The long hiatus is finally over, and one of our most beloved show is back. Beth's death rocked the midseason finale, but don't think for a moment that our group of survivors are safe. There were an awful lot secondary cast members, and gulp, one main cast member (GLENN! Steven Yeun) at Stalker Walker Con the weekend before last. Let's hope that doesn't spell the end for them.

Dirt is moved, and the group mourns. A body is laid to rest, but that's not the end for the rest of the group. Life goes on, and the next step of the journey begins. Beth risked it all, paid the ultimate price for Noah. Beth wanted to get Noah back home, and Rick intends to follow through. There's real potential for where they're headed, and its the only hope they have with the dreams of ending the apocalypse in DC exposed as a lie. It's a long trip, but it could pay off hugely. The group loads up and hits the road.

They've lost many, and there are many more to be lost. Beth is in a better place. Mika and Lizzie are together, and they're better now. Just who is being haunted by those little girls? Carol, or the more likely, Tyrese?

Split up in multiple vehicles, and communicating via walkie talkies, they're half way to their destination. Rick checks in with Carol. She gives him time, if he doesn't check in again, she's coming after him. Tyrese has a heavy heart, he had never wanted to kill anyone, but times change. He remembers having to keep up with news as a child. If the news was bad, at least then you could change the channel, you can turn it off, but his father didn't. He kept listening, he called it paying the high price of living. Noah thinks his father would have liked his, but he died in Atlanta. He still has a mother, twin brothers, he hopes that his family is still alive, as they were when he left. Rick makes plans to go in on foot, to stay off the road, just in case.

They find a hidden spot off the road, and Noah leads the way through the woods, past old bones to wire obstacle. It wasn't up when Noah had left, but he tells them that they had wanted to, that the others must have. Rick asks about snipers, they had a perch, but Glenn can see its empty from the tree line. The group heads right up to the gates, but they're locked. Tyrese hears something, and Glenn climbs the wall to get a closer look. Noah, Rick, and Michonne wait to hear what he sees, but when he doesn't say a word Noah climbs up for a look of his own. It's completely quiet. The houses are burned, it looks deserted. There are dead bodies littering the ground, and only a single walker in sight. Noah falls to the ground in grief. Michonne goes to take care of the walker. Rick gives his condolences, but makes plans to gather supplies and head back. Glenn plans for a quick sweep, and Tyrese will stay with Noah. Rick reports back to the others, letting them know that they made it, but that its gone.

Michonne is taking the whole paradise lost thing hard. Glenn asks if he really thought it would be there. Rick admits that when Beth died, Dawn didn't mean to do it, but he wanted to kill her. It didn't have anything to do with Beth. He didn't know if the community would be there, but she had wanted to get Noah home. Taking him home was for her, but it could have been for them too.

Noah is overcome with grief. Tyrese admits that the wanted to die for what he lost, for who he lost. He stepped into a crowd of walkers, wanting to be taken by those things, to take out his emotions on them. But he made it through, and then he was there for Judith. He was able to bring her back to her father, which he couldn't have done if he let them take him. This isn't the end. Noah rises, looks towards his house, and takes off running. Tyrese runs after him.

Glenn reveals that after the prison when he got Maggie back things were better. But then losing Washington, losing Beth after finding out she was alive was too much. If they hadn't caught up with Rick before now, then he wouldn't have stopped, they would have run by. He would have shot Dawn, right or wrong. Michonne puts a stop to their talk. They need to stop. They can be out too long. Glenn toys with a baseball bat. Put down the bat, if that's foreshadowing Glenn's death like in the comics I may start crying.

Tyrese catches Noah before he gets into his house, stopping him. Noah needs to see what's inside though. Tyrese leads the way. The front door is wide open, blood splatters the walls, still Tyrese knocks on the door. On the living room floor is a body, his mother. Her head bashed in. If she ever rose, she won't again. Noah covers her with a nearby blanket. Tyrese goes deeper into the house. There's a walker behind a door. In another room, there's a body on a bed. Tyrese looks at the pictures on the wall, of the twin boys, not noticing the body has risen. It takes a bite out of Tyrese, and Noah stabs it with a toy airplane before running off to get help from the others. Will Tyrese lose his arm, or just give up? I fear this is the end of the gentle giant.

