The Walking Dead 5.1 Review - 5 Talking Points From "No Sanctuary"

5. The Slaughterhouse

The Walking Dead has never been shy about gore and violence. In the first season we witnessed one of the most disgusting scenes in television history when the crew used blood and guts to €œcamouflage€ themselves from the walkers, and just a few episodes ago Rick bit out a man€™s throat. We expect these things from this show because it€™s an everyday part of the desolate reality they inhabit. But that scene where Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob, along with a group of strangers, are literally led to slaughter, bent over a trough and systemically knocked unconscious with a baseball bat before having their throats slit and bled out like pigs, has to be the most gruesome thing they€™ve shown yet. Just for the sheer detached brutality of it all, the way the two men went about their tasks like they were committing the most mundane acts in the world. And then when Gareth entered the room with a clipboard acting more like Bill Lumbergh than a homicidal cannibal, the whole thing just felt so€clinical that it added an extra dose of horror. Glenn was mere milliseconds away from being killed twice in this segment, with sheer luck falling on his side each time. Was this a nod to his character€™s demise in the comics, along with rumors that he would be killed off this season? Possibly. And it was nerve-wracking. It was the perfect opening sequence to let us know that sh*t was about to get real, and had viewers on the edge of their seats.
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Contributor

Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.