After a rock-solid start to the fifth season, The Walking Dead has stalled.

What’s the difference? Well, for starters, the cast was together for the early episodes and separated for the later ones.

After a breathtaking season premiere which saw Carol almost single-handedly taking out the whole of Terminus, and which culminated with Rick and Carl reuniting with Judith, things sped along in the next two episodes as the remaining Terminus inhabitants hunted Rick and Co.

After taking them down in bloody (and justified) fashion, things tumbled when the cast was split again.

Listen, I get why they’re doing it. It’s to save money. The show runners figured they got away with it for the second half of last season – but the difference is, that they could get away with it as a plot device last season.

It’s a lot harder to explain now.

For example, am I really supposed to believe that Maggie would willingly wander off with Glen without looking for Beth even though she knows her sister isn’t dead? Really? Beth is Maggie’s only living blood relative left. There is no way she wouldn’t at least spend a few days looking for her sister.

And, while Carol and Daryl sped off into the night to search for Beth, Abraham’s insistence on fleeing right when the group was grappling with stuff seems so … lame.

Now, I’m glad the truth about Eugene is out and – God help me, I still like the guy – but it’s time for Abraham’s group to back track and join with their friends. Is the group too big? Yes. It’s going to have to be cut, but Rosita and Tara have had fodder written all over them since they were introduced, and try as I might, I’ve never really warmed up to Sasha (or Tyrese, for that matter).

There’s been a lot of talk about a big death happening on Sunday’s episode. And, whenever The Talking Dead (the companion chat show for The Walking Dead) touts a surprise guest, that usually means someone is going to die. They did it the week before Gareth died – and lo-and-behold, the actor who played Gareth showed up on the couch the next week.

That’s not always the case, though.

They did it before last year’s spring finale and Andrew Lincoln was the surprise guest – and we all know Rick didn’t die.

We’ll have to see. However, since we haven’t had a big, core death since Hershel, I’m guessing one of our beloved heroes is going to go – and the odds seem to point directly in Carol or Beth’s direction.

Personally, I have grown to love Carol and will be sad if she’s killed off – but she “fits” the signs that have been showing up, for some reason. The episode that followed her and Daryl before she got hit by the car seemed to be a love letter to her – and whenever an episode like that runs, the person featured in it often dies (just ask Hershel).

I am hard-pressed to believe they’re going to kill Beth off before reuniting her with Maggie. The Walking Dead is cruel – but I don’t know if they’re that cruel. They seemed to have gone through a lot of effort to build Beth up over the second half of last season and the beginning half of this season.

I am not ruling Beth out. I’m just leaning toward Carol – which very well could crush me. I would sacrifice the bulk of our group to keep Carol (Daryl and Rick notwithstanding) – but there’s just “something” in the air.

I don’t think that anyone can argue that we’re going to get a death Sunday. It’s not the “if” but the “who” in question. It would be much too easy for viewers to watch Rosita, Tara or Sasha die – which means it’s probably going to be someone we care about – which means a member of the core group.

Either way, I’ll have the marathon on all day Sunday to revisit the season in anticipation of the big finale – and then I’m sure I’ll be glued to the television for The Walking Dead and The Talking Dead Sunday night (so no one dare call me!).

All I hope is that separating the cast so early in the season means they won’t have to in the second half of the season – because the show tends to lag for me when that happens.

So, what do you think? Who is going to die Sunday night?