The Walking Dead - “Sing Me A Song” Review. Inside the Sanctuary.

Season 7, Episode 7

Air Date: Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 9/8c on AMC

Rating: ★★★★★

“I want you to sing me a song.” – Negan

Excuse Me While I Rant

Rick is out scrounging for scraps while his son is taking a stand. How does that work?

I was excited for this new season of The Walking Dead (TWD) as much as anyone else. I thought about it, obsessed over who was going to bite it in the season premiere, and felt crushed at what eventually happens to the survivors. What I didn’t expect is to feel so worn out after watching an episode. “Sing Me A Song” evokes quite a few feelings in me that aren’t my norm. I typically rave about a new TWD episode, not wanting to wait to talk to my friends about it. Now, I keep my comments to myself, barely containing my disappointment by screaming at my television screen. Then I brood a bit, worrying over how I’ll put my thoughts into coherent terms to make up a review that isn’t full of negativity. So why am I still watching? Like many other viewers out there (raise your hands), I have hope that the writers and producers have something amazing up their sleeves. I haven’t read any of the graphic novels and have no idea where things are going, so yes, I’m still looking forward to what’s to come. But I can’t sit back and not think about where we’ve come from. It doesn’t quite make sense to me and I’m feeling a little lost. End of rant.

The Man We Love To Hate

It breaks my heart to see Daryl being degraded and treated like the red headed step child. Again. He isn’t broken like Negan thinks.

Here are a few things I’ve picked up about Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) that I didn’t know before: he’s a polygamist (who’s to stop him), really likes the color black (it is slimming, after all), and has to have control at all times (hence the barbed wire baseball bat). For some reason, Negan believes he has to rule with an iron fist by manipulating, belittling, and scaring the ever loving shit out of people with ominous threats. The thing of it is Negan doesn’t scare people with what he can do but uses the idea of what he can get someone else to do for him. Yeah, he beats people to death with his beloved Lucille, and irons their faces, but he’s only one person. The fear lies in the people who unwittingly do his dirty work. The power he wields over his mindless followers is the reason some of the Saviors turn tail and run instead of staying in the Sanctuary a moment longer. The cocky swagger Negan possesses will be his downfall. He’ll try to intimidate the wrong person and suffer the consequences.

I’m underwhelmed with this story line. I love Morgan to death in this role but Negan has to have another side to him. Morgan does the character justice with his embodiment of everything Negan symbolizes. His arrogance is personified by his bobbing lean; his menace is expressed with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes; and Negan’s ever present swagger is ugh. There seems to be no end to his reign of terror. He’s an asshole because he can be, and well, that’s it. There is no greater good he’s working toward. He isn’t doing anything to help the world. Negan is all about helping himself. He talks about rules like they are something he follows. “We bring civilization back to this world. We are the Saviors. But we can’t do that without rules; rules are what make it all work.” He uses scare tactics to get the toughest guys on his side, so they can intimidate and frighten anyone they come into contact with for him. But Negan doesn’t deserve respect. He treats men like children, promising them safety, security, and shelter. And, of course, anything they can take from anyone else. “You probably think I’m a lunatic,” Negan asks. Carl (Chandler Riggs) may not think that yet, but the rest of us sure do.

Negan sees himself as a father figure where Carl is concerned. This worries me.

And speaking of Carl, this kid is my damn hero. He is brave when he should be pissing his pants, he’s taking action when others are not, and he’s kind of a miniature badass.

Jesus (Tom Payne) appears and disappears like magic. Will we ever learn who he is and how he’s able to pull off the most ninja moves? I know you saw him hitching a ride on the roof of the truck, and that Daryl (Norman Reedus) did as well. So where in the world did he get too? There was nowhere for him to go but down. What did I miss?

Overall

“Sing Me A Song” moves the story along enough to keep me interested in what will happen next week but my fervor is fading. I miss the zombie in this zombie apocalypse. Are the extended episodes supposed to make up for something? Giving me an extra half hour of mediocre plot doesn’t fill me with joy. I don’t like the group seemingly separating and doing their own thing. The wandering is tedious, succumbing to Negan’s demands is bullshit, and the ever present will they or won’t they break free of Negan’s push and pull is exhausting. I want the TWD of old. Or at least to see Michonne (Danai Gurira) kicking more butt. I bet she’s better with her aim now.

Let me know what you think about “Sing Me A Song” 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