This episode is framed around a funeral, book-ending with the burial and prayer laying rest to yet another of these characters that fans have grown to love. For a moment, near the end when Michonne severed Tyreese's infected arm with her sword it felt like he may pull through, if for no other reason that it was hard to believe the show would kill off two important characters in back-to-back episodes. But sadly, for the survivors, (and especially Rick since he'll need a new nanny for Judith) it was not to be and fans said goodbye to the gentle Tyreese. This was a man who was out of place trying to find something beautiful in a world full of ugliness - much like Beth before him - and that tenderness ultimately cost him everything. Martin's words of warning came true. While a somewhat shocking death, it felt like the show had gone as far as it could with Tyreese and his arc had been told from beginning to end. So while it's sad to see him go, it's understandable why the writers felt the need to put him (literally) on the chopping block. Hopefully when The Walking Dead returns next week with "Them" there'll be some plot progression to move everything forward, because other than serving as a frame for the death of a character, What's Happened And What's Going On took the story nowhere. Maybe the trip to Noah's neighborhood was just a metaphor for the episode itself. What did you think of the mid-season premiere? Let us know in the comments.
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.
