The Walking Dead season 9, episode 1, “A New Beginning,” wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, and not necessarily in a good way.

I’m not going to lie: I went into The Walking Dead season 9 premiere “A New Beginning” expecting it to be horrible. In reality, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting but I wasn’t blown away by the episode either. Instead I finished the episode feeling just okay about it and still apprehensive about what’s to come in the rest of the season.

Related: The Walking Dead season 9 premiere exclusive teasers: It’s a whole new world

To start, the episode spends a fair amount of time setting up what this new world looks like for the communities that are now working together. This is fair enough, considering that we have a lot to catch up on.

Things are a bit different since season 8. Maggie is officially leading the Hilltop, Daryl is leading the Sanctuary, and Ezekiel is still playing the role of king over at the Kingdom. While Rick only technically leads Alexandria, he seems to become something of a legend among the other groups.

While everything seems like it’s going pretty smoothly, and there’s more happiness than there was before, there’s still unease in the air. It’s especially noticeable among some of our favorite characters who seem to be going along with the motions because that’s just where they are.

Rick seems to be pretty content with the way everything is, though he’s definitely feeling the stress of having to play peacemaker between everyone. He may not officially be in charge of everyone, but it’s sure set up in a way that big decisions go through him first. This in itself creates tensions among the friends when they don’t all agree on the way things should be.

Maggie and Daryl are unhappy in one way or the other about their lives. Neither approves of the fact that Negan was left alive after the war. They’re still not happy with it even if they’re not taking any action about it — yet.

It seems like Daryl is the most disgruntled about his role at the Sanctuary. He’s basically given up on the place and the people. Unrest is growing as they face difficulties and there’s chatter about wanting Negan to return. They still seem to have respect for Rick when he shows up, even if it he’s the only one that believes they can turn things around at the Sanctuary.

Maggie is still trying to figure out what kind of leader she wants to be. Over the time that we missed with the group we learn that they decided to have an election and voted Maggie as their official leader. However, Gregory is still there trying to stir things up and get back in power. She’s also extended a lot of help towards the Sanctuary as they struggled at the request of Rick.

Both of these things end up leaving a bitter taste in Maggie’s mouth. It puts her in a bad spot with her people until Maggie decides to take matters into her own hands.

I’m expecting Maggie’s storyline this season might be one of the more interesting ones, which is why it’s unfortunate that her role in the series will be reduced going forward. Maggie might be one of the few saving graces of the series that’s still left over, so I’m not excited to see what it will be like when she doesn’t have a major role.

As far as Rick is concerned, the premiere sets up the vision of a happy family between him, Michonne, and Judith. Though it’s certainly nice to have happy moments in the show, what it actually does is leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth knowing the heartbreak that’s sure to lie ahead. Thanks for the memories AMC, but why are you trying to make us love Michonne and Rick even more when he’ll be gone soon?

For what it’s worth, the episode does a good job of bringing back the connection between the characters that’s been missing in the last few seasons. With all of the action in previous seasons, the importance of the friendships and relationships went right out of the window. Fans get plenty of good interactions between the characters in this episode, but there’s also a bit of sadness knowing they’re all spread out now. This is something that Daryl actually points out.

The premiere features a mission which brings Team Family and others together. Which makes it feel like the good old days. But I’m not sure how much of this we’ll actually get in the season, especially if Daryl and Maggie start butting heads with Rick.

I’m hopeful that fans will get to see new friendships develop this season that we’ll actually care about. With so many of the original cast out the door it’s vital that The Walking Dead makes us care about those that are sticking around. I think it’s possible, if they make the right moves, but for now I can’t say for sure if that will happen or not.

The premiere also let fans know that they’re still not afraid to kill off characters. I’m still worried about the series killing off characters for shock value, instead of doing it to develop characters and storylines. Is it too much to ask to go one important episode without killing someone?

As a final note, I’ll say that the show does seem to be nicely setting up its women to take on a bigger role. I’m hoping to see that continue, especially once Rick is out of the show.

Overall, The Walking Dead season 9 premiere had some good parts and some bad parts. I feel very much like a fan at a crossroads. The series could either pull me back in or push me away for the final time. Honestly, I think they have a lot to prove to fans that have been upset by the past few seasons.

For those of us that remain, we’ll just have to see where The Walking Dead season 9 goes and decide if it’s worth sticking around for more.