Season 5 (TV Series)

Season 5 of AMC's The Walking Dead consists of sixteen episodes; it premiered on October 12, 2014, and concluded on March 29, 2015. It was confirmed on October 29, 2013, that AMC had renewed The Walking Dead for Season 5. Scott Gimple, showrunner of Season 4, continued to serve as executive producer for this season.

This season adapts material from issues #61-77 of the Comic Series.

"No Sanctuary"
After being captured and corralled, Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob are brought to a human slaughterhouse. Terminus residents begin bludgeoning and slitting the throats of other captives, one of whom is Sam.

While Rick is attempting to stall their spokesman Gareth, an explosion occurs outside. Carol has set off a rocket, and she helps the group break out. She had learned about Terminus' secret from a captured member who Tyreese is currently holding captive.

As Rick, Daryl, and Glenn escape they kill many of the cannibals, destroy the compound, and rescue the rest of the group. Despite Rick's desire for revenge, the other survivors persuade him to just leave the enemy to their fate.

Carol reunites with the group, and she leads them to Tyreese and Judith. Rick and Carl are delighted to see that the baby girl has survived. As the group moves on, Rick fixes a Terminus sign to warn potential victims away from the station.

"Strangers"
As the group continues on its journey, it comes across the preacher Gabriel Stokes, who they have to rescue from Walkers. The preacher is cooperative, and takes the group to his church. Still, Rick can't help but wonder if the man is hiding something. Abraham finds a bus that can be used to transport Eugene to Washington D.C. After Gabriel mentions a nearby food bank, Rick plans a supply run. Bob, Sasha, and a reluctant Gabriel go with Rick. Rick's suspicion of Gabriel is heightened when he sees the man cower in a corner after being exposed to seemingly familiar faces.

Carol and Daryl scout the area and come across a car that is similar to the one that took Beth away. The two give chase.

While walking in the woods, Bob is kidnapped by the remaining survivors of Terminus. As the leader Gareth calmly explains their motivations, his group eats Bob's leg.

"Four Walls and a Roof"
Gareth continues to calmly speak to Bob. His group soon faces an unpleasant surprise, however, as Bob reveals that he was bitten during the supply run at the food bank.

Sasha becomes frantic at Bob's disappearance, and is quick to assume that Gabriel had something to do with it. Gabriel confesses that he locked his congregation outside the church, dooming them to walkers. He insists, though, that he doesn't know what has happened to Bob. The group soon finds Bob in his current, doomed state. They decide to hunt down the Terminus survivors. Abraham agrees to help, with the condition that Glenn, Maggie, and Tara go with him when he takes Eugene to Washington D.C.

The group makes the cannibals believe that the church is unguarded. After Gareth's people are trapped, Gareth falls to his knees and begs to be let go. Rick's group slaughters the remaining Terminus residents. Bob is put down and buried. Abraham and his group leave, but not before giving Rick a map and encouraging him to join them when he can. Later that night, Michonne finds Daryl without Carol, and joined by a stranger.

"Slabtown"
Beth finds herself in Atlanta at Grady Memorial Hospital, which is run by Officer Dawn Lerner with the assistance of a team of male guards. The place operates based on a systematic routine in which they treat wounded survivors, who then begin working there to pay off their debt. Beth becomes Dr. Steven Edwards' assistant and meets Noah, an orderly, who quickly becomes her friend. It is from Noah that Beth learns the truth of the hospital: No one is ever actually allowed to leave; all but the guards are treated as permanent slave labor.

While attending to a new arrival, based on Dr. Edwards' orders, Beth administers a drug which kills the patient. Edwards insists to Beth that she misheard the prescription drug that she was to administer. Beth, however, is certain that she gave exactly the drug that was ordered. To save Beth from being blamed, Noah takes responsibility for the death, saying that he had accidentally unplugged the patient's ventilator while he was mopping. Noah is taken away and viciously beaten, much to Beth's horror and guilt.

