Death is constant. Death is painful. Death is cathartic. Death is and always has been a necessary aspect of “The Walking Dead.” In the latest episode, the series establishes what will go down as the most tragic death in its eight-year run. With an insane and catastrophic battle on several fronts, All Out War reaches a climactic peak that utilizes every single character and pushes them to new limits. This 90-minute Mid-Season Finale is a harrowing tale of community, teamwork, choices, sacrifice and the costs of deciding to continue surviving in the post-apocalyptic landscape. What happens in this episode will forever change “The Walking Dead,” its characters and its millions of fans, but it remains to be seen if this will be a positive or a negative for the future of the series.

“How It’s Gotta Be” opens with a powerful sequence that picks up immediately where the previous episode left off, with Rick being completely blindsided after finding out that the walkers at the Sanctuary are gone and that the Saviors have apparently escaped. He links back up with Jadis and the Scavengers as they inspect the courtyard and spot the garbage truck still rammed into the side of the factory. Gunfire from the upper windows ring out and cause Rick to be pinned down behind a barricade as the dirty trash people once again prove that they are completely untrustworthy by fleeing the scene; this is the final time they are shown in the episode, making me wonder why they are still alive (I really hope Rick doesn’t try to strike up another deal with them after this, because that would be straight up ridiculous). I’m really questioning what the point of the Scavengers is at this point, because they are beginning to feel a bit like filler. As the gunfire continues to ring out, two real-life “Saviors” in the form of Carol and Jerry arrive in an SUV to rescue their friend. Intermixed within this action sequence is a touching flashback conversation between Carl and Rick after their first encounter with Siddiq in “Mercy.” This conversation plays into a recurring theme this season as Carl imparts wisdom on his father, making it clear that the future they’re creating has to be based around mercy, not wrath.

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