The Walking Dead - "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" Review. What. The. Heck?

Season 7, Episode 1

Air Date: Sunday, October 22, 2016 at 9/8c on AMC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Suck. My. Nuts.” – Abraham Ford

I’m not quite sure how I feel after watching the season seven premiere. My problem is that I didn’t have much of a reaction, aside from my heart beating out of my chest, as I watched who we lost. I called it. I knew who at least one of the brutally and gruesomely murdered characters would be. It’s kind of disappointing but I understand how the deaths needed to happen in order to move the story forward. While Rick (Andrew Lincoln) will probably outlast everyone since he seems to be the main narrator of our tale, there’s no telling who isn’t expendable. Season seven of The Walking Dead (TWD) is going to be a doozy.

What Do You Think About…?

Rick reflects on what has happened and how the group will go on.

My heart was racing as I watched Rick stumble around, experiencing flashbacks of the people he loves most in the world. I didn’t know what to expect, what was happening, or why we still hadn’t seen who Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) introduces to his beloved “Lucille.” I’ve never experienced such edge of my seat anticipation as this. Not only that, I seriously thought I’d have to sue the writers of TWD for giving me a heart attack. Yes, I was that anxious for the dreaded news. But, taking a few deep breaths, I pulled myself together and got through the entire season premiere without shedding any tears. Either I’ve gotten so used to the gruesome nature of TWD, or the writers can no longer shock me. I thought there would be some tears of disbelief but my eyes stayed dry. Why, you might ask? Well, I’m hip to the rollercoaster of emotions the writers and directors try to put us through each season. I’m onto them and won’t be made to feel more for these characters than I should. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably have my breakdown after writing this because I’m still in shock. How about you? How have you handled the long awaited reveal?

Real talk: I kept waiting for Carol (Melissa McBride) to pop out of the woods and start busting caps in some asses. Where in the world is she? I know it’s been a while; she’s hurt on the side of the road and probably out of range, but she’s Carol. Will she come into contact with Negan and his group at some point? Will she find her way back to Alexandria? I’m so excited about the possibilities in her future, even though she wasn’t in “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be.” But man, imagine if she how things would have turned out had she been there.

Abraham doesn’t hesitate to stand up like the soldier he was. He will be missed.

I don’t understand Negan’s endgame with respect to surviving the zombie apocalypse. Does he believe he’ll be able to create a dictatorship where he rules a certain amount of territory? Is he taking over the localized area section by section, making it impossible for anyone to go anywhere without knowing and feeling the long reach of his influence? I find it hard to believe no one in Negan’s group is willing to stand up against him. Isn’t there one person who thinks about taking him down? Maggie (Lauren Cohan) might be the individual ready to take on Negan. There’s nothing like a woman scorned, and she’s got more than a little reason to want to see Negan dead.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) are our unlucky winners in the game of “Eenie Meany, Miney Moe.” I guessed Abraham was the one to meet Lucille head on (pardon the pun) simply by the view we received from the camera in the season six finale “Last Day on Earth.” The camera wobbled, became straight again, and then held somewhat steady before wobbling again. The only person I could see standing up to those blows was Abraham, and his stance in the circle made him stand out. Negan took him out because he knew Abraham would cause the most trouble. I don’t think Negan fills his gang with people who would continue to fight him because that wouldn’t be productive. He needs to have a sense of control over everyone under his thumb, and Abraham made it known he wasn’t going to back down. Glenn was simply a casualty of war. Although, if you are a reader of the graphic novels, you know Glenn’s fate mirrors what we saw in “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be.” My initial thoughts revolved around Glenn being spared since we thought we’d lost him once before. I guess his surviving being eaten was to prepare us for his ending now. I am heartbroken and can say with certainty, this changes things.

Overall

Now this is a happy ending.

I can’t say I enjoyed watching The Walking Dead season seven premiere because it was difficult to watch. The gore really got to me in a way it hasn’t before, and the two senseless murders of beloved characters turned my heart to stone. I’m beyond pissed that Daryl (Norman Reedus) keeps getting kidnapped by people who see him as something to take claim over. I don’t believe Negan is smart enough to realize who and what Daryl is to Rick just yet. And I know Daryl won’t take what’s coming lying down. He may have lost a bit of his fight due to his actions bringing about Glenn’s demise but Daryl ain’t nobody’s bitch. It was a devastating, yet great episode in many ways. Let me know what you think about “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle