Season 7, Episode 16
Air Date: Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 9/8c on AMC
Rating:
“No one has to die.” – Sasha Williams
Sasha got some payback!
My thoughts were all over the place as I waited to see the season seven finale of The Walking Dead (TWD). I had no idea what was to come or where things would go with any of the groups of survivors. We know the Sanctuary is going down (maybe); the bad guys have a limited time to wreak any more havoc (sort of); and those who seek to live out their lives in peace will have that chance (we hope). With the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the Scavengers all lending a hand, will the Alexandrians have the manpower needed to overthrow a tyrant? I can see it all coming together, the plan being set to execute without any hiccups. But you know something will go wrong; the Saviors won’t go down without a fight. It won’t be all sunshine and rainbows. And I have my concerns about our fearless leader. Is someone we’ve come to know and love turning into a tyrant himself?
The Gang’s All Here
Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) pulls a fast one; Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) gets caught with his pants down; and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) gets put “down.” I did not see any of this coming and I’m not quite sure how to handle the events of “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.” Nothing too surprising happens (har, har) during the take-down of the Saviors but I’m so tired of good people dying while the assholes continue to roam the countryside. When will TWD get back to the day-to-day survival of the zombie apocalypse? That’s what I want to see more of. This story line of ‘one man to rule the world’ doesn’t make sense when there is a more menacing enemy at hand. I get it, I do but I’m looking for something else to happen next season. I want to get back to the meat of this story, which is human beings fighting the same enemy, not one another.
Ezekiel (Khary Payton) tells Morgan (Lennie James), “You are not stuck,” which is so true. Morgan can move on from his grief. He doesn’t have to get lost in it again and fall into the abyss of melancholy that claimed him in season one. Morgan is so much better than that; I don’t want to see him go back down that path. It took so long for him to come out of it. I get the sense Ezekiel won’t give up on Morgan; he is the one who will be the catalyst to Morgan’s return to reality.
Why has no one thought to move out of the area where Negan reigns? Is it that difficult to move someplace else? Do they have to stay in Virginia? I mean, we began this tale in Georgia. Why not keep moving north, or west for that matter, and face the damn zombies? Negan’s far reaching hand will get old and his charm will run out.
Morgan and Rick are back together again.
You realize Michonne (Danai Gurira) is like Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) step-mom, right? Rick and Carl seem to conveniently forget about poor Judith because she’s more than likely not Rick’s kid. The reunion between Michonne, Carl, and Rick makes me get a little teary-eyed. Michonne thought she was on her way out after getting her ass royally kicked, while Rick and Carl both thought she’d met her demise too. We see how much these three care for one another, which gives me hope. With that hope comes the knowledge or speculation that the writers will dash my dreams to pieces by ending one of these characters in the new season. Ah well, it was good while it lasted.
I love seeing Rosita (Christian Serratos), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and Tara (Alanna Masterson) kicking butt. The girl power is strong in TWD and it doesn’t seem to be a passing phase. Now, I’d like to know how these women will shape the fight that is to come. Maggie is the obvious choice to lead the people of the Hilltop as her influence reaches far within the remaining surviving groups. Rosita doesn’t have Rick’s ear but she is a loose cannon who might go off and do her own thing. Then there’s Tara, who is able to convince anyone what she’s doing is right. She’s the only go-between for the Alexandrians and the Oceansiders.
Interesting Quotes:
Daryl to Rick: “When this is done, I don’t care if he is sorry; I’m gon’ kill that sonofabitch.”
Don’t we know Daryl (Norman Reedus) to be a man of his word? I don’t doubt Dwight (Austin Amelio) is breathing his last.
**
Negan to the Saviors: “We go to war!”
**
Overall
What a heart-wrenching moment. Loved seeing Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) again.
As a season finale, I’m disappointed. Granted, there is no cliffhanger to keep you wondering what will happen next, and that could be where my issue lies. Or it remains with the blatant and unnecessary death of yet another beloved character. No one, it seems, is safe from getting the ax. Yet one more favorite bites the dust and then almost bites Negan in the face. What can we anticipate to happen in season eight that is more awesome than that?
Let me know what you think about “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe.
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Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC © 2017 AMC Networks Inc.
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