The Walking Dead – The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

After last night’s episode, I hope each and every one of you are coping better than I am. It was rough, it was brutal and more than anything else it was heartbreaking. I could barely catch my breath after that episode. Last season, we finally got to meet the big baddie Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and deal with the biggest cliffhanger to date. Each of us watched as our hearts palpitated over each point of Lucille at our favorite characters, poor Rick (Andrew Lincoln) powerless to stop the inevitable loss. So who was it last night? Let’s get right into it.

The episode begins after the bloodbath, Rick shaking as Negan quips about a joke he had made during the beating. Rick’s face reveals a strip of blood across it, most notably from the victim that Negan claimed. But Rick’s not having it, as he looks at Negan and promises him that he will kill him. Negan, who has proven to the group that he should not be crossed, makes Rick repeat those words and promptly asks his right-hand man Simon (Steven Ogg) for his ax. With ax in hand, Negan grabs Rick by the collar and hauls him off to the RV for a little adventure.

Inside the RV, Negan begins to taunt Rick a little, urging him to pick up the ax and constantly reminding him that he is now in charge. To prove his point, Negan takes Rick for a ride by one of the road blocks that the group encountered in the prior episode. Once stopped, Negan grabs the ax, opens the door and tosses the ax out into a sea of walkers in the fog. He then turns to Rick and asks him to bring him his ax. Rick stumbles out into the thick fog and fights the walkers as he climbs to the top of the RV to grab the ax. Once on top, Rick begins to think about the events that led to this moment.

At first, we see every group member and the memories that Rick has of them. But then, we just see Negan going down the line and using Lucille as a pointer for “eeny meeny miney moe.” While we didn’t see who Negan had chosen in the prior episode, we now get a clear picture as the victim of Lucille’s wrath will be none other than Abraham (Michael Cudlitz). Rick watches, powerless, as Abraham takes the first blow and gets back up. And in typical Abe fashion, before Negan completely turns his head into hamburger meat, he goes out by telling Negan “suck my nuts.”

Daryl (Norman Reedus), angered by Negan’s bravado, stands up and punches him. He is quickly detained by Negan and his men, Dwight (Austin Amelio) wielding Daryl’s crossbow in his face. Negan calls off Dwight and stands up, reminding the group that the first one was free, but now there are real consequences. Without thinking, Negan turns and unleashes Lucille’s wrath onto one more person, Glenn (Steven Yeun). Maggie (Lauren Cohan) unleashes a cry of pure agony as she watches the love of her life try to tell her he will always find her before Negan finishes the job and beats Glenn to death, exclaiming how Lucille is thirsty. After Glenn’s death, we are now brought back to where the episode began. But instead of one death, we now know that two victims met their tragic end.

Rick is brought out of his trance by Negan’s words to bring him the ax. Tossing the ax to the ground, Rick jumps off onto the walker hanging by a chain, trying to fight off the walkers as he slides down to the ground. Negan, now impatient, shoots all the walkers down so that Rick can collect the ax and bring it back to him. As they get in the RV and return to the group, Negan tells Rick that he wants him to work for him. Rick must understand this.

Once back with the group, Negan is still not convinced that Rick understands,as he still looks angry. But Negan has another plan: with guns pointed at the remaining group members, Negan then has Carl (Chandler Riggs) join his father. With a marker line drawn on Carl’s arm, Negan tells Rick that either he cuts off Carl’s hand or he will watch everyone else die. Rick, conflicted by having to make a choice, is then subjected to a countdown. Carl looks at his father and tells him to cut off his hand because he does not want to lose anyone else. The fear on Rick’s face stops Negan because this is the reaction he wanted, a pure loss of power. Negan then leans down to Rick and reminds him that he belongs to him now.

Satisfied with the outcome, Negan proceeds to gather up his group to leave, but not before he tells Dwight to load Daryl into his truck. All the other Saviors start to disperse and leave, with only Rick, Carl, Maggie, Rosita (Christian Serratos), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) remaining. Maggie is the first to move, ready to go over to Glenn’s body and first ready to fight Negan. Rick and the group calm her down, as the bigger concern becomes moving the bodies and bringing them back for a proper burial.

Sasha walks over to Rosita, knowing that the both of them are hurting even though Abraham was a point of contention for both of them in the past. Rosita agrees to help Sasha and the ladies, along with Eugene, pick up Abraham’s body. Aaron, noticing Maggie’s reluctance to let anyone help, tells Maggie that Glenn was family to them too and asks that she let them help her. Maggie agrees and the remainder of the group carry Glenn’s body back to the vehicle. Maggie is left alone, two large spots of blood prominent on the ground.

We see a flash of a hopeful memory before the episode ends, where the whole group is together. And at the end of the table, Glenn is sitting with his son on his lap while Abraham is next to him with Sasha. Sadly, this will never come to pas, and in the last moment, Rick is seen getting into the RV ready to head away from the site of the bloodbath.

If this premiere indicates anything, it’s that we’re in for an extremely bumpy ride this season. How will the group cope with the loss? And when will we see Carol (Melissa McBride) and Morgan (Lennie James)? Join me next week as Negan makes his first visit to Alexandria!