The Walking Dead kicked off its seventh season on an incredibly high note, providing viewers what is arguably the series’ most tense, gory, and all-around best episode to date.
Filled to the brim with heavy psychological drama and brutal action, this season premiere was pretty tough to get through. Excellent pacing, tension building, and direction plummet viewers straight into this vile world, making us feel as if we’re watching something we shouldn’t be seeing.
With about fifty minutes of television oozing with suspense and trauma, we picked out the four most shocking moments from The Walking Dead: Season 7, episode 1.
Full spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, we advise you to revisit this article once you’ve done so. Again: spoilers, people!
Abraham gets the bat…
When the sneak peek was released last week, some were quick to deduct Abraham would be the one who’d get his skull caved in. The angle added up perfectly, and seeing how Abraham’s character had become more layered throughout the entirety of season six, it was likely this flat-topped, foul-mouthed redhead would be the one to go.
Still, when the moment landed, it shocked us all. About fifteen minutes into the episode, the tension leading up to scene in question was surreal. Negan’s “Eeny Meeny Miney Moe” was repeated, which we all remember ever so well from the controversial finale from last season.
When the camera panned over to Abraham, however, our breaths halted. Before his demise, he bid Sasha farewell with his trademark peace gesture, along with a pretty fitting one-liner that made us remember Abraham the way he’s always been. Seeing his long-time friend Eugene sob in disbelief merely spoke to what we were feeling ourselves.
… But Glenn’s death quenches Lucille’s thirst
Right after Negan practically rubs the bloodstained Lucille in Rosita’s face, Abraham’s former love interest, none other than Daryl Dixon stands up to him by hooking him in the jaw. Many feared Daryl would be the one to get the bat next, but all of a sudden, Negan turned around and cracked an unsuspecting Glenn’s skull right down the middle.
Glenn’s death was taken straight from the pages of the comics. He looks absolutely horrendous as his eye pops out of its socket, turning to Maggie and telling her he’ll find her. The entire scene is shocking and rather unexpected, especially since it directly follows Abraham’s death.
As Glenn mumbled his last words with his skull caved in and blood gushing down his face, Negan takes a moment to leave him in his suffering, addressing Glenn’s wife as she broke down in tears. While this scene would still be a tremendous shock if Negan would simply beat Glenn to death with a few consecutive hits, we can’t help but hate the grinning psychopath ever more than we already did for leaving this pizza boy turned seasoned survivor gargling in his own blood for about half a minute before finishing the job.
Negan forces Rick to push through psychological trauma for his own pleasure
Nearing the end of this episode, the entire group had already been through plentiful psychological trauma. The one who got it the worst, however, was undoubtedly Rick. Not only did he witness Lucille getting drenched in the blood of two of his closest friends and most trusted allies, but he was dragged along inside the RV by Negan who played some sick mind games on the trembling leader.
What we reckon would be about two hours later, Rick returns to the group, all still frozen in fear, right after having fended off walkers during an attempt to recover Negan’s hatchet himself. Rick was nearly driven to madness, collapsing atop of the RV in a moment of relative serenity and reflection. Only seconds later, Negan forced Rick back onto his useless quest, leaving the traumatized survivor running and fighting for his life.
We can’t begin to comprehend the toll this must have taken on Rick’s character. It’s as if Negan grabbed him by the neck and dragged his face through all the horrors that had just occurred, all while adding a bunch of unneeded pressure, simply to prove a point. From a psychological point of view, this was undoubtedly the most daunting moment across all of The Walking Dead
Rick is forced to cut Carl’s arm off
Rick simply doesn’t catch a break this episode of The Walking Dead. After Negan took him along for a nightmarish hell ride, Rick was thrown back in front of the group. Here, the maniac reveals he dragged Rick along in order for him to break and bend to his will. Since Rick stubbornly holds on to his braveness and dare we say arrogance, Negan resorts to one final measure.
With guns to the back of everyone’s heads, Rick is pushed into chopping off Carl’s arm. It’s clear that this is the moment that absolutely shatters Rick, enslaving him to Negan for a foreseeable future. Negan goes into visceral detail about the process and how he wants to see it, counting down as Rick is sobbing and begging him not to make him do this.
Luckily, Negan stops him right on time, saying that exact hopelessness and powerlessness is what he desires from Rick and his group. It’s most definitely a tense bit of television, beautifully capturing a character’s turning point with a haunting idea behind it all.
About the author
