Whistling intensifies

Dead City lives. And of course we mean that in terms of season two of AMC Networks’ The Walking Dead: Dead City. The spinoff of the classic horror show brings the zombie plague to its vision of a post-apocalyptic NYC, where the undead stalk the streets, and the humans that remain vie for supremacy in a vicious and brutal world. Add TWD alums Negan and Maggie to that mix, and things are bound to get interesting.

With season one in the can, fans are eagerly awaiting the follow-up, which is coming to the network in 2025. If you’re among those looking forward to seeing TWD’s continuing adventures in the big town, then you’re going to want to see what’s spun out of today’s panel at Comic Con.

The event was moderated by Chris Hardwick, and showcased “Executive Producer Eli Jorné, Executive Producers and Stars Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Cast Members Gaius Charles and Željko Ivanek”. The attendees went over what’s on the way in the new year, which included new casting announcements. Keir Gilchrist (as Benjamin Pierce), Dascha Polanco (as Major Lucia Narvaez), Jake Weary (as Christos), and Pooya Mohseni (as Roksana) will all be joining the cast, for a tale that sees the unlikely duo of Negan and Maggie meet.

Check out an early look at the action to come, in the teaser below.

The Walking Dead: Dead City follows fan-favorite characters Maggie (Cohan) and Negan (Morgan) as they travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror. In season two, in the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.

AMC Networks press release

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Fresh content

Tekken 7 might have been out for a while, but the content is still coming. And that includes a piece of content that fans have been waiting for. Of course, that’d be The Walking Dead’s Negan.

• Julia Chang
  • Country: USA
  • Fighting Style: Xin Yi Liu He Quan and Baji Quan
  • After retiring as the masked fighter Jaycee, Julia concentrated fully on expanding her reforestation efforts around the globe, far from the fighting scene. But her project quickly needed money. Finding it difficult to secure backers, Julia was forced to return to the fight far sooner than she had wanted. Seeking one final fight, she made it her mission to beat Kazuya Mishima. Doing so, she theorised, would gain the global attention, and subsequent funding, that her project required.
• Negan
  • Country: USA
  • Fighting Style: N/A
  • The Walking Dead’s Negan, the charismatic leader of the Saviors, brought other communities together under his thumb with the motto “people are a resource.” One day, Negan received reports that an unknown group had taken out several of his men. Per his standard policy, he enacted a plan to capture and make an example of them. The survivors fell into Negan’s carefully laid trap, but, just as he was choosing his victim to serve as an example, the group put up an intense fight and escaped. Negan worried they would disturb his new world order if he did not deal with them swiftly. Taking his barbed-wire bat Lucille – named after his beloved wife – into his hand, he set out to take care of these foolish ingrates who would challenge his authority.

I still find Negan’s inclusion in Tekken to be odd at best. And how he could possibly fit into the story is a pretty big mystery. Nevertheless, there are more than a few fans who are excited about it. And he does look pretty cool here in this trailer, even with the staggering amount of profanity. Again too, he’s not the only new fighter, as Julia is finally back in the fold too.

Officially, these two are DLC numbers 8 and 9. They’re available separately, and are both a part of the season 2 pass. Look for them to become available on the 28th of this month.

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Second run

Tekken 7 has been a game with legs. The title launched with a stacked roster already, but was supported well with a great selection of DLC fighters in the first round of downloadables. And now it’s getting even more in wave two.

The big splash character included in season 2, as you probably already know, is Negan. Crossing over from The Walking Dead, Negan is an inarguably strange inclusion. I’m very sure though, that there are more than a few people out there who are looking forward to playing as the villain.

While he might be the centerpiece, he’s also only one of six new characters. It’s possible he’s not even the only non-Tekken fighter since we still have three entries that have yet to be announced. He’s also not in this first wave.

Instead, season 2 is kicking off with the return of two fan-favorites- Anna and Lei.

