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| ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Premiere: Negan’s Victim Is Revealed | ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Premiere: Negan’s Victim Is Revealed |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| So now we know: Jeffrey Dean Morgan should make a terrific Negan. | So now we know: Jeffrey Dean Morgan should make a terrific Negan. |
| In his first extended action on “The Walking Dead,” Mr. Morgan shifted seamlessly between malevolence and mercurial charm, reveling in the character’s overblown mannerisms while keeping him grounded in a calculating intelligence. He is arguably the most electric presence the show has ever had. | In his first extended action on “The Walking Dead,” Mr. Morgan shifted seamlessly between malevolence and mercurial charm, reveling in the character’s overblown mannerisms while keeping him grounded in a calculating intelligence. He is arguably the most electric presence the show has ever had. |
| Six seasons in, “The Walking Dead” had become repetitive in its cycles: This place looks safe … but wait! Rick is a hero! No, Rick is crazy! And so on. Mr. Morgan’s Negan has the potential to rejuvenate it. As the man himself noted: “It’s a brand new day, Rick.” | Six seasons in, “The Walking Dead” had become repetitive in its cycles: This place looks safe … but wait! Rick is a hero! No, Rick is crazy! And so on. Mr. Morgan’s Negan has the potential to rejuvenate it. As the man himself noted: “It’s a brand new day, Rick.” |
| Also, he killed Glenn and Abraham. | Also, he killed Glenn and Abraham. |
| As promised, the Season 7 premiere of “The Walking Dead” picked up where it left off in April, with Negan bashing an unfortunate member of Rick’s band of survivors. You’ll recall that a suspenseful eeny-meeny routine preceded the execution, which was shown from the victim’s perspective as VFX blood “dripped” down the screen. (In case you didn’t recall it, the season premiere spent the first 20 minutes rehashing it from different angles, the better to cram in a dozen or so ads before the reveal.) | As promised, the Season 7 premiere of “The Walking Dead” picked up where it left off in April, with Negan bashing an unfortunate member of Rick’s band of survivors. You’ll recall that a suspenseful eeny-meeny routine preceded the execution, which was shown from the victim’s perspective as VFX blood “dripped” down the screen. (In case you didn’t recall it, the season premiere spent the first 20 minutes rehashing it from different angles, the better to cram in a dozen or so ads before the reveal.) |
| The creators, including Robert Kirkman, the “Walking Dead” mastermind, and Scott M. Gimple, the showrunner, have spent the past few months insisting the cliffhanger move was absolutely not a cheesy bit of audience manipulation and instead served as crucial demarcation between two phases of the story. | The creators, including Robert Kirkman, the “Walking Dead” mastermind, and Scott M. Gimple, the showrunner, have spent the past few months insisting the cliffhanger move was absolutely not a cheesy bit of audience manipulation and instead served as crucial demarcation between two phases of the story. |
| Whatever. As Sunday’s episode revealed, any number of moments immediately following the bludgeoning would have allowed last season to end on a chilling, suspenseful note after also providing the payoff that had been teased for months. (One idea: Rick says, “I’m gonna kill you,” Negan yanks him into the R.V., door slams, roll credits.) In the final analysis, the story of Season 6 seems to be the show fell a little too in love with gimmickry — see also Glenn’s Dumpster dive, of course, and the Daryl shooting — and viewers got fed up. Hopefully lessons were learned. | Whatever. As Sunday’s episode revealed, any number of moments immediately following the bludgeoning would have allowed last season to end on a chilling, suspenseful note after also providing the payoff that had been teased for months. (One idea: Rick says, “I’m gonna kill you,” Negan yanks him into the R.V., door slams, roll credits.) In the final analysis, the story of Season 6 seems to be the show fell a little too in love with gimmickry — see also Glenn’s Dumpster dive, of course, and the Daryl shooting — and viewers got fed up. Hopefully lessons were learned. |
| But that’s all in the past. We now know the VFX blood belonged to Abraham, who spent much of the back half of Season 6 seemingly preparing to die, cutting ties with Rosita and imparting a few final lessons to Eugene. He managed to fire off one last one-liner before Negan turned his skull into Jell-O salad. | But that’s all in the past. We now know the VFX blood belonged to Abraham, who spent much of the back half of Season 6 seemingly preparing to die, cutting ties with Rosita and imparting a few final lessons to Eugene. He managed to fire off one last one-liner before Negan turned his skull into Jell-O salad. |
| Glenn’s murder was intended to be the shocker, and the writers deserve credit for somehow infusing some surprise into a death that was one of the well-known signature events of the comics. Even those who weren’t caught off guard, because they read the comics or internet rumors, or were just ready to see him go after all the Dumpster chicanery last year, had to have been moved to revulsion, at least, by Glenn’s bulging eyeball as he groaned his last words to Maggie. (“I’ll find you,” I think it was.) | Glenn’s murder was intended to be the shocker, and the writers deserve credit for somehow infusing some surprise into a death that was one of the well-known signature events of the comics. Even those who weren’t caught off guard, because they read the comics or internet rumors, or were just ready to see him go after all the Dumpster chicanery last year, had to have been moved to revulsion, at least, by Glenn’s bulging eyeball as he groaned his last words to Maggie. (“I’ll find you,” I think it was.) |
| So more than six months after it was posed, the “who” question has now been answered, allowing us to consider the natural follow-up: Was it worth the wait, as Mr. Kirkman promised it would be? | So more than six months after it was posed, the “who” question has now been answered, allowing us to consider the natural follow-up: Was it worth the wait, as Mr. Kirkman promised it would be? |
| I’m going with “nope.” For one thing, as noted earlier, I saw no compelling reason the cliffhanger device was necessary. For another, this was not a good episode. | I’m going with “nope.” For one thing, as noted earlier, I saw no compelling reason the cliffhanger device was necessary. For another, this was not a good episode. |
| Sure, Mr. Morgan was mostly a delight, but elsewhere “The Walking Dead” indulged in some of its most wearying tendencies. There was gimmickry — almost unbelievably, the show doubled down on the tedious suspense building and presented the big reveal via a tortured Rick flashback. (So perhaps lessons were not learned? That said, I think this episode was shot before the finale uproar.) | Sure, Mr. Morgan was mostly a delight, but elsewhere “The Walking Dead” indulged in some of its most wearying tendencies. There was gimmickry — almost unbelievably, the show doubled down on the tedious suspense building and presented the big reveal via a tortured Rick flashback. (So perhaps lessons were not learned? That said, I think this episode was shot before the finale uproar.) |
| There were contrived walker shenanigans, including Rick’s Tarzan routine with the hanging zombie. Indeed, the whole “fetch my ax” song-and-dance was revealed to be narrative filler after it was all over, when Negan still didn’t like the way Rick was eyeballing him. Sure, the Carl amputation threat that followed demonstrated Negan’s gift for brutal manipulation. But it also confirmed that the entire R.V. jaunt was just a vehicle for a bunch of flashbacks no one wanted. | There were contrived walker shenanigans, including Rick’s Tarzan routine with the hanging zombie. Indeed, the whole “fetch my ax” song-and-dance was revealed to be narrative filler after it was all over, when Negan still didn’t like the way Rick was eyeballing him. Sure, the Carl amputation threat that followed demonstrated Negan’s gift for brutal manipulation. But it also confirmed that the entire R.V. jaunt was just a vehicle for a bunch of flashbacks no one wanted. |
| Finally, there was cloying sentimentality — presumably the big Thanksgiving dinner we saw took place in the same dewy spirit world the “Lost” folks reunited in a few years back. | Finally, there was cloying sentimentality — presumably the big Thanksgiving dinner we saw took place in the same dewy spirit world the “Lost” folks reunited in a few years back. |
| Over all, it was a bit of a slog. Not long after we got confirmation on Abraham (called it, by the way) and Glenn, I started wondering what Carol and Morgan were up to. (Hanging out with a C.G.I. tiger, I guess.) | Over all, it was a bit of a slog. Not long after we got confirmation on Abraham (called it, by the way) and Glenn, I started wondering what Carol and Morgan were up to. (Hanging out with a C.G.I. tiger, I guess.) |
| On the plus side, the faux amputation scene was legitimately tense, and Andrew Lincoln remains admirably committed to Rick’s emotional wreckage. By the end of the episode, Rick was broken, or convincingly pretending to be so, and his crew was down two — three if you count the now-detained Daryl. Even worse: They’re still stuck with the junker R.V. | |
| But despite the TV trauma of losing two beloved characters, what was bad news for Rick and friends was potentially good news for the rest of us. “The Walking Dead” has been lacking in the verve department, and in Negan it seems to have found some. Here’s hoping the show can get out of its own way and put it to good use. | But despite the TV trauma of losing two beloved characters, what was bad news for Rick and friends was potentially good news for the rest of us. “The Walking Dead” has been lacking in the verve department, and in Negan it seems to have found some. Here’s hoping the show can get out of its own way and put it to good use. |
| • Glenn was never my favorite character, but Steven Yeun brought an agreeable warmth to him and, when you consider the callow youth Glenn was when the show began, his evolution over six seasons has been pretty amazing. Abraham’s quips are irreplaceable, alas. | • Glenn was never my favorite character, but Steven Yeun brought an agreeable warmth to him and, when you consider the callow youth Glenn was when the show began, his evolution over six seasons has been pretty amazing. Abraham’s quips are irreplaceable, alas. |
| • So we’ll have to wait another week, at least, to see if Maggie’s baby makes it. I can’t imagine the writers would give her a miscarriage on top of what she witnessed this week, especially since that would mean the whole trip that led to Negan would have been for nothing. But I guess we’ll see. | • So we’ll have to wait another week, at least, to see if Maggie’s baby makes it. I can’t imagine the writers would give her a miscarriage on top of what she witnessed this week, especially since that would mean the whole trip that led to Negan would have been for nothing. But I guess we’ll see. |
| • I can’t have been the only one who enjoyed when Negan flipped Carl’s dopey hat off his head. Petty, I realize, but I don’t care. | • I can’t have been the only one who enjoyed when Negan flipped Carl’s dopey hat off his head. Petty, I realize, but I don’t care. |
| • There’s still time to whip up a Lucille “vampire bat” costume for Halloween. You’re welcome. | • There’s still time to whip up a Lucille “vampire bat” costume for Halloween. You’re welcome. |
| • What do you think? Was it worth the wait? Were you surprised by any of it? Please share your thoughts in the comments. | • What do you think? Was it worth the wait? Were you surprised by any of it? Please share your thoughts in the comments. |