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EPISODE 4: Service
THE HOOK: Negan shows up early to ruin everyone’s day. Especially Ricks.
The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don’t recommend reading this if you haven’t watched this episode
THE LOWDOWN: Talk about getting your wings clipped. That, was hard to watch. Negan showing up early wasn’t much of a surprise, but the real question is, would he have taken all the guns if Carl hadn’t pulled such a dumbass move? I’m thinking yes. It’s all strategy, baby. You think he landed on Abraham because that’s how his little game of “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” went? Not a damn chance. He saw a formidable force in Abraham, someone who could put up a fight, so he took that away from Rick. It’s also why he took Daryl and is trying so hard to convert him. Tonight’s no different. One way or another, he was leaving with those guns.
The sad truth about Negan’s visit is in his final words to Rick. At this point, they’ve come in, taken anything and everything they wanted, and chances are that’s what’ll happen next time too. This is a vastly different visit than the one The Kingdom got. That said, we don’t know how The Kingdom’s first visit went, or what sort of deal got made out of the gate, but hell, a fist fight even broke out there and it was all good. I don’t think Alexandria will get that nice of a visit. Ever.
Negan is taking a monumental shining to Rick, or rather, to twisting the blade oh so slowly into his heart. Having him carry Lucille around is harsh, but bringing Daryl along as a trophy is even worse. It’s so hard to watch these apex predators (Rick and his group) get beat down like this, and the tension could bring about a heart attack at any moment. Then you have morons like Spencer who just have to add insult to injury. Seriously, that dude has been on borrowed time for a while now, I think it’s time to settle up. Rosita’s playing with fire too, but I can’t blame her. Nor can I blame Michonne. The only person who seems even remotely unaffected is Father Gabriel—his meeting with Negan was priceless.
THE WALKING DEAD Season 7’s fourth episode was ninety minutes so we could get a really good look at the ramifications brought on by the premiere. There is a lot going on here, and losing their guns is just the beginning. Not so sure how the Maggie lie will play out, as you know he’ll find out about it sooner or later—glad she wasn’t there though, I can’t even begin to imagine what Negan had in store for her. Totally didn’t see Rick’s breakdown speech about Shane coming. Wow. Just. Wow. It’s easy to move past all that as viewers, but in doing so we forget that these characters are still dealing with these things every day. To hear Rick say he knows Judith isn’t his though, that was powerful stuff. I don’t give a rat’s ass about The Hilltop, but I’m seriously looking forward to Morgan bringing back news of The Kingdom. Shiva needs to eat some Saviors.
ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK: Rosita impaled a walker in the woods something fierce, but I’m also a sucker for Michonne slicing skulls in half.
BLOOD AND GORE: Some walker deaths, good ones too, and a deer got shot in the neck.
COOLEST SCENE: There was a lot of great Negan speeches tonight, and just about any scene where he’s talking to Rick is chalked full of the right kind of tension, but those final words to Rick were a petty huge FU.
FINAL VERDICT:
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