• Lei Wulong – A dejected Lei took a break from the police force after his failure to arrest Jin Kazama. It was during this time off that he became a fan of TV star and G Corporation employee, Lucky Chloe. Now, his hope is to one day meet his idol and find out more about the shady G Corporation which has driven Lei to seek out its leader, Kazuya Mishima.
• Anna Williams – After the events of the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Anna grew tired of the endless fighting. Following her retirement, she met and fell in love with an elite soldier from the G Corporation. However, on their wedding day, tragedy occurred. While getting ready for the wedding the sound of gunshots filled the main hall. Anna rushed to the commotion and found her fiancé dead and sister fleeing the scene. Anna, fueled by rage, decided to return to the fight once more.

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The show’s penultimate episode, “Worth” lived up to the hyp of any proper penultimate. There was drama, action, betrayal and tough decisions abound for every member of the fueding clans.

Given that before this episode aired, the show had roughly two hours to wrap up the war storyline that has been playing out for an entire season. as a result, it was guaranteed that we would be getting some answers to some burning questions. Lets get to it.

The episode opens up with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) reading Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) last letter to him. This is an emotionally taught few minutes where we actually learn what Carl envisioned for Rick. Carl’s letter describes times of glee and carelessness of childhood, and ultimately hopes that that same type of life can exist after the apocalypse. The letter asks for Rick to get peace when and where it is possible, foreshadowing an end to the war where all of the communities, even the saviors, work together.

Aaron and the Seaside women:

If you will remember back a few episodes, Aaron (Ross Marquand) is out trying to convince the seaside women’s village to join in the fight against the saviors. He has obviously been at this for some time.

Aaron is dehydrated, weather-worn and apparently starving. Some seaside members come upon him, and they basically tell him to get lost and that they will not hear him out.

Later in the episode, a sleeping Aaron is awoken by some encroaching walkers. He takes out five and drinks some rainwater before some more seaside villagers come upon him. He makes another plea, and the resulting decision of the seasiders isn’t clear.

Eugene’s wacky adventure:

We see Eugene (Josh McDermitt) explaining his favorite recipe (sardine macaroni and cheese) to his people at the bullet making outpost. He gets preachy with some of his workers and tells the workers that he is going to test some of the bullets they have made.

When he walks outside, he is quietly abducted by Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Darryl (Norman Reedus). They begin to walk him to the Hilltop.

Eugene tells Rosita that he does not like the way things have gone and that he thought Negan would have tortured and killed him. She tells him how worthless he is and says that he will continue to live, but as a pitiful excuse for an existence while he teaches the survivors something once in a while.

Eugene takes an opportunity to vomit on Rosita and runs away.

When he returns to the Sanctuary, he is an angry and bitter shell of himself. If he was questioning being a Savior before, he certainly isn’t now.

At the Sanctuary:

The Sanctuary is where the vast majority of the development takes place during this episode.

Simon (Steven Ogg) is having a conversation with Gregory (Xander Berkely). Simon implies that Gregory will be killed, and Gregory has an outburst. Assuming he is in total control of the Sanctuary, Simon tells Gregory that the two will “see how it goes,” whatever that exactly means. We will find that it doesn’t much matter, though.

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has a conversation with Dwight (Austin Amelio) about Dwight’s intentions when Negan’s car was found crashed into a building. Negan seems happy with Dwight’s response, and lets him go, telling him that he will come through for Negan when the time comes.

The next scene is in Negan’s inner sanctuary (Yes, that pun is intended- hah!) and Negan confronts Simon for attempting to usurp his position of power. Negan orders Simon on his knees, and we assume the end is here for our favorite loose cannon. At the last second, Negan forgives Simon. Simon tells Negan that he will make everything up to Negan.

Negan follows this little dramatic display of force by detailing a plan in which the Saviors will take the Hilltop. Dwight sends the plan to Rick by way of Gregory and Simon immediately tries to rally the anti-Negan forces. Dwight rats on Simon and Negan catches the group in the act.

Meanwhile, Gregory delivers Negan’s plans to Rick. The team seems to be taking the bait.

