SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON 7 PREMIERE FOLLOW!
By: Tyler Miller
It’s been a long summer guys, but we made it. The Walking Dead is back, and after watching that season premiere, I think we can all agree that boy was that a tough episode to watch.
When season six ended, a majority of fans were absolutely livid with the show. How could the creators build up to Negan’s introduction and such a pivotal moment in the comic, only to totally bungle it and leave everyone in the dark on who he killed? The big question was if the season premiere would be worth the long wait and the ending that we got. I think that it’s safe to say that the premiere was definitely worth the wait.
The big question of who Negan killed wasn’t answered until about 15 minutes in, but when it was revealed, it definitely hit hard (pun not intended). Abraham was the unfortunate victim of Negan and his awesome bat Lucille, and he went out in exactly the way we would expect him to. Even after taking a hit from Lucille, he got back up and told Negan to suck his nuts. Classic Abraham not backing down from a no-win situation.
What was not expected though was the fact that we got a SECOND death after this happened. That’s right, Negan killed another member of the group, and it was fan favorite Glenn. Comic readers will know that Glenn is the one who Negan kills in the comic, so many were expecting him to bite the dust, including myself. Once Abraham died though, it seemed like Glenn was going to make it out of this alive. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as Daryl attacked Negan out of anger for Abraham’s death, causing Negan to decide to kill Glenn.
It was such a shocking and violent moment that I found myself having a bit of a hard time watching. Not only that, but it was emotional as well. Glenn using his last words to tell Maggie that he would find her were heartbreaking and made the scene even sadder. Everyone in the cast really did an awesome job showing how torn up they were as Negan murdered Abraham and Glenn.
The rest of the episode followed Negan taking Rick on a little trip to test him and truly break him. Rick still felt that he could have some power over Negan, but throughout the episode, Negan took that away from Rick and brought him down to the lowest level we’ve ever seen Rick. Whether it be making Rick go get an axe out of a horde of walkers in the fog, or talking down to him, Negan was consistently exerting his power over Rick, and it was hard to watch Rick become completely broken. Rick is a man that we’ve seen consistently have some fight in him no matter the situation. Even when he was tied up and about to get killed at Terminus in what looked like a death sentence, he still had a level of confidence in his ability to kill those that were a threat to him. The Rick that we saw in this episode was not that man.
The final test that ultimately broke Rick was when Negan demanded that he cut off Carl’s left arm, or else everyone in the group and back at Alexandria was going to die. Negan stopped him right before he eventually did it, but the damage on Rick had already been done at that point. He was no longer the over confident leader we saw in last season. This was a brand new Rick that was afraid of his adversary and could do nothing to stop him.
Other thoughts:
- Glenn’s final words to Maggie were heartbreaking, as was Abraham giving Sasha the peace sign before he died. They’re both going to be dearly missed.
- I wonder how Glenn’s death is going to weigh on Daryl since he caused it to happen. We’ve seen Daryl go to dark places before when people die, as with Sophia, Beth, and Hershel. None of those were his fault though. This is the first time that a group member’s death was a direct result of his actions, and I can only imagine where he’s going to end up mentally and emotionally as a result. Especially since he’s stuck with Negan’s group of Saviors. Things are definitely not going to go well for him anytime soon.
- Speaking of Negan, I have to commend Jeffrey Dean Morgan yet again for his awesome job playing Negan. I’m just loving every scene with Negan in it because of how well Morgan plays the man, and I can’t wait to see more of him this season. He’s easily become one of my favorite characters on the show.
- I like the way that the show was teasing Rick getting his hand cut off, just like he did in the comic, albeit much earlier in the series.
The season premiere was a brutal episode physically, emotionally, and mentally. The Walking Dead is going to some dark places now, and things will never be the same as they were before. Negan’s in charge now, and the world is his.
TheComfySpot 