We're back to the house picture. And a flash back of the radio cast that played at the birth of the apocalypse warning people of the spreading zombie virus, long before the farm, the prison, the road, now. Tyrese holds his arm as he bleeds. He sees an unfriendly face from the past, Martin. You know the douche bag Terminus guy, who Tyrese claimed to have killed, but didn't actually do it. He taunts him, he warned him that he wouldn't live. Had Tyrese killed him like Sasha did then things wouldn't have turned out like they did, for one Bob would be alive. Bob appears and tells him that it happened just as it should have, it couldn't have happened any other way. The ghost radio continues. Martin tells him that he shouldn't have lied like a bitch, and just paid the bill. The Governor makes him remember his promise to earn his keep. Mika and Lizzie assure him its better now. Oh Tyrese, don't go into the light. The Governor doesn't think its better now. As he confronts Tyrese he morphs into a walker and goes to take a bite out of him. Armed with his trusty hammer, Tyrese tries to fight him off. The walker bites into Tyrese's arm before he can manage to bash his head in. Come on Tyrese just cut off the arm, you don't need it anyways. Its the left one, and you're right arm dominant!

Michonne thinks of ways to make the place safe. Rick points out that the place is surrounded by a forest, they could be over taken long before they even knew there was a threat, which is what essentially happened to them before. Michonne longs for a home, but as she looks at one outer wall, there is death and destruction everywhere. Glenn tells Rick that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter which of them killed Dawn, in the end it doesn't matter. Michonne brings up Washington. Eugene may have lied about the cure, but he took an educated guess about Washington. She doesn't want to stay out there anymore, she wants a safe place, and Washington could be it. Rick tells them that they should go. It's 100 miles away, but they could make it. They hear Noah's hollering for help and head his way.

Noah is trapped by walkers on a porch, Michonne, Glenn and Rick kill the lot of them as they rescue Noah. He tells them that Tyrese is at his house, and he's been bit. The foursome race towards Tyrese.

The ghost radio flips stations. Beth sings Tyrese a song as he remembers everything that lead up to now, his journey. The arm is bleeding profusely. Beth tells him that its okay. Bob thinks okay that Tyrese didn't want to be a part of it. Martin thinks that's his problem. He didn't want to be a part of it, but that's all there is now. Mika and Lizzie assure his that he doesn't have to be a part of things if he didn't want to. The Governor points out that he didn't want to see, but he made him see. He didn't adapt or see, or change. He stayed by the side of a woman who killed the woman he loved. This is all there is now, this is it. Tyrese pulls himself to his feet. He knew who he was talking to, he did what he had to to earn his keep. He knows who he is. The Governor didn't show him anything, and now he's dead. Everything that he was is dead. He forgave Carol, and its not over. He falls into tears, he didn't turn away. He kept listening to news so he could do what he could to help. He isn't giving up. People like Tyrese can live, no one has to die today. The lights begin to flash and flicker, the Governor pushes him back down, he needs to pay. Mika and Lizzie take his arm. But it's not really their gentle touch, it's Rick pulling his arm, as Glenn holds him steady. Michonne brings her blade down, severing the limb.

Michonne, and Noah run ahead, clearing the way. Rick and Glenn carry Tyrese as they make their way out. The front gate is covered in walkers. Glenn goes to assist Michonne, Noah tells Rick that he can hold up Tyrese while they clear up the way out, but he falters under his weight and they fall to the ground. Rick, Glenn and Michonne take care of the walkers, but it's a close call as Rick misses a head shot, and a walker nearly gets them. His second shot brings down the final walker. They gather Tyrese back up, and run off towards the car. It's a rough run, through the wires. Tyrese's foot gets caught, and Glenn struggles to free it. They make it to the car. Rick puts the car in gear, but it's stuck in the mud. It suddenly unsticks, and goes slamming into the truck in front of it and zombie torsos spill out. Rick calls ahead to Carol, and lets her know that they need a cautery kit, and that Sasha and Carl don't need to see.

On the car ride back, with Beth behind the wheel Tyrese gives in. Bob, Mika and Lizzie are there too. The girls let him know that it's more than fine, its better. The truck stops, and everyone gets out. Tyrese is gone. The grave from the beginning wasn't Beth's grave. It was Tyrese's grave that Father Gabriel was saying a prayer over. The gentle giant has fallen and he is entered into the Earth. A grave marker is placed with his beanie atop. He was too good for the world they have left.

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In a quiet house, a tea kettle breaks the silence. A child runs around outside, and a walker lurks nearby as the child runs about like its all a game.

Lizzy can’t sleep, but Carol tells her that she can. Lizzy is worried about trouble coming, and if there will be kids in the city they’re headed to. Lizzy tells her that she kept Tyrese safe, that some people were trying to kill him, and she shot them. She asks Carol if she had kids, and she tells her that she did, that she misses her. Lizzy asks if she’ll miss her when she’s gone, but Carol tells her that she isn’t going to have to, that she’s not going anywhere. Tyrese tries to gets sleep, but is plagued by nightmares.

