The Walking Dead Season Seven Premiere

First Aired October 23rd, 2016.

Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) defiantly tells Negan (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan) that he will kill him. Negan then drags Rick into his camper, but the identity of the person Negan chose to kill is left a mystery.

Negan goads Rick into trying to kill him with an ax, but Rick is too slow to use it. Negan then beats him. He begins driving off and Rick sits traumatized while images of his group flash on the screen. Negan further asserts authority over Rick by forcing him out onto a walker-filled road to retrieve his axe. Rick manages to climb safely onto the roof, and breaks down in tears. It is then revealed the person Negan chose was Abraham (played by Michael Cudlitz), and Rick tearfully recounts Negan beating his head into mulch. Rosita (played by Christian Serratos) is left devastated and Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) tries to attack Negan. In retaliation for Daryl’s actions, Negan decides that someone else from the group has to die. Negan then proceeds to hit Glenn (played by Steven Yeun) with the barbed wire bat named Lucille. Glenn manages to say goodbye to Maggie (played by Lauren Cohan) before Negan bashes in his head.

It was smart keeping the identity of the murdered character a mystery for the first half of the show. We waited months. But why not keep the suspense going? Abraham was a great character, always full of one-liners and I’m sure people were shocked to see him go. Glenn has been a fan favorite since the first season and his death was a surprise because we didn’t expect a second one. For months, people knew a character was going to die. So killing off another is the best way to surprise them. Also, for the most part, The Walking Dead has changed several character’s fates from the comics and Glenn is the first to die the same way he does in the comic series. With the added brutality of their deaths, it was a jolting opener for season seven and sets a tone that nobody is safe.

Inside the camper, Negan tortures Rick by shooting through the roof and forcing him to jump off. He’s nearly devoured, but Negan shoots several of the walkers to give him a fighting chance. As Rick fights his way back to the camper, images of everyone in the group being beaten with Lucille flash onto the screen. They drive off, and Negan taunts Rick that he is no longer the leader he used to be and how much it must hurt to lose two of his own. Rick is delivered back to the others, and Negan says his actions are about showing Rick he is subservient to him. He notes Rick still looks defiant. Negan orders his men to put their guns to the back of everyone else’s heads and has Carl (played by Chandler Riggs) brought forward. Rick is then ordered to cut off Carl’s left arm or everyone else will be killed. Devastated, Rick nearly does it, but Negan stops him and says he can see Rick now understands he belongs to him. However, Daryl is loaded into a van and Negan promises to harm him if they ever challenge his authority. He also tells them they’ll return in one week for an offering of supplies.

The show has had its share of villains, but in just one episode Negan has set himself apart into a class by himself. Now, it is true Dead has recycled the plot of the violent psychopath who terrorizes the group. But Negan feels like a breath of fresh air not only because of how violent he is, but also his overall demeanor. The way he cracked jokes as he bashed their heads in and how jovial he is in general. It’s the reason he was a fan favorite in the comic series. Rick always recovered from tragedy because of his strong spirit, and Negan took the time to break him—meticulously. It was so effective that Negan’s threat to have Rick chop off Carl’s arm, which normally would be a clear fake-out, seemed real because given everything he did: why wouldn’t dismemberment be next? Hopefully, Negan will be around for a long time because this is a character with a lot of potential, who will keep shaking things up in the narrative.

Maggie wants the group to prepare to fight Negan and his men, but Rick refuses, as he doesn’t want to lose anyone else to them. They load Abraham and Glenn’s bodies onto a truck and proceed to get Maggie some help at Hilltop for the complications with her pregnancy. While driving away, Rick remembers happier times with the group enjoying a meal together, and sees walkers eating the bloody remains of their friends off the ground. Maggie is riled up from losing her husband Glenn and although the others are still clearly shaken, they’ll get there too. But given how hard Negan hit them, it might take awhile before anyone else thinks about fighting back. Right now, they’re all thinking “I don’t want my brains splattered across the ground”.

Quotes/Thoughts

“You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me.”

I think we can all agree if Negan ends up killing Daryl his character’s popularity will plummet.

“I’m gonna need you to do it or all these people are gonna die, then Carl dies, then the people back home die, and then you eventually. I’ll keep you breathing for a few years just so you can stew on it.”

This may be the bloodiest season yet and I can’t wait to see what’s in store.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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