The Walking Dead New Episode Review: Midseason Finale 'Coda' Kills Main Character

The Walking Dead aired its last episode of 2014 with the Season 5 midseason finale entitled "Coda" on Sunday night. We were warned that the episode would be heartbreaking, and even those of us who were prepared are probably still reeling from the death of a certain main character in the episode.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Beth, the sweet, innocent farm girl who remained an eternal optimist throughout the entire series, died in the episode when she tried to stab Dawn in the chest, which prompted Dawn to (accidentally?) shoot her. The prisoner exchange was going according to plan until Dawn demanded that Noah rejoin her group. Noah consented, which provided a moment of clarity for Beth. She knew Dawn was never going to change and that she would keep capturing people under the delusion that someone was coming to save them all.

So Beth decided to take matters into her own hands, and it cost her life. The initial shock was bad enough, but the real tears came when Daryl lost his mind, blew Dawn away and broke down in tears. And the REAL tears came when Maggie, who had assumed Beth was dead and just found out her sister was alive, saw Daryl carrying Beth's body out of the hospital and collapsed to the ground, screaming and in tears.

"Coda" was a slow burn, and I even found myself asking for it to pick up the pace a little halfway through the hour. The episode started out with a bang, as Rick chased down Officer Lamson and then mowed him down with a squad car when he refused to stop running. Rick told Lamson it didn't have to be this way, that all he had to do was stop. And Rick put an exclamation point on it by shooting the guy in the head and telling him to shut up.

From there, we got a little bit of action in the church as Father Gabriel continued to make a mess of everything around him, which forced Carl and Michonne to clean up after him. A timely assist from Abraham and his crew helped save the day, and everyone decided to go rescue Beth together.

Beth, meanwhile, was at the hospital talking to Dawn when another officer tried to take control from her. They scuffled, and Beth shoved him down the elevator shaft to his death. It was a pivotal moment that set up the climax at the end of the hour, as it pushed Beth to hide those scissors in her cast and try to take out Dawn once and for all.

The rest of the episode bounced around to the different groups and provided brief updates on each of them. We got more scenes of Tyreese acting as life coach for Sasha and of Dawn preaching to Beth. It all served to push us forward to the main twist at the end, which should have far-reaching ramifications for the second half of the season. If you thought Rick was scary so far in Season 5, imagine how he's going to act now that this beacon of light in his group had been snuffed out. Daryl is going to change. Maggie might try to recreate this scene from the comics.

Or, perhaps, this is finally the push The Walking Dead needed to get its characters out of Atlanta and to another famous location from the source material. We'll find out when the show returns in February.

Notes:

- "Can't go back, Bob."

- Rick Grimes was badass throughout this entire episode. His "shut up" line in the beginning and his confident "I'll wait" line when he first got to the hospital were awesome.

- Emily Kinney appeared on the Talking Dead after-show, and she cried multiple times when reminiscing about her experience on the show and with her fellow cast members. She did great work with the character, and she will be missed.

- Everyone's talking about how Maggie suddenly is upset about Beth when she didn't seem to care for this entire season (and even a large part of the back half of Season 4), but think about it. She had made peace with the fact that Beth was dead. Then she finds out she's alive, only to literally see Daryl carry her lifeless body out of that hospital. I'd lose it, too.

- "Coda" is the last part of a musical piece. Beth was always tied to music somehow. How did I not see this coming?!

What did you think of "Coda"? Let us know in the comments section.