Post by VelmasDead on Nov 12, 2016 14:50:48 GMT -6
Whenever I watch this episode, I think of this meme floating around that shows a skeleton and says, “Enid still waiting in the closet.” That cracks me up for some obnoxious reason. This was one of the best episodes of the series.
For the first few seasons, Rick was a man that lived by a moral code. Killing did not come easy for him and helping anyone that asked was something he did without hesitation. I am not saying he has turned into a horrible person, but he has adapted. Now he doesn’t question what is put in front of him, he handles it. He has faced so many horrible situations that he truly believes there is nothing he cannot face. He deserves to have that mentality after the Governor and Terminus. He has earned it. Unfortunately, the one thing that can destroy you is being overconfident. There has to be something that will allow you to step back and be objective. Rick lost that objectivity. He was so hell bent on having a viable community that he didn’t listen to the warnings about Negan. He heard what the people were saying, but he really didn’t listen. I also don’t think he really understood the enormity of Negan’s army. Regrettably, he found out.
The first part of this episode deals with getting Maggie to the obstetrician in Jesus’ community. They keep running into road blocks. They have been strategically created by Negan’s men to send a message. The most personal message was seeing Micchone’s hair on one of the walkers. At some point the crew (Rick, Abraham, Sasha, Eugene, Maggie, Carl and Aaron) realize that the RV isn’t too practical to travel discreetly in. Eugene volunteers to drive the RV in order to lead the army on a wild goose chase while the others cut through the forest with Maggie on a stretcher. As they get deeper in, there is whistiling resonating all around them. They end up hitting a clearing full of enemies. We oficially meet Trevor from Grand Theft Auto. He turns out to be Simon, Negan’s henchman. He welcomes them by saying, “You made it. Welcome to where you’re going.” It reminds me of a line from a Dr. Seuss Book, Oh the Places You’ll Go. Rick tries to talk with Simon, but he isn’t having it. He then collects all their weapons and tells them they will need to get on their knees, including Maggie. Abraham defiantly advises him they will help Maggie. Simon is, “Sure, sure.” Rosita, Darryl, Micchone and Glen are unloaded from the back of a truck. It seems they were being held hostage while all of this was transpiring. Glen see’s Maggie and you can see that he is horrified she is part of what is going to happen.
Negan finally makes his appearance. He walks up to the group in a leather jacket, red scarf, motorcycle boots and the accessory of the year, Lucille. Lucille is his baseball bat. In a previous episode there were polaroids of crushed skulls. I think Lucille was the culprit. Negan asks who is in charge and Simon directs him to Rick. Rick looks like he has lost his grip on reality. Everything has changed. Negan is here to inform him that he is the one in charge and he wants Rick and his group to work for him. All of the situations Rick’s group ran into earlier were Negan’s attempts to show him what he was up against. Negan also advises the group that if they thought they were going to go unpunished, they were sorely mistaken. In his words, “I’m going to beat the holy hell out of one of you.”
No one is safe from his scrutiny. Maggie is looking as if she is on her deathbed and Negan offers to put her out of her misery. Glen jumps up to defend her. That is true love. Glen would never have been able to save her, but he didn’t care. I like how Negan allows him that one display of emotion. It is here when I think there is some semblance of reasonable man behind the bat toting villain. He also sees Carl. He makes the connection that this is Rick’s son. Rick loses control and tells him to stop. This is when Negan gets back on track and advises him not to make his choice easy. He tells Rick, “It sucks, doesn’t it? When you realize you don’t know shit.”
At this point, Negan realizes that he needs to make his decision and goes with the tried and true method that will allow you to pick someone completely randomly: eenie-meenie-minie-mo. He aims that bat in everyone’s face. The season finale closes with Negan beating someone. Since we are seeing it from the victim’s point of view, we have no idea who it is.
Now mind you, I buy the season on Amazon Prime. The episodes are not available until the day after they have premiered. I avoided social media, friends and news outlets because I didn’t want to know who was killed! I was livid after watching that episode and realizing that I wasn’t going to find out who was murdered until the next season. I think that was one of the best moves to keep the audience chomping at the bit until the Season 8. I must admit, I watched the Negan scene multiple times because Jeffrey Dean Morgan nailed it. I have never been in such turmoil over a villain. Hating the Governor was easy because he had no redeeming qualities. I find that I like Negan and feel guilty about it after he took out my hero Abraham and the father-to-be Glen.