Lizzy finds some sap, and Carol uses it to cover Tyrese’s wound. He wonders how many days out they are. He remarks how tough Lizzy is, and Carol tells him that she doesn’t see the walkers in the right light, she just thinks they’re different, but she thinks Mika is worst off, because she doesn’t see bad in anyone. The girls are happy to have Carol back with them. They smell a fire, and Carol wants to stop to look for water. She has Mika help her, while Lizzy, Tyrese and Judith rest. Tyrese spots something on the tracks and leaves the baby with Lizzy, trusted hammer in hand he goes to take out the walker, but something gets it before he does. It’s trapped on the tracks. Lizzy stops him from killing the walker.

Carol took Mika with her to toughen her up she says. Mika tells her she doesn’t have to be tough because she can run, but Carol knows that’s not enough. Sophia ran, and she died. Mika tells her that she can kill walkers but she cannot kill people. Lizzy is the one that killed Karen and David, and she isn’t messed up like her sister. She tells her that killing people is wrong. Carol tells her that she needs to change the way she thinks. Carol and Mika find a house, which looks just right. Good luck Goldielocks, nothing is perfect for long.

Carol, Lizzy, Mika, Tyrese and Judith head to the house. Lizzy makes sure that they’re still heading towards Terminus. Carol just wants to rest at the house for a little while. Carol and Tyrese prepare to check the house while the girls wait outside. Mika tells Lizzy that they’re going tot be ok, but Lizzy is focused on the grave. Mika tells Lizzy that the walkers aren’t people that they’re dead, when one comes after the girls. With Judith in her hands Lizzy can only watch in horror as it comes for her. Mika kills it, and Lizzy is upset.

Later she tells Carol that she’s trying to understand. Mika found a doll and is estatic. Tyrese finds that there is lots of water, and if they can hunt down a deer, there will be plenty of food. Mika tells Tyrese that they should stay, and live there, and the proclamation scares him just a bit.

Carol starts up the tea kettle, she sees Lizzy running out back with a walker. Carol springs into action, killing the walker with her knife. Lizzy thought the walker was playing with her, and she yells at Carol for killing her. She tells her that she doesn’t understand, that she didn’t have to kill her, that she wasn’t trying to hurt her. Lizzy thought the little girl walker was her friend. Tyrese watches from a window as Lizzy screams at Carol.

Mika and Carol go hunting. The fire is still burning in the distance. Carol tells Mika that she’s smarter than the animal, and she tells her to take aim at the doe, but Mika can’t kill her. But hey, there’s peaches back at the house.

Tyrese is thinking that maybe Terminus isn’t the answer, that maybe Mika is right. Tyrese is happy with their little group, he tells Carol that he trusts her.

Mika goes looking for Lizzy, who is up to her old tricks again. She’s feeding a mouse to the walker on the tracks. Mika tells Lizzy that walkers are bad, that theres no pretending anymore. Lizzy thinks that they walkers just want to change her into one of them, and that it may not be such a bad thing. A group of burned walkers chase after the girls, and Carol and Tyrese come running at the sounds of their screams. Mika gets caught in the fence, and Lizzy struggles to save her. Carol and Tyrese make it in time to kill off the closest walker, and the quartet kill the threat.  

Carol talks to Lizzy. Lizzy thinks that she now knows what they have to do, it’s the world they live in. Mika doesn’t want to be mean, but Lizzy tells her that they have to be mean sometimes. Carol goes a little cooking with the girls.

Carol and Tyrese patrol. Carol starts to think that they could stay, they could build up the defenses, find food. Tyrese admits that he’s not ready to be around more people, he confesses that he sees Karen sometimes, that he forgets that she’s dead. Carol listens on, as he talks about the horror of someone killing her, that it hurts all over again. But they have to keep on living, the whole world is haunted now, but they have to keep on going until they’re dead. Carol has a confession to make, but she doesn’t She tells him that they’re loved ones aren’t haunting them, but maybe reminding them what they need to do. Tyrese hugs her, and Carol feels even worse.

The two go hunting for the deer, and Carol tells him that her husband use to hunt deer and tell bad jokes every deer season. Tyrese urges her on, and she tells one of his jokes. “What’s the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? Beer nuts are about $1.79 and deer nuts are just under a buck.” They laugh at the cheesy joke, but the happiness is quickly shattered.

