THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
When we last left our gang of zombie-killing survivors, they were surrounded by their enemies and one of them was about to get executed by the baseball bat wielding, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). However, audiences did not know who got the bat because the season ended on an awful, poorly-executed cliffhanger. The summer was a long one for fans as they were eager to find out who died, while also dreading their favorite character being killed off.
The long wait finally ended on October 23rd, as the series returned for its seventh season. Fans were finally going to see who died, but not after two commercial breaks and about fifteen minutes of deliberately delaying the inevitable. After the second commercial break, a disclaimer popped up on screen warning audiences that graphic violence and disturbing images were about to be shown. They weren’t kidding.
After waiting almost six months, it is revealed that Negan kills Abraham (Michael Cudlitz). Not that much of a shock considering Abraham is not a main character, but still a fan favorite to many. I can understand the disappointment of fans as Negan and the showrunners chose the “safe†route and picked a less popular character. Â
After an outburst by Daryl (Norman Reedus), Negan decides to punish the group by killing another member. He turns around and whacks Glenn (Steven Yeun) on the head. His death was bloody, horrifying, upsetting, and downright devious. The showrunners had us believe that Glenn was dead last season when they had a horrible fake-out death scene for him and then revealed he was alive all along. The show constantly likes to play around with the audience’s emotions and pulls off dirty tricks.
Now critics are saying that this is the downfall of the show. The Walking Dead has been reduced to “torture porn†and many are saying they are going to stop watching. Which I don’t believe because viewers vowed to stop watching after they pulled off the cliffhanger at the end of last season. Yet Sunday’s season premiere reached about 17 million viewers.  Not as high as the season five premiere, but still more than season six’s. So, I don’t think the viewers are going anywhere anytime soon.
Athough the premiere pulled off its tricks, I have to admit that this was the show’s darkest, compelling, and intense episode yet. I am eagerly waiting to see how Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the group will take on the threat of Negan and avenge their fallen brothers. The real challenge that The Walking Dead faces is how they are going to keep this momentum alive throughout the season.
Caesar Torres
Features Editor