Michonne escorts the newcomers to Hilltop. Carol brings Daryl back in from the cold. Rosita, and the terrible news she brings with her, are discovered.

We’re an episode into the new world order and if it’s all this good, the show is going to be just fine. Not just because of the new status quo but because of the change in focus, in every way, the show has undergone.

For a start, there’s a ton of characters who benefit vastly from being given more to do. Jesus and Tara as reluctant and effective leaders of Hilltop is great. Michonne as a woman so cut off from the outside world she isn’t even aware that her former friend turned nemesis has left is…oddly tragic. Daryl being brought in (with his dog!) is honestly very touching. Reedus is an exceptional actor and the way he plays Daryl’s verbal dams slowly breaking is very moving. Likewise the bond he shares with Carol and the way she balances that bond with her new found responsibilities as adoptive mother and kind-of-sort-of queen of the Kingdom.

But the meat of this episode, brilliantly, lies with the new guys. We get a hell of a lot of detail on them this week and they’re all weird and interesting and new. Dan Fogler, reportedly the best thing in two Newt Scamander movies now, is especially great here. Luke’s ongoing rescue mission for musical instruments is sincere, a little goofy and a subtle example of how the world has changed. Just as Maggie has gone off to live with Georgie, it demonstrates that survival is not the only thing people need now. Which of course makes survival situations even more dangerous.

Verdict: There’s an endless temptation to autopsy this show and it’s understandable given the changes. But for me, right now, this is the most interesting it’s been in years. Weirdly hopeful, distinctly mournful and with the terrifying threat of apparently intelligent Walkers on the doorstep, the show feels new. If you wanted to come back aboard, now’s a good time. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart