Spoilers ahead, but you probably already know the most important one.
Yes, Negan, the joke was that bad.
Just when we thought everyone’s minds will be at peace once we see who gets the bat, we were surprised that the much rumored two deaths was actually true. And the way it happened was something we didn’t see happening.
As if the months-long waiting after that nasty cliffhanger wasn’t enough, The Walking Dead’s creators had us wait halfway through the episode to see who actually gets the bat. Instead, we first see the aftermath, where Negan drags Rick from the lineup for a ride on the RV.
It’s almost sad, to see terrified Rick, cowering in the darkness. There’s desperate Rick, fending zombies barehanded to fetch Negan’s axe. There’s desolate Rick on the rooftop of an RV, lost and confused. There’s the quaking Rick in the lineup, as Negan starts his eeny, meeny, miny, moe. There’s frantic Rick, hanging off a zombie just to save himself from Negan’s bullets.
And while he’s stranded on that RV roof, we finally get to the flashback moments before, where the killings happened.
The victim who takes it like a champ is none other than Abraham. He was at the end of the eeny, meeny, miny, moe. He had been bashed to bloody pieces. It should’ve been over.
But no, it wasn’t. And neither was Negan’s speech. Because Daryl seems to ruin things by attacking Negan. And for a measly punch that didn’t even hit right, he launches Negan into another tirade of his rules—followed by everyone’s gasps as he bashes Glenn’s head in.
One, two, then we see Glenn look up at Maggie. Suddenly, everyone’s reminded of that comic book scene of his bloody face, eye popping out, saying incomprehensible words to his wife.
That’s when we finally see Rick become complacent. Gone is the face of the hero who had started to turn aggressive against everyone outside of his group. We see a man who mumbles and stutters to save his son’s arm. We see a man who begs “Please” so many times, crying like a madman, and even allowing himself to get slapped around by Negan.
We see a man who suddenly felt and feared the weight of being the decision-maker. We see a completely transformed Negan minion when Rick finally gives the look of surrender.
“It’s a brand new day, Rick. I want you to think about what could’ve happened. Think about what happened. And think about what can still happen.”
More than the gore, those two bloodied, near-headless bodies, and the distraught group in the lineup, Negan’s words are probably our biggest takeaway. In one day, the entire power shifted from the hunters to the hunted. And Negan’s threat following taking Daryl hostage and the looming return of the Saviors next week for their portion, the group is facing what could be the biggest threat yet.
So yes, I could say that The Walking Dead’s creators delivered on that promise of a hard-hitting premiere episode, even when we half-know what could happen. It even delivered on setting up the tone for some of the character changes that we might see.
Because even when Rick has now become Negan’s biggest dog, we may have just seen someone else taking the stance he can no longer do. In the little circle of survivors, Maggie was the first one to get up. Even with Rick’s pleas for her to sit down, she says a firm, “No.”
She wants to get ready. She wants to fight. Maybe not in a few episodes, maybe not even in this entire season. But something’s brewing there. And that something might just overpower the threat of Walkers. Just look at that last scene between Rick and a lone walker.
So, am I sad that Glenn’s already out of the running for The Walking Dead’s Last Man Standing? Yes, because he was one of my biases, and he will always be that adorkable pizza-boy-turned-badass-zombie-hunter.
Do I hate that Glenn was the one who had to die? Maybe not as much as I thought I would.
And here’s why. We have to remember that Glenn has always been one of the group’s strongholds, with Daryl being the more mature and leather-clad badass of them after leader Rick. With him gone, Daryl taken hostage, Abraham now a champ without a head, and Rick a man without the proverbial balls, someone has to be the boss.
Among the women, there are only two who are extremely able to fend for themselves. But Michonne may have become just as fearful after Carl’s near-armless experience. And Carol, well, she has her own issues now.
The three remaining women in the group, Maggie, Rosita and Sasha, however, may see some kind of change coming.
If I had to force an analogy, it’s the same way that I felt when Dany lost Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. The men in their lives have now been bashed to pieces, and the other men are not as aggressive or fearless to fight back. Drogo’s death forced out the Mother of Dragons from within the meek little Targaryen girl.
Now, the death of the two very reliable strongholds and the death of the leader in Rick may have just forced the women to take the necessary stance.
We may have to say goodbye to the true image of romance in zombieland and say farewell to Gleggie (or Menn). But we may be saying hello to an all-new Maggie and her girl troupe. And any girl-power done right on TV is A-ok by me.
I just hope they won’t be pairing Maggie with anyone else, just like Dany should never get married with anyone ever again—but that’s another story altogether.
The Walking Dead will be back for the next episode on Monday on AMC.