The Walking Dead: 6 Things "Coda" Got Right (And 4 It Didn't)

5. So Much Tension

Honestly, how tense was that episode? AMC should be compensating people for all the injuries incurred from people spending the entire hour on the edge of their seats. Right now people are going to the cinema in their droves to see Mockingjay Pt 1, the first half of the final film in the Hunger Games series. It's a pretty good movie, but it's all just clearly set up for the action-packed second half. It's all just stage setting and, whilst it's entertaining stage setting, you want to see the bit where the stage gets trashed. That's what last week's episode of The Walking Dead felt like, as it looked set to deliver on the simmering tensions that had slowly been building throughout the series so far. But, obviously, they saved all the really good stuff for the mid-season finale. They want you to come back next year, after all. It was more than worth the wait, however, for an hour of television so packed with constant threat and tension. From that opening scene, where it looked like that cop might get back to the hospital and warn them of the group's arrival, it never really let up. Rick confronting the other settlement, putting his hands up and dropping his weapon whilst they had snipers trained on them: classic squeaky bum time. Of the various stand-offs that dotted Coda surely the most heart-stopping was the hallway exchange of hostages, Beth and Carol for the two cops. And then seeing Rick's obvious insistence that he wasn't going to give Noah up to Dawn, with the latter's similar bull-headedness inevitably leading to a powder keg of... well, we'll get to that. Phew.