After a series of confrontations with the police staff, Beth realizes that the guards feel that they are entitled to have their way with any woman they choose. As Dawn makes no effort to protect the women, and seems to be succumbing to her own mental problems, Beth is eventually forced to fight back. She manages to fend off the most relentless of the guards. During the fight the man is killed by a former victim of his, who killed herself and then reanimated without anyone's knowledge. Dawn, unable to face her growing loss of control, blames the entire incident on Beth.

Beth and Noah, seeing the situation deteriorating, decide to escape the hospital. They make it outside and are soon pursued by both walkers and the guards. Beth is able to ensure Noah's escape, even as she is captured and returned to the hospital.

While Beth is being patched up by Dr. Edwards, she confronts him with the knowledge that she knows he deliberately killed the earlier patient. The new arrival had been a doctor, which Edwards discovered. Fearing that having a second doctor on staff would make his presence less necessary, Edwards had tricked Beth into giving the man a fatal overdose. Beth plans to kill Dr. Edwards for his deception. As she approaches him with a scalpel, however, she sees that the cops have brought in a new patient: It is her friend Carol.

"Self Help"
Abraham's past is shown in flashbacks: His family is horrified by his brutality against living and dead enemies. They leave him in the night, only to meet their deaths. A shattered Abraham nearly gives up on life. He is given renewed purpose, however, after he rescues Eugene from Walkers. Eugene tells him that he has a "special mission". Abraham decides that he will make it his one and only goal to accompany Eugene and protect him.

In present day, Abraham and his crew encounter repeated problems during the early stages of their journey. This is partly caused by Eugene. The man eventually confides in Tara that he deliberately sabotaged the school bus that was transporting them, although he didn't intend for it to fail as catastrophically as it eventually did.

The group finds a working fire truck that can replace the bus. Still, they are stopped when they run across a gigantic herd of walkers up ahead. Ignoring all logic and the pleas of his companions, Abraham is ready to continue traveling straight through the herd. At that point, however, Eugene confesses that he has lied; he is not a scientist, and he has no idea of how to cure the walker virus. Everyone is left despondent by this news. Abraham snaps, beating Eugene unconscious, before walking away and breaking down.

"Consumed"
Carol undergoes a crisis of conscience, remembering her difficult decisions and their consequences, as she helps Daryl locate the car that took Beth. They reach Atlanta, where they discover the car and supplies going to Grady Memorial Hospital. They then run across Noah, who initially takes their weapons and supplies. When they find and pursue Noah, he winds up trapped under a book shelf, as a walker approaches to attack him. Carol insists he be rescued, despite Daryl wanting to just leave him. Daryl eventually gives in and helps Noah out of his predicament.

Noah reveals that Beth is at the hospital, and explains the dangerous, difficult situation there. The group prepares to escape the city, hoping to get additional assistance to free Beth. However, Carol is hit by one of the hospital's patrol cars. Noah tells Daryl that they'll have to allow the guards to take her, because at least that way she'll be taken to the hospital where someone can treat her injuries. Daryl reluctantly agrees, and he takes Noah with him as they go to fill Rick in on the situation.

"Crossed"
Rick, Tyreese, Sasha, Noah, and Daryl make it to Atlanta and prepare a plan to capture two officers and exchange them for Beth and Carol. This way, in theory no one has to die. The two cops, Lamson and Shepherd, claim the trade won't work, and want to help take Dawn down. However, Lamson gets an opportunity to escape by using Sasha's grief over Bob.

Eugene is still out cold in the road. Rosita attempts to talk to Abraham. He smacks a water bottle out of her hands and then jumps to his feet and gets in her face. Maggie pulls her gun on him. He recognizes her conviction, and sits back down. After Maggie tells him to get over himself, he eventually comes to his senses.

At the hospital, Dawn is faced with the choice of whether to kill or save Carol. While the official decision is to let Carol die, Dawn secretly has Beth get the medicine needed to save the woman, with Dr. Edwards' help.

