Why The Walking Dead Season 5 Was the Bleakest So Far

Terminus quickly turns from a sanctuary in season four to hell on Earth in season five, and it's not just because Rick and his gang are being held hostage. It's because Rick and his gang are being held hostage and they're about to get eaten. Just when we thought we'd seen it all on the show, we got a hefty dose of cannibalism to really make our skin crawl. Possibly one of the most uncomfortable scenes in the season is watching the Terminus gang feast on Bob's amputated leg.

Early on in the season, Eugene becomes an emblem of hope when he claims to be a scientist who can solve the entire epidemic with some superfancy equipment in Washington DC. That's all fine and dandy, until he admits to lying about all of it. It's something that has happened plenty of times in the past seasons, but maybe this was especially torturous because it felt like the crew's last hope.

Father Gabriel is easily one of the most infuriating characters on the show. He's clearly carrying so much guilt for what he's done in order to survive, but it has such a negative impact on everyone else. Over the course of the season, Gabriel continually puts the group in danger; he even unknowingly leads a group of walkers right to them. He also lets walkers into Alexandria (an event which arguably sets the finale's entire chilling final sequence in motion), casts doubt on Rick and the gang in the eyes of Deanna, and almost drives Sasha over the edge.

How heartbreaking it was to watch Beth come back into the show, only to have her ripped away again, this time forever. Beth is a character we've really grown to love so much, and she's also the only family Maggie has left. It's devastating to watch her die, and even more so to watch Maggie when she gets the news.

Oh, Noah. We hardly knew ye. Noah's death really takes the show's trademark blood and guts to an entirely new level. Not only is he literally pulled apart by walkers, but Glenn is forced to watch from mere feet away, with only a pane of glass in between. Hello again, vivid nightmares.

It's not just Beth's and Noah's deaths that have us rattled in season five, although theirs were certainly the hardest to swallow. Let's not forget about Bob, Tyreese, Reg Monroe, Aiden Monroe, Jessie's abusive husband, Pete, and tons and tons of Terminus people. Of course, the last handful kind of deserve it, but there's also a lot of good people in that mix as well.

On top of all the external threats the group may face, there are also a lot of bad eggs in Alexandria. There's Aiden Monroe, who takes the group on reckless outings and dies because of it; there's Pete, who abuses his wife and son; there's Nicholas, who seems hell-bent on killing Glenn for some reason; and even Deanna, the leader, doesn't sit quite right with us. Unless they change, they could be putting the group in even more danger.

Carol seems to have become a symbol for lost humanity. In the second half of the season alone, Carol terrorizes a little boy, steals weapons and lies about it, calmly threatens to kill a man, and formulates plans to kill the Alexandrians and take over without a second thought. And think about how she kills Karen, David, Lizzie, and Mika in season four, which she of course does in the name of survival. Even so, it's always hard to justify killing other humans. Almost everyone has lost a bit of their humanity, especially Rick, but Carol in particular doesn't seem to have much left.

Speaking of Rick, he's really been through the ringer, but it's incredibly conflicting to love him as much as we do and not agree with his actions. We can recognize his intentions, but the way he snaps and pulls his gun on the people of Alexandria is cringe-worthy, to say the least. Especially since Michonne is the one who has to take him down. Rick's creepiest moment, though? The way he robotically, automatically kills Pete at Deanna's behest, without a second of hesitation. To be remorseful doesn't even cross his mind.

Rick and the gang have seen their fair share of adversaries over the course of the past few seasons, including disease, the Governor, and the people of Terminus. The "wolves," though, seem especially dangerous. Not only are they smart enough to set traps, but they're deliberately hunting humans, and they're wild and reckless.