survive this zombie-infested world, and what it does to us as human beings. Rick is still the central figure here, and he's still every bit as domineering and controlling and sure of himself as ever.
He's become reckless, starting largely after the tragedy at the prison, and that hasn't changed. What has changed is we now have Morgan pointing toward a third way. And Morgan is a survivor. He's quite possibly the most talented survivor of them all, and yet he truly values human life to the point of letting the Wolves go last season.
The question isn't really whether the naive Alexandrians had the right approach versus Rick's group, but whether Morgan's third way is not only more just, but a viable option for survival.
On instinct, perhaps, I side with Morgan. All life is precious and even in times of extreme crisis, we should never be so cavalier about who lives and who dies. That way lies darkness, and Rick seems to be taking Emperor Palpatine's advice a little too close to heart: Feel your anger...
On the other hand, we know the Wolves are coming and we know that they are Very Bad People.
Was Morgan's mercy a mistake? Will it have its own consequences down the road? If he had killed his attackers, would that have saved the lives of others? It's possible. But even still, does it make that action right? What is justice in a zombie apocalypse? What is leadership? Where do you draw the line between doing what must be done and doing what ought to be done?
These aren't easy questions, and I hope that the sixth season does a good job exploring them. Mercy, trust, survival, justice---what it means to be a thoughtful, moral creature, even at the end of the world. Rick and Morgan represent opposite sides of the same coin, and I'm still not sure who to root for. My heart says one thing, and my head says another.
Time To Move On Again
I'm thrilled that Morgan appears to be taking on a real major part in Season 6. Lennie James is a terrific actor. But the show still seems to drag, even in a tense, exciting episode like this.
I hope also that the sixth season takes us to some new territory. I'm tired of the green forests and endless side-roads of the South. Alexandria and its surrounding forests looks too much like Woodbury. We need the desert or a frozen mountain. We need some surly, rugged Brit to tell us "Winter is coming." Anything to change the backdrop a little.
Because for all the ways I'm excited about season 6, I'm also a little worried that we've seen this all play out before---many times before. This struggle, these questions, perhaps never fully resolved but still laid out for us. Whereas a show like Breaking Bad explores an arc of pride and ruin, The Walking Dead seems content to tread water. One villain is replaced with another. The show goes on, but it never goes anywhere. Not really.
New characters could help liven things up, though my gut tells me many of the new additions aren't long for this world. They rarely are in The Walking Dead. Hopefully we have time to get to know and like some new characters at least, before they're zombified.
Either way, the Season 6 premiere---a 90 minute affair including plenty of commercial breaks---is a strong start that leaves you on the edge of your seat even as the credits roll.
Look for my spoiler-filled review/recap/discussion right after the episode airs. I look forward to talking with you all about the episode and the future of The Walking Dead. I'm curious to see what everyone thinks of this, especially in comparison to last season's "Carol becomes Rambo" season premiere.
The Walking Dead airs at 9PM EST on AMC.