"Coda"
As Lamson continues his escape attempt, Rick runs him down with a patrol car. Seeing that Lamson is seriously wounded, and no longer a hostage viable for trading for Beth. Rick kills him. The group discusses their options with the other two hostages (Shepherd, as well as another guard who was captured while trying to free her). Shepherd convinces Rick that a hostage trade will still be possible. As Shepherd explains it, Dawn will try to talk tough, but will secretly want to compromise.

In a standoff, Rick and his group trade the two guards for Beth and a still-recovering Carol. They do both one-for-one swaps successfully, and it appears that the confrontation will be able to end peacefully. Unfortunately, when Dawn demands that Noah be returned to the hospital as well, Beth realizes that the woman is too dangerous to leave in power. Beth stabs the woman, but only manages to wound her. Dawn fires out of sheer reflex, instantly killing Beth. Daryl retaliates immediately, killing Dawn. Shepherd, now the most forceful personality among the guards, orders her colleagues to stand down. She offers to let the group stay at the hospital, but they decline, leaving with Noah.

Earlier in the day, the church the group was using as a safehouse was overrun by Walkers. Gabriel had foolishly attracted their attention while sneaking out to see his old Sunday school. Carl, Judith and Gabriel were rescued by Abraham's group, after which Glenn told Michonne about Eugene's deception. Maggie was then informed that Beth was still alive, and the entire group headed to Atlanta to help Rick with his plans.

Sadly, Maggie and her group arrive just in time to see Rick and his group carrying Beth's corpse out of the hospital. Maggie breaks down in tears.

in a post-credits coda, Morgan arrives at the abandoned church, which is now free of Walkers. As he performs his own unique ritual of worship at the altar, he runs across the map Abraham left for Rick back when they still believed that there was a cure for the Walker plague. On it is written an additional message from Abraham: "Sorry I was an asshole. Come see me in Washington D.C. The world is going to need Rick Grimes." Morgan now realizes that he just missed the group, and in which direction they may now be traveling.

"What Happened and What's Going On"
The group has traveled to Richmond, Virginia, where they hope to find Noah's family alive. Unfortunately, they instead find everyone dead. The neighborhood is in ruins. As Noah and Tyreese search a house, Tyreese gets bitten on the arm and Noah has to go get help. As Tyreese lies on the floor, he hallucinates visions of Beth, Lizzie, Mika, a Terminus resident, Bob, and The Governor. They discuss with Tyreese the positives and negatives of dying, as opposed to continuing to do what he's had to in order to survive. The group arrives and amputates Tyreese's arm, but it is too late. He dies of blood loss. The group buries him, before setting off again.

"Them"
The group continues to search for another place in which to settle down. They are despondent, and dealing with grief, PTSD, hunger, and thirst.

They come across bottles of water on the road, ones that were supposedly left specifically for them. They are suspicious of the offer, though, and refuse to take the water. They soon find a barn to shelter themselves from an approaching storm. As they rest, they are soon awakened by the sound of Walkers trying to break in. Each group member eventually lends a hand to help keep the barn door shut.

The next morning, Maggie and Sasha sit on a downed tree, as they watch a sunrise and converse. Their talk is interrupted by a man named Aaron, who asks to meet the man in charge. He then surprises them by referring specifically to Rick.

"The Distance"
Maggie and Sasha bring Aaron back to the barn. Rick immediately distrusts the man, and refuses to listen to his talk of a community that is safe and thriving. The group, while wary of Aaron, think they should check it out. Glenn, Michonne, and some others decide to find Aaron's car and partner, hoping to prove his story is true, and afraid that Rick will kill him. Despite some evidence supporting Aaron's claims, Rick is still not fully convinced of Aaron's intentions. Then, however, Aaron helps the group map out a route to the community. He also finds his boyfriend Eric, whom the group saved from Walkers. Rick, finally willing to believe Aaron, decides to go with the pair to the community, the name of which Aaron finally reveals: Alexandria. After a difficult journey, during which a horde of Walkers must be dispatched, the group arrives at their destination. As they stand outside the city's heavily reinforced gates, the hope of the group is renewed.

