Historically, The Walking Dead has suffered from slow seasons that tend to drag on. Season five, however, has made some great steps to break that unfortunate pattern. The second half of season five, in particular, has been a steady uphill climb. While not every episode may have been incredible, something important and relevant occurred each episode to push the story forward. What this means is that the TV show has finally reached the best story arc in the comic book series.

Since the season started up again in February, hints and references to “wolves” have been sprinkled in to every episode. But who are The Wolves? Sunday night’s finale finally showed us two wolves, and although their encounter with Morgan made them seem incompetent, their elaborate trap that nearly left Daryl and Aaron as walker-food proved that The Wolves are far more capable than any villain we’ve ever seen on the show before.

For those who are unfamiliar with the comics, The Wolves are probably the TV show’s version of “The Saviors,” a violent and militant group that Rick encounters just outside of D.C. Whether they call them “Wolves” or “Saviors,” it still spells bad news for Rick and the gang.

In addition to the introduction of The Wolves, a few other major changes happened in the finale, the first of which being Morgan’s reunion. In the first season, Morgan was the first human Rick met after awaking from his coma. Morgan didn’t show up again until the third season when he had been driven nearly insane by the loss of his son. At the beginning of this season, it is revealed that Morgan has finally come to terms with what it takes to survive in this world and that he is following Rick’s footsteps.

The return of Morgan helps connect the story back to its beginning. Additionally, it shows how change is needed to survive in the apocalypse. Morgan was originally weak-willed, like the majority of Alexandrians. His dramatic change is evidence that Alexandria needs to change as well, especially if they are expected to be prepared to face off against The Wolves.

Lastly, we have Sasha’s and Father Gabriel’s fight. The conflict seems to finally shake Sasha out of the depression she’d been stuck in for most of the season. Father Gabriel, on the other hand, still seems to be a liability. Additionally, the conflict between Glenn and Nicholas has yet to be resolved.

The finale has left Alexandria shaken. The citizens finally seem ready to face reality and shape up under Rick’s leadership. But danger is waiting just around the corner to crush any hopes of normality the group may have. Hopefully season six will continue to deliver consistently entertaining episodes, and even though it’ll mean bad news for Alexandria, hopefully Negan and Lucille will show up as well.

What did you think of season five and Sunday’s finale? What do you hope to see next season? Let us know what you think in the comments below!