Negan tells Simon that the two will settle their differences like men, The two fist fight in front of all of the saviors. The fight ends with Negan choking out Simon. Negan ends the fight yelling that now he has to kill everyone who ever pushed back.

Negan offers Dwight his second in command. When they arrive at Dwight’s apartment, the only surviving Savior who knows about Dwight’s double-crossing neighbor is there. She explains how she saw Dwight fire on saviors and it is obvious that Negan has been aware of the treachery for some time.

Negan explains that Dwight came through for him a final time by delivering Negan’s fake plans to Rick. He tells Dwight that he has very special plans for him.

A bookend:

The show ends with Michonne (Danai Gurira) contacting Negan via walky-talky. She reads Carl’s letter to him.

The letter is similar in tone to what he wrote to Rick, but melancholier. He basically argues that peace and togetherness is the only way forward. Negan ends the call by telling Michonne that the time for peace and talking is over. He crushes the radio with his boot.

This was an incredible episode. We got to see Negan fight his second in command and got a lot of answers to lingering plotlines. Dwight has been revealed as a traitor and Rick has the wrong plans for Negan’s attack.

Next week’s episode promises an end to the war, and honestly, it is time for something new. I cannot wait to see how the fight shakes out, though. It is going to be absolutely brutal.

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Things are ramping up as the season begins to come to a close. Like most usual, the episode focuses on a few main groups of survivors. Lets get to it:

Miscellaneous developments:

The beginning of the show is tying up a few loose ends from previous weeks.

Tara (Alana Masterson) was shot with a supposedly gunked up arrow during the Savior’s assault on the Hilltop, but she doesn’t get sick. Darryl (Norman Reedus) doesn’t buy this and argues that Dwight (Austin Amelio) should have done more to warn them of the attack if he were really on their side.

Inside, Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) are talking. Michonne implores Rick to read Carl’s last note to him. This causes Rick obvious distress, and takes the note. He knows that Carl wants peace to prevail, but Rick is still going through some stuff after losing Carl.

Negan and Jadis:

The last we saw of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), he was being held captive by Jadis (Polyanna McIntosh).

When we see Negan now, he is strapped to a ground-gurney. Jadis is nearby. Negan tells Jadis that he is not responsible for the carnage his men unleashed on the trashland. Jadis walks away, and Negan uses his feet to propel himself towardsa trashbag on the ground.

Jadis returns with another a weird walker strapped to a gurney. By the timeshe returns, Negan has found a gun, a flare and a bunch of pictures that are very important to Jadis. He threatens to brun the pictures up, while Jadis threatens to burn Lucille up.

The two have a relative heart to heart, it seems. Negan explains that he named his bat Lucille because it was the name of his late wife.

A brief kerfuffle over the flare makes Jadis miss her taxi (helicopter??? What the hell is going on?). Jadis does not burn Lucille.

Morgan and Carol:

Morgan (Lennie James) begins the episode talking with Carol (Melissa McBride). The two are discussing going after Henry (Macsen Lintz), who disapeared in the chaos of the siege when the Hilltop prisoners escaped.

The two leave Hilltop, and Morgan is obviously deeply disturbed. He continues to believe he sees Henry. and is obviously on the edge of a mental breakdown. Morgan loses Carol.

Carol, at the end of the episode, finds Henry besieged by a bumch of walkers. She saves him, and he is extremely sorry for the way he has acted in trying to get revenge for his brother.

Morgan and Rick:

Morgan bumps into Rick, and is so close to losing it that he nearly attacks Rick. Rick talks him down, but the two are knocked out before they can make any further progress.

The two wake up in the control of the Saviors Rick was looking for. There is a long discussion. These are the Hilltop prisoners.

The group decides to keep Rick until they can deliver him to Negan. Rick explains that if they release him and Morgan, the entire group will be granted amnesty.

The Savior most vigorously advocating for this plan frees Rick when a herd of walkers come in. Mrgan and Rick turn the tables and slaughter every single one of the saviors, including the Savior who killed Henry’s brother. Rick confronts the man who saved him and owns up to lying.