"Remember"
The group are introduced to Alexandria's leader Deanna Monroe one by one. In their "auditions", each shares memories, or sometimes lie to her, concerning life outside the city's walls.

The group is accepted into the community. All work hard to adjust to the Alexandria lifestyle, a daily routine which is far more relaxed than they have become used to. They meet other residents of the community, such as Enid, another survivor who recently became a resident. There is also Deanna's family, as well as many others, such as Jessie Anderson and her family, husband Pete and sons Ron and Sam.

Some of the group get jobs within the community: Carol becomes a cook, Rick and Michonne are town constables, and Glenn and Tara join the supply runners. Glenn is disturbed to see how inadequate and naive the other runners are when it comes to Walkers.

At his new house, Rick tells Carol and Daryl his concerns for the community. They decide that if the people there can't handle the realities of maintaining security, Rick's group will be forced to take over Alexandria.

"Forget"
Sasha has trouble adjusting to the community due to her trauma. She becomes impatient with the overly-relaxed nature of the community members, which becomes apparent at a welcoming party for the group that Deanna organizes.

Rick, Carol and Daryl meet outside the wall, discussing a plan to steal guns from the pantry. They're concerned that the community needs to be protected from its own naivety and inexperience with potential enemies, both Walker and human. While meeting, the group runs across a Walker that has had a "W" carved into its forehead.

Daryl runs across Aaron while hunting outside the wall. The two of them attempt to catch a horse for the community, but after a Walker attack they are forced to put the animal down. Later that evening, Daryl chooses to skip the welcome party, but accepts a dinner invite to Aaron and Eric's home. At the end of the night, Aaron asks Daryl to join him as a recruiter, so Eric can be kept out of danger. When Daryl wonders why he's been chosen, Aaron tells him, "Because you know the difference between a good guy and a bad guy."

Carol begins to bond with Jessie's son, Sam. Unfortunately their friendly dynamic is shattered when Sam catches Carol in the pantry stealing guns for her group, and she threatens to tie him up outside the wall and let "monsters eat him".

"Spend"
Gabriel is suffering an erosion of faith, and in his confused anguish, he warns Deanna that Rick's group cannot be trusted. He insists that they will think of themselves and let her people die, if it suits their purpose. Maggie overhears the conversation.

Noah, Eugene, Tara, and Glenn join Nicholas and Aiden on a supply-run, where they run into trouble from Walkers. Tara is injured, and Eugene, in spite of his previous insistence that he was too cowardly to be of any help, manages to get her to safety. Unfortunately, Aiden is killed because Nicholas panics and runs. Eugene manages to use the supply van to lead the Walkers away from the surrounded Glenn, but not until after Noah has also been killed. Nicholas tries to get Eugene to leave Glenn behind, but Eugene refuses. Glenn, having escaped on his own, then knocks Nicholas to the ground.

Abraham, having joined the construction crew that is building additional protective walls for the community, is angered when he sees how unprepared and fearful the crew foreman is when Walkers close in on his people. Abraham manages to save everyone, then punches the foreman in the face. Later, the foreman convinces Deanna that he should resign his position, and have Abraham take his place.

After a few exchanges with Jessie and Pete, Rick begins to suspect that Pete is abusing Jessie and the boys. Carol sees the same warning signs. Her advice to Rick is that in the end, he will be forced to kill Pete.

"Try"
As the Monroes mourn the loss of their youngest son, Glenn stresses that the community needs to learn how to survive, so the safe haven of Alexandria can work.

Outside the wall, several members of the group face significant developments. Carl follows Enid, who has been sneaking outside for excitement. The girl hears him coming, commenting "You're very loud." The two continue exploring the area, and begin to form a bond. Tara and Michonne locate Sasha, who has been going beyond the wall to kill any Walker she can find. Although she insists that no one can help her with her pain, Sasha eventually breaks down and opens up a bit concerning the pain she has felt since the death of her brother Tyreese. Daryl and Aaron go out on a hunting and recruiting run, and run across another Walker with a "W" carved into its head. This reanimated corpse was tied to a tree, quite possibly while she was still alive.

