The Walking Dead season 6 episode 5 review: Maggie drops huge bombshell as Glenn's death is still uncertain

With half their group missing, an expectant mother among them and walkers lurking outside their walls, it is a tense time for the survivors in The Walking Dead. Season six's episode five, titled Now, saw the drama return to Alexandria for the first time in two weeks as the residents struggle to cope in the aftermath of the Wolves' attack.

After making what viewers are to assume is a superhero escape from the walker-swamped RV, the opening scene features a frantic Rick Grimes running for his life towards the gates of Alexandria with a horde hot on his trail. Of course, the group's leader makes it inside in the nick of time and it appears Michonne has also made it back safely – but still no sign of Glenn. The others are glad Rick is unharmed but his return has led the exact walkers he was trying to deflect away from the community right to their walls.

The situation is no better on the inside either with Alexandria and its inhabitants crumbling thanks to the Wolves and their onslaught of violence. Simply put, the residents are a complete mess and Deanna spends the majority of the episode walking around in a daze, full of grief at the sudden death of her husband Reg at the end of season five and dismayed at what her community has become.

A stray walker later receives the brunt of her rage when she stabs him in the chest repeatedly, clearly unaware the head is the money shot. Fortunately, Rick comes to the rescue and puts the walker out of its misery.

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Elsewhere, Maggie and Aaron's friendship blossoms as they descend beyond the walls of Alexandria to try and find Glenn. It may be a risky and pretty silly move given the amount of walkers trying to storm their walls but Maggie is hell-bent on ensuring her husband returns.

Of course, she is unaware that Glenn was last seen in episode three, falling into a pit of walkers where he presumably died. On their excursion, Maggie and Aaron trudge through the sewers but come to a dead end in the tunnel with a stream of walkers on the other side. It is looking increasingly unlikely Glenn would have survived this but Maggie remains hopeful and blurts out to Aaron that she is pregnant.

As if it was not bad enough that everyone's beloved ex-pizza delivery guy may have died a very undeserved death, now it turns out he may be leaving behind his unborn child as well. Those Walking Dead writers certainly know how to pull at our heart-strings. Speaking of matters of the heart, Rick and Jessie finally shared their first kiss after several episodes of undeniable chemistry. Rick hardly has the time for romance right now with everything kicking off at the safe zone but the poor guy has had it rough since his wife Lori died during childbirth in season three.

Now feels strikingly different to the previous episodes with a huge chunk of the focus shifted on to Alexandrian residents whom viewers barely know or even care for. Subplots that include Carl and Jessie's eldest son Ron fighting over shared love interest Enid – who may or may not be a Wolf – and the out-of-the-blue kiss between Tara and "doctor" Denise all feel entirely unimportant when the only issues we care about are finding out if Glenn is really dead and what has happened to Sasha, Daryl and Abraham.

Also, kickass mother hen Carol is noticeably absent from this episode, which is unjust given her quick-thinking is the reason Alexandria is still standing in the wake of the Wolves incident.

After Morgan's 90-minute standalone episode last week and now, well, Now, The Walking Dead need to bring the action with episode six and hopefully our favourite faces will come along for the ride.