For the first time in the gory history of the hit zombie apocalypse story, series four ended with a cliff-hanger. It left its entire cast in jeopardy, with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group trapped in a train car in the Terminus.
While their escape promises to be "one badass scene", producers are also focused on keeping the show fresh and coming episodes will see both the landscape as well as the zombies' condition and "rot" worsening dramatically, in turn affecting their behaviour.
"If you have this great group of assassins who survived for a year-and-a-half you have to put them in situations they can't be prepared for," says executive producer Greg Nicotero.
"Last season we had that big scene where all the zombies rained through the ceiling. The writers have done a good job this season of taking that idea and putting our characters in environments with walkers that we haven't seen before ... in season five we're pushing stuff further than we've ever done."
Though the shock value of the show's violence and gore continues to entice viewers, personal storylines will remain at the forefront. As the clan of survivors come to accept they are too far gone to ever return to life as normal humans, season five will "define these characters".