Rick contemplates whether or not to kill Pete, in order to save Jessie from the man's drunken rages. He tells Deanna about the situation. While she is aware of Pete's nature, she insists that in Alexandria they don't kill people; they just send them away. Rick finds Jessie in her garage, and tells her that he knows about Pete. When Pete arrive home, a fight escalates that leads into the street. After Deanna breaks up the fight, Rick pulls out his gun and makes a speech on how unprepared the community is for the new world. Before he can take action and kill Pete, he is knocked out by Michonne.

"Conquer"
Daryl and Aaron continue on their recruiting run. While tracking a man in a red poncho, they stumble upon a compound that has Walkers in trucks, which they accidentally release. The two seek refuge in a car, and while planning their escape they are assisted by Rick's acquaintance Morgan Jones.

Nicholas, instead of heeding Glenn's warning that he is never to venture outside the gate again, sneaks out and dig up a gun that he had previously hidden. He then lures Glenn into the forest, where he attempts to shoot him. After a lengthy fight, Glenn finally gets the upper hand. He soon realizes, however, that he doesn't have it in him to kill Nicholas. Instead, he leads his battered opponent back to the community.

After Pete and Rick's brawl, Alexandria debates whether or not to exile Rick. His friends plan to vouch for him and hope for the best. As the meeting goes on, Rick encounters a Walker that got past the gate. He brings it to the meeting as evidence of how Alexandria's overly-relaxed way of doing things can get them killed. He offers to teach the population how to defend itself. A drunken Pete shows up with Michonne's Katana. Deanna's husband tries to intervene, but gets his throat slashed and bleeds out. With Abraham holding Pete down, Deanna gives Rick the okay to kill Pete. He immediately does so. Rick then looks up and finds Morgan staring at him in shock.

Cast
Season 5 (TV Series)/Starring|Starring Season 5 (TV Series)/Also Starring|Also Starring Season 5 (TV Series)/Co-Stars|Co-Stars Season 5 (TV Series)/Uncredited|Uncredited

Deaths

 * Sam
 * Mary
 * Crazed Man
 * Mike
 * Albert
 * Gareth
 * Theresa
 * Greg
 * Martin
 * Bob Stookey
 * Noah's Father (Confirmed Fate)
 * Hanson (Confirmed Fate)
 * Gavin Trevitt
 * Joan (Alive and Zombified)
 * Gorman
 * Jeffries
 * Ellen Ford (Flashback)
 * A.J. Ford (Flashback)
 * Becca Ford (Flashback)
 * Warren (Confirmed Fate)
 * Dirk (Confirmed Fate)
 * Stephanie (Confirmed Fate)
 * Josephine (Confirmed Fate)
 * Rex (Confirmed Fate)
 * Pam (Confirmed Fate)
 * Josiah (Confirmed Fate)
 * Roger (Confirmed Fate)
 * Bob Lamson
 * O'Donnell
 * Beth Greene
 * Dawn Lerner
 * Noah's Mother (Confirmed Fate)
 * Noah's Older Brother (Confirmed Fate)
 * Noah's Youngest Brother (Alive, Confirmed Fate; Zombified)
 * Tyreese Williams
 * Duke
 * Buttons
 * Aiden Monroe
 * Noah
 * Red Poncho Man (Alive)
 * Reg Monroe
 * Pete Anderson
 * At least 3 unnamed captives
 * Many unnamed Terminus residents
 * 4 unnamed survivors (Flashback)
 * Many unnamed people from Shirewilt Residence (Confirmed Fate)
 * 3 dogs
 * 1 unnamed man

Production
The series was renewed for a fifth season on October 29, 2013.

The season began filming May 5, 2014. and finished filming November 22, 2014.

In January 2015, it was announced that Ross Marquand had been cast as Aaron. Before getting cast as Aaron, Marquand auditioned for the role of Gareth.

Kirkman made a statement of an open request during his interview with The Hollywood Reporter that himself, and the whole crew of the series want Charlie Sheen to be cast as Negan. He stated: "Charlie call us, we we will totally make that happen. We'll do whatever you want."