Wrapping up loose ends:

Returning to the Hilltop, Morgan tells Henry that he killed Benjamin’s murderer. Negan escapes from Jadis and returns to the sanctuary. He returns in the dead of night, so we can believe that the morning will be a rough wake up call for Simon (Steven Ogg).

There was a lot of development in this episode. We learned that Rick is still flipping nuts, and we saw Negan get free. Otherwise, not too much plotwise happened. Regardless, things are at a flashpoint for the final two episodes of the season.

They should be a great two episodes.

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Folks who have lamented the lact of action in recent episodes of “The Walking Dead” have had a lot to be happy about this half season.

Since the show has returned from its mid-season hiatus, “The Walking Dead” has been on a non-stop, action focused bender. The result is yet another action packed Sunday night, as Rick (Andrew Lincoln) finally has a direct run in with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in the heat of battle.

Maggie on the Hilltop:

Like a lot of recent episodes, this one is split between two groups. These are two groups I care much more about than recent episodes though!

Maggie (Lauren Cohen) is still on the Hilltop trying to lead her people to prosperity. She is joined by many of the residents of Alexandria, who fled there after the Saviors firebombed the city.  Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) make up the rest of the supporting cast here.

The primary conflict at the Hilltop is still a lack of food. Surveying the surroundings, Maggie notices an SUV in a nearby field. After some deliberation, the group retrieves the van. Inside the van, the group finds a note and some milk crates. The group is to fill the crates with records in exchange for “a key to their future.”

Maggie originally balks, but at the insistance of Michonne, they go to meet the mysterious party. the group meets a mysterious trio- Georgie (Jayne Atkinson, Midge (Misty Ormiston) and Hilda (Kim Ormiston). Georgie, the leader, tells Maggie that she can tell that they are good people, and wants to help. In exchange for the cultural value of records, Georgie will provide invaluable information.

Maggie takes the trio back to he Hilltop, where some more deliberation occurs. The Hilltop group breaks when Georgie offers to include food in the deal. In exchange, Georgie produces a massive textbook of instructions on how to produce things for a civilized society. This includes hand drawn schematics and instructions on how to process varying foods and build varying pieces of equipment. Maggie seems blown away. Georgie promises that she will return in the future.

Rick, Negan and the Other Guys:

Negan and a contingent of his top men are on their way to the Hilltop to free the men Maggie has taken hostage. Negan is in his own car while Dwight (Austin Amelio) and Simon (Steven Ogg) wax poetic about how to proceed with the Hilltop.

The caravan is driving through a small city, and Rick, lying in wait to ambush Negan and get him alone, smashes into Negan’s car and breaks up the caravan.

Negan briefly passes out in his car after wrecking, and Rick advances upon him, firing rounds and rounds of ammo into the car. Negan ducks for cover into a nearby dilapidated building. Rick fires off all of his rounds and is only left his hatchet. Rick throws the hatchet up a set of stairs where Negan is waiting with Lucille (a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat). Negan trips and drops Lucille into the depths of the staircase. Rick makes a move to chop off his fingers, but Negan drops down at the last second.

Rick follows Negan into the bowels of the building, What follows is a tense exchange where Negan continues to drag Rick for getting lots of his own people killed. Meanwhile, walkers are following them into the building.

Negan offers to forgive Rick if he can get the communities to fall in line. Rick asks Negan why he would trust any offer after what Negan did to the trash people. Now, remember, Negan told Simon to spare them, and is caught very off guard by Rick telling him that they are all dead.

Rick doesn’t have it, finds Lucille, and lights her on fire. This sends Negan into a rage and the two have a fight with walkers flooding the proverbial arena.

While this is going on, Dwight and Simon are looking for Negan. They find his crashed car, and without checking to see if he is inside, light the car on fire.

this seems like sacrilege, but lets break this down: Simon thinks Negan is running the Saviors into the ground by sparing lives. Simon plans to kill everyone at the Hilltop just like he did the trash walkers. Dwight is just as happy to see Negan dead, but goes along with the plot.