They find Lizzy covered in blood. She killed Mika, but tells them not to worry, that she’ll come back because she didn’t hurt her brain. Carol moves to take the knife from Lizzy, but she grabs the gun. She wants them to wait, so that she can see that its all okay. That she’ll change but she won’t be a danger to them. She hands over the gun when Carol tells her that she won’t do anything but watch. Lizzy was about to help Judith change too, but Carol tells her that Judith can’t even walk yet. Carol talks Lizzy into going with Tyrese to get some lunch, while she cleans up and ties up Mika. Carol knew there was something wrong with Lizzy and did nothing, this is as much her fault as it is Lizzy’s. What the hell do they do with Lizzy now?

Tyrese fed her, and put Lizzy in her room after he checked her room. Tyrese tells Carol about the shoebox full of mice, Lizzy admitted that she fed the walkers at the prison, that she dissected the rats. Tyrese thought that maybe she killed Karen and Dave too, and Carol tells him that it was her. Carol offers to take Lizzy and leave, so that he and Judith would be safe. Carol thinks she should have seen this coming, that this is just the way that Lizzy is, that if Carol leaves Tyrese and Judith won’t likely make it. Worse of all, Carol concludes that Lizzy can’t be around other people.

Carol takes Lizzy out to pick some flowers for Mika. Lizzy thinks that Carol is mad at her for pulling out the gun. She starts crying, she tells her that she just needed her to wait. Carol tells her that she loves her. Lizzy begs her to not be mad at her. Carol tells her to just look at the flowers, as she does the hardest thing she’s ever done, and shoots the child. Tyrese watches from the window. Carol staggers back towards the house, and sees the doe, but can’t bring herself to even aim at it.

Carol digs graves for both of the girls, and Tyrese brings the bodies.

The house is quiet, Carol slides the gun towards Tyrese. She finally confesses that she killed Karen and David, that she had to keep the virus from spreading. It wasn’t Lizzy or a stranger, but her who killed the woman he loved. She tells him to do what he has to do, but he doesn’t raise the gun against her. Karen will still be dead. He asks if it was quick, and Carol says yes as he grips the gun. Head down, she accepts her fate, but he lets go of the gun, and forgives her. He forgives, but he will never forget. He tells her that they don’t need to stay, that they can’t stay. And just like that the perfect house is abandoned, the could have beens gone, and Carol, Tyrese and Judith head back out. There’s no looking back.

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We’ve seen the fates of Rick, Carl and Michonne, but what of our other favorites from the prison, cough cough, Daryl? Beth drew the long straw and got Daryl as her companion, and although paradise has been lost with the prison compromised, she’s got a chance. As she and Daryl run from the zombies in the aftermath of governor’s raid, they’re exhausted, and as her voice over talks about having hope and living in the safety of the prison for the rest of her life, well maybe, just maybe she shouldn’t have unpacked her back back after all.

Beth and Daryl try to figure out their next move. Beth knows that they aren’t the only ones out there. The loss of the prison has hit Daryl the hardest. While she’s all gungho to find the others, he’s stoic. She wants to find them and now, and he lets her go off, but not far before he follows her into the dark of night. They track through the morning. The tracks they find are hours old, but Beth keeps up hope that they’re still alive. Daryl sees that the pace was picked up, that things went south quickly. Beth stops to pick up grapes, and although Daryl acts insensitive, he still lends her his bandana for her grapes. The trail leads them to some fallen walkers, and one that’s more lively. It grabs Beth, and Daryl can’t get a clear shot. He grabs it off of her, and she finishes it off. They find some railroad tracks and some walkers feeding. Daryl finishes them off, and Beth spots a child’s shoe in the carnage. Beth has a little breakdown, but Daryl pushes them forward. Beth burns the pages of her journal.

Lizzie and Mika have Tyreese and baby Judith with them as they traipse the woods. Lizzie keeps Mika strong, but Mika wants Carol. Lizzie points out to Tyreese that it’s going to get darks soon, but Tyreese wants to go just a bit further. Ah the spot that Daryl and Beth found, where this group made camp. Baby Judith cries, and the group tries to quiet her. Lizzie gets a bottle ready for Judith, and just as she gets quiet Mika hears the walkers, and they make a break for it. The group comes to the grape vines, and Mika and Lizzie stuff their mouths. Judith’s cries have Tyreese stumped, and Mika grabs at Tyreese’s cut. Mika runs at some noise, and Tyreese and Lizzie run after her. Mika sees that she reopened his arm. Mika thinks of herself as the Sasha to Tyreese, but Lizzie points out that Sasha is dead. Wow, that little girl is harsh. They hear some cries in the distance, and Tyreese tells the girls to stick together, and he’ll be back soon, but he needs to check on them first.  Mika doesn’t want him to go, but he has to try.