Trivia

 * This season is mainly based on "Volume 11: Fear The Hunters", "Volume 12: Life Among Them" and "Volume 13: Too Far Gone" from the Comic Series.
 * This season debuts a new opening sequence, replacing the one used from "Seed" to "A". It features shots from previous episodes:
 * Beth trying to escape Grady Memorial Hospital from "Slabtown".
 * The zombies behind the 'Don't Open, Dead Inside' door from "Days Gone Bye".
 * The Nursing Home from "Vatos".
 * The lone stray zombie from "18 Miles Out".
 * Rick holding his axe in the prison tombs as Glenn approaches with a flashlight in "Say the Word".
 * Morgan's burning walker pile from "Clear".
 * Lizzie and Mika's graves from "The Grove".
 * Glenn's picture of Maggie burning from "Us".
 * The Governor's cargo in Woodbury, walkers banging on the hermit's boarded up shack, and The Governor's interrogation room from "When the Dead Come Knocking".
 * The Terminus candle room with walkers trying to get in from "No Sanctuary".
 * The barn The Governor sees in "Live Bait".
 * Tyreese's point of view of the woods while Rick, Michonne, Glenn, and Noah rush to save his life from "What Happened and What's Going On".
 * Abraham's marked up map from "Four Walls and a Roof".
 * Only 1 named character in Season 5 died and reanimated into a zombie, Joan.
 * Season 5 has the least reanimations to date, with 8 named characters reanimating in Season 1, 14 in Season 2, 8 in Season 3, a massive 17 in Season 4, 13 in Season 6 and 4 in Season 7.
 * Below are the changes made to the main cast in this season:
 * Emily Kinney (Beth Greene) and Chad Coleman (Tyreese Williams) have been added to the opening credits after being listed under "Also Starring" in the previous season.
 * Both actors' names appear on the same frame during the opening credit sequence. Coincidentally, both characters are killed off back to back.
 * Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha Williams) and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (Bob Stookey) are still listed under "Also Starring", despite being credited as series regulars in the previous season.
 * Michael Cudlitz (Abraham Ford), Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter), Christian Serratos (Rosita Espinosa), Alanna Masterson (Tara Chambler) and Andrew J. West (Gareth) have been upgraded to series regulars after recurring appearances.
 * Michael Cudlitz has been added to the opening credits.
 * Despite their status as series regulars, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Alanna Masterson and Andrew J. West are listed under "Also Starring".
 * Seth Gilliam (Gabriel Stokes) has been cast as a series regular for his first appearance this season.
 * Starting with "Strangers", he is listed under "Also Starring".
 * Following their characters' deaths in "Four Walls and a Roof," Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and Andrew J. West are no longer listed under "Also Starring".
 * They are the first series regulars to die while being credited under "Also Starring".
 * Gilliard later appeared as a special guest star in "What Happened and What's Going On".
 * He is the first cast member to be listed as a regular and a special guest star in a season.
 * Following their characters' deaths in "Coda" and "What Happened and What's Going On", Emily Kinney and Chad Coleman have been removed from the opening credits.
 * They are added back to the opening credits in "Forget," as Beth and Tyreese appear in archive footage.
 * This season is tied with Season 7 and Season 9 with killing off the most main cast characters, with four regulars killed off: Gareth, Bob Stookey, Beth Greene and Tyreese Williams.
 * The final episode, "Conquer", is the first season finale and the third episode since "Days Gone Bye" of Season 1 and "What Lies Ahead" of Season 2 to have a 90 minute long premiere.
 * The episode titles "Remember", "Forget", "Spend", "Try", and "Conquer" are all references to a story Dale told the group around the campfire in Season 1: "I like what the father said to the son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said: 'I give you a mausoleum of all hope and desire which will fit your individual needs, no better than it did mine and my father before me. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it. For a moment, now and then, and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'"
 * This was the last season that had an episode written by Robert Kirkman due to his departure from AMC in 2017.