‘The Walking Dead’ season 5 premiere reaction: How much will Eugene say?

Tonight, the season 5 premiere of “The Walking Dead” brought many surprises to the table, but to us, the biggest ones were twofold: Seeing that no one major actually died, and also that there were some (namely Sasha) who really started to question what in the world this group is doing with Eugene.

Just think about that for a moment. This is a man (played by Josh McDermitt) who claims adamantly that he has a way to cure the zombie virus that has overtaken the world. However, in order to make it happen, he needs to get to Washington DC. Why are these people taking him at his word? Desperation seems to be a big piece of the puzzle, but sooner or later, he is going to have to provide something better in the way of evidence.

Luckily, here’s where the good news comes into play: Some of this evidence is coming in the near future. Speaking in a premiere post-mortem chat with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Scott M. Gimple detailed somewhat how a little of this story is going to take shape:

“It isn’t completely going on faith. He is going to be providing them with more and more information about how he’s going to do what he’s going to do. That’s going to help a lot — and he knows a lot.”

Are we going to be satisfied with all of this? That’s still hard to say. If Eugene turns out to be a liar with motives all about self-preservation, then there better be a way in which hope can enter the series in some other form. That’s what he represents at the moment, and while survival is often the name of the game, we do want to think that there is a reason to think that these people can live through the outbreak.

Want to see the rest of our premiere coverage? Then head over here to read our review of this big first episode back! Also, sign up today for further TV news and updates via our official newsletter. (Photo via AMC.)