Negan regains control of Lucille and escapes, seeming no worse for wear. Rick also escapes unscathed, and finds Negan gone.

The episode ends with Negan waking up in a car. The camera pans and we see Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) driving. She tells Negan to shut up and knocks him out again.

My Thoughts:

This was the best episode of The Walking Dead in more than a season. We got some genuine development with Georgie and Rick/Negan and a ton of action to fill the episode out. We get a real sense of the passions burning close to the surface of Rick’s mind, with Carl being dead.

There was tension and progression, and honestly, that is all you should be asking for. The storyline is getting better and better with Jadis kidnapping Negan. This half of a season has truly been a return to form for the show.

The conclusion of this war is going to be incredible.

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Tis episode goes all over the place: From seeing red for revenge to brief brushes with faith and most places in between, this episode packs it all. Split between three main groups, the story is stitched together competently. Lets dig in!

The Priest and the Doctor:

The only group with no interaction with the others on this week’s show is Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Doctor Harlan Carson (R. Keith Harris). The two were freed from the Sanctuary by Eugene (Josh McDermitt) after Gabriel was sick. The goal was to get doctor Carson to the Hilltop so that he could look after the pregnant Maggie (Lauren Cohen).

The episode picks up with the two in a car, and Gabriel attempting to read a map. His sickness has eaten away at his eyesight and he is having  trouble. A Walker appears and the two deal with it off screen. The car refuses to start, so the two proceed on foot. The two find a house with the remains of a radio operator who was looking for other survivors. They also find antibiotics, and it appears that Gabriel’s life, if not his eyesight, will be saved.

They break some kind of pottery and find the home owner’s car keys and a map. On the way to the car in the garage, Carson getc saught in a bear trap, and Gabriel uses some kind of incredible jedi-like senses to shoot the walker off of him. Before the two can escape in the home owner’s jeep, a small group of saviors comes upon them. Before leaving with them, the Saviors shoot Carson. Gabriel’s faith appears to be shaken to the core.

The Group on the Road:

Darryl (Norman Reedus), Rosita (Christian Serratos) and the rest of the refugees from Alexandria are on their way to the Hilltop. There isn’t too much that happens with these guys, but the things that do hapopen are pretty exciting.

Tara throws a fit that Dwight (Austin Amelio) is “still breathing.” For those who don’t remember, Dwight’s group of people were the ones who put a bolt into Denise’s (Merritt Wever) head. Denise was Tara’s love interest, and she is obviously having a tough time forgiving.

Darryl takes the leaders to scout out a swampy  route while leaving the majority of Alexandrians with Tara and Dwight. The rest of the group is resting while Tara decides to take Dwight to clear an overland path of walkers. After Dwights puts down the last walker, Tara tries to shoot him. She chases him and they are almost set upon by some Saviors. Dwights takes his opportunity and reveals himself to them, leading the group away from the Alexandrians.

This is noteworthy, because Tara was arguing that Dwight was never loyal. He proved his loyalty, even to Tara.

When Darryl returns from the scouting trip, he lashes out at Tara for letting his happen. He believes that Dwight will sell the Alexandrians out, but Tara and Rosita (who saw the exchange), assure him that he will not.

At the Hilltop, Maggie is dealing with strained rations and prisoners basically begging to be free. The Hilltop is originally excited to see the Alexandrians before they realize the true horror their arival symbalizes. The group breaks down at the ealization that Carl (Chandler Riggs) has died.

In the Sanctuary:

Our first glimpse in the Sanctuary is Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) using very sinister language with Eugene, implying that if Eugene facillitated the release of Gabriel and Carson, there would be hell to pay.

Negan puts Eugene in charge of his own output, producing ammo. Eugene lets the position go to his head as he bosses around one of the women working for him. At the end of the episode, Negan shows up with Gabriel and tells Eugene how they escaped. He does this with a fabricated story that came from Gabriel. Negan gives Gabriel to Eugene as a worker.

Before Negan leaves, he tells Eugene to ramp up production. Eugene tells Negan that this is not possible, but asserts that there is another way to increase effectiveness.

