This show has thrown a lot at its audience through its lifespan. It’s dealt with a lot of death, a newly re-committed Tandy and Carol, Jason Sudeikis as the endlessly charming Mike Miller, bacon secrets, Christmas, haircuts from hell, polygamy in process, and if I never hear the songs “Informer” or “Falling” again, it’ll be too soon. But I was particularly excited for this season premiere not only because last year ended on such a suspenseful note, but this series has built such a reputation for itself in regard to doing incredible season premieres that throw you into new chapters of insanity. This premiere doesn’t isolate you in the same way that past premieres have, but it is just as unpredictable.

Oh, and if you had any fears that the show wouldn’t be able to make Will Forte look like a monster courtesy of some insane hair mod, don’t worry, season three has got you covered in the most ridiculous way. Groucho Marx would approve.

This is a real rug pull of a premiere and there is just so much that I love about it. I love that rather than playing out some obstacle where trigger-happy Melissa is locked in the stocks through this invasion, she immediately gets out and puts her skills to use. It’s straight up bad ass that Melissa puts her lead where her mouth is and does not hesitate to straight up murder these intruders. She’s nothing if not reliable in a crisis. This death also nicely keeps this show’s growing cast in check. Not that three new people would be overcrowded, but two—one of which we’ve already spent a bit of time with—feels a lot more palpable. Killing someone is obviously a very heavy thing to do (with it looking like this behavior is already starting to affect Melissa in some exciting ways), but this is literally a life or death situation they’re looking at here. Or at least that’s how it looks.

I also love that the opening minutes of this episode play like some home invasion horror film and the tension and fear created is very much a real thing. But in perfect Last Man on Earth fashion, the premiere flips this idea on its head with this situation not being as it seems (I was fully expecting a premiere that was an all-out siege). The way that we learn of these pacifistic intentions made me not only burst into laughter but applaud. The identity of who plays, Darryl the fallen invader, is just so, so satisfying, and the series is getting a healthy reputation of introducing an A-Lister only to immediately kill them. I fully support more of this.

Also, the Malibu Crew is getting a pretty sizable cemetery going on at this point. I know that last season did Christmas, but maybe a Halloween episode this year will lead to some zany zombie action (of course the product of some expired cheese-induced hallucinations). That funeral scene is also a treasure trove of continuity. Not only do we get a shot of Gordon, but also a reminder of Gail’s accordion prowess and Carol’s drawing ability. It’s a nice introduction of these outsiders into their world.