'The Walking Dead' begins what could be best season yet

Over the course of four previous seasons, the quality of “The Walking Dead” (2010 - present) has been very inconsistent. The first season, while only six episodes long, was arguably the best in terms of pacing, and introduced the apocalypse with disturbing panache. The second and third seasons were often slower and less engaging, although they introduced many of the moral gray areas that the first season lacked. It was in these seasons that the audience learned that people were to be more feared than the undead -- humanity is the real monster.

The fourth season started out strong and then had a crisis of identity. The first few episodes focused on the main cast of characters hiding in the prison, then there were a couple of aggravating episodes centered on the Governor.After the fight with him ends in the destruction of the prison, the gang splits up and spends the second half of the fourth season looking for each other. Each character study was interesting, but definitely lacked the ensemble chemistry -- a large part of what makes “The Walking Dead” so appealing.

However, by the explosive first episode of the fifth season (pun intended), the gang is mostly all back together and ready to take down the bad guys of Terminus, the cannibalistic group which entrapped them in a boxcar.Terminus is led by a man namedGareth (Andrew J. West), whose youth and ideology make him a terrifying adversary. The opening sequence of the episode is incredibly tense and horrifying, reminiscent in tone of the pilot episode, in which Rick (Andrew Lincoln) discovers the apocalypse as he escapes the hospital. The writer of the episode and producer, Scott M. Gimple, is making a clear statement: this world is horrific, there is no going back and this season will be different.

The fifth season premiere, aptly named “No Sanctuary,” was one of the best episodes “The Walking Dead” has ever given its viewers. It was tense, emotional, terrifying and excellently acted. Each character has something interesting to offer, from the resilient morality of Glenn (Steven Yeun), to the protective and destructive instincts of Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) and the ostensible main character Rick’s never-ending cycle of redemption and failure.

But the clear MVP of "No Sanctuary" is Carol (Melissa McBride), who has had some of the best development of any character on television. She began the show as a timid, abused wife and mother. After the loss of her husband and daughter, she has become strong to protect her new family.Carol still remains a deeply emotional character, but she channels her emotion into fighting and helping others. McBride truly understands Carol, and gives her a depth and nuance which elevates the character and the show to greater levels.

The season's second episode, entitled “Strangers,” was calmer than the first, although it featured some incredibly shocking moments. The fifth season is settling into its narrative, and it is a compelling one. The stakes are no longer simply life or death: Rick is reminded by Glenn, and then his son Carl (an excellent Chandler Riggs), that fighting through the apocalypse isn’t enough. They have to retain their humanity in order to prevent themselves from becoming the monsters they kill. The dichotomy between Rick’s group and Gareth’s group is clear. One is a family and the other is a hunting pack.

Despite its uneven track record, “The Walking Dead” is one of the most popular shows on television. 17.3 million people tuned into the fifth season premiere, making it the highest rated episode of the series. Furthermore, if “No Sanctuary” and “Strangers” are anything to go by, the fifth season of “The Walking Dead” will be the best yet. The actors and writers appear comfortable with their characters and with this story, and it seems that the show may finally have found the consistency it lacked in the past.

“The Walking Dead” is compelling, not only because of the violent depiction of apocalyptic America it offers, but also because it explores who people choose to be in the face of extraordinary circumstances. As characters face impossible moral decisions, the audience is reminded of their own humanity, and therein lies the power of the show.