Tyreese finds the group at the tracks, and jumps in to help. Judith cries, and Lizzie covers her mouth to quiet her. The group at the tracks is taken out one by one, and Tyreese can’t save them. Mika shoots at the walkers, but they get closer. The last man in the track group is bitten, before Tyreese can warn him of the walker behind him. He kills the walker, and Carol calls out from behind him. She has the girls with her. The bitten man from the tracks, tell them that if they follow the tracks they will find safety. Carol doesn’t want to stay on the tracks because of the lack of coverage, but he insist, telling them of a town. Mika tells Tyreese that she didn’t run. Carol has some water and food, and Tyreese passes it out. Tyreese tells her that he didn’t see her get out, and she tells him that she hadn’t gotten back yet, that she only saw the end of what happened at the prison, but that she’d been tracking them. The girls find the sign for the safe town that they were told about.

Maggie, Sasha and Bob are in another group. Bob smiles, and apologies for it. She tells him its okay to be happy to be alive, but he reminds her that Tyreese could still be out there. She doesn’t think anyone is. She gives Maggie the update on Bob, and she wants to stay put in the safe haven they found, but Maggie is on a mission. She lost Beth, but she knows that Glen got out, so she’s out to find him. Sasha doesn’t want to split up, but Maggie isn’t taking no for an answer. Bob follows Maggie, and Sasha has no choice but to follow even though she’d rather be looking for food and shelter. Maggie walks with determination, until they find the bus. She pushes forward, and Bob and Sasha have to run to keep up. The bus is too quiet, and a closer look shows its full of walkers. Maggie tells Sasha she should go. They try to stop her, but she has to know if Glen is inside. Bob decides that they will let them out one at a time. Sasha and Bob let them out, and Maggie kills them. So far no Glen. The walkers come too fast, and Sasha loses control of the door. The walkers come pouring out and the trio kill them all, but still no Glen. Maggie climbs aboard the bus to see if there is anyone else on it. It’s a bloody mess inside. There’s one last walker inside, and Maggie frees it to see who it is, but it isn’t Glen. Maggie breaks down in the front seat, Glen is still out there somewhere.

Glen awakens still in the prison. He’s alive, and barely out of reach of the walkers, but he’s surrounded and Maggie is no where in site. Glen heads back into the prison. It’s quiet and empty, and just a tad smoky from the tank blasts. Glen heads to the bed that he shared with Maggie, and finds his prison riot gear still there. He lies down on his bed, and finds the picture of a sleeping Maggie still next to his bed. Glen holds it and cries. Don’t worry, you’ll find her. With new determination, Glen regroups, and grabs weapons, liquor, and food. The man is on a mission now. Dressed in his riot gear, he walks out into the zombie fray, in relative safety. As he makes his way out of the prison, he spots Tara. She’s safe behind a fence, but without help there’s no way she’ll make it out. In fact, she doesn’t even seem to notice his passing.

Glen gets inside her cage, and takes her gun, and she doesn’t even try to stop him. Her gun is full, she never even fired a shot. He tries to get her to go with him, but she’s full of guilt over choosing the wrong side, but there’s no time for blame. He tells her he needs her help, and he gives her back her gun as he prepares his maltov cocktail. He throws it at a nearby car to draw in the zombies. He tells Tara to stay ahead of him and that he’ll cover her. She runs, and he’s right behind her as they make their way out of the prison. Tara didn’t see anyone get out, she saw her sister die. Tara tells Glen that she trusted the Governor, and then she saw him kill the old man. Glen can’t believe Hershel is gone. She says that Brian told them that the people in the prison were bad people, but she knows now that it wasn’t true. Glen is still in shock over hearing that Hershel is gone. Tara’s guilt is too much, but Glen still needs her to help him find his wife. Tara asks how he knows that she’s still alive, and he doesn’t. He knows that Hershel was a great man, who taught him that all he needs to do is believe, and he does. Tara doesn’t quite believe yet, but he tells her that she has to. Walkers catch up to them, and Glen meets them head on, he kills most of them, but the strain is too much for his still weakened body. Glen passes out and Tara kills the last walker when an Army truck pulls up. Out comes Sergeant Abraham Ford, Dr. Eugene Porter, and Rosita Espinosa and they are cast perfectly! I cannot wait for next week. If you’re a comic reader you know exactly who this trio is, and just how awesome they are. 

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