The last scene of the episode shows Negan relaying this method to a few men. Instead of needing to actually kill enemies, they can simply grime up their weapons on  some walkers and land glancing blows to infect the enemies.

My thoughts:

This season continues to improve week over week.

We really get to see some cool comic scenes come to life with the weapon-mucking up. Although some interactions were grating, the escalating action is continuing to get me pumped for the rest of the season. I just know that the end of the season is going to be some absolutely insane television, and I cannot wait.

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The summary:

The previous four shows this season have focused almost totally on Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group of people. This episode diverges just a little to show what is going on in the Sanctuary during the all consuming war.

The last time we saw Negan and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), the two were trapped in a trailer after Rick’s army led an army of the dead to their gate. The result is a character episode where we learn about redemption and forgiveness in one of the show’s seemingly most irredeemable characters.

The show picks up with Gabriel praying to God, telling him that the only thing he fears now is a fruitless death.

The next scene takes place in the Saviors’ inner sanctum. The top level saviors (including Eugene (Josh McDermitt)????) are consulting Gregory (Xander Berkely) right before the confrontation that ended the first episode of this season. The group wants to know how Gregory can reign in his community when Rick shows up on the doorstep. In this gathering, one of Negan’s men suggests wiping out the Hilltop to send a message to the rest of the communities. Negan blows a gasket, explaining that humans are a resource and will not be wasted. We know the rest.

Negan tackles Gabriel to stop him from shooting Negan dead immediately. What follows is a long talk about redemption, confession, strength and weakness. Gabriel gets under Negan’s skin, asking about all of the apparent attrocities that go on in the sanctuary, finally landing on the subject of Negans’ wives. Asking about the first, real wife of Negan. This causes him to slip and Gabriel attempts to shoot Negan before retreating behind a locked door.

Inside the sanctuary, an encroaching horde of the dead is making the supplies line more and more difficult a question. Workers are getting angry, thirsty, hot and hungry. They make their way to the inner sanctum, where the remaining top level soldiers are discussing Negan’s fate.

Negan comes clean with Gabriel about the past, and we learn what Negan did before the apocolypse, and why Negan actually thinks that he is pursuing the most noble path forward. This isn’t some angry facade. He comes forward and tells GFabriel that they need to work together to get out, because the horde is not weakening. The two use the old zombie stench gag to start sneaking through the horde, and break character before getting inside.

The two arrive right as tensions reach a fever pitch inside. The workers fall at Negan’s feet, and we get the idea that taking away Negan will not be nearly as easy as Rick thinks it will be.

There a few odd insights throughout the episode.We get the idea that Eugene knows Dwight (Austin Amelio) is working with Rick.

We do see Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) in this episode. The two talk about what plan to follow after finding the explosives in the last episode. The tempers flare and the two start fistfighting, but when the truck and explosives go p in explosions, the two help eachother to get out. Even while fighting, these two are best friends and it is just the best.

The war is picking up in emotional and physical tolls. I just hope that the war turns out the same way it does in the comic books.

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The episode focuses on Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) visit to Alexandria. Before he arrives, Michonne (Danai Gurira) sneaks out on Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and takes a sniper rifle with her. She is leaving town to practice her aim. 

While she is gone, Negan and his crew, including Daryl (Norman Reedus) arrive. They start to make good on their promise to take half of everything. Negan decides that they will also take every single gun the group has after Carl (Chandler Riggs) threatens Negan’s men. Walking all over the town, Negan decides that “half” actually means whatever he chooses.

The episode is really about power and is an examination of the broken Rick. We see him crumple and fall in line with Negan, working to find missing guns so that Negan doesn’t kill anyone else looking for them.

The 90-minute episode is tense throughout, and really gives viewers a look into how broken Rick is when it comes to Negan.

Now, lets take a look at what all this can mean for the future. Coming to this with a background from the comics, it is safe to say that the overall course we are taking will be similar in basic plot lines. The trailer for the next episode also shows us that the Hilltop and Maggie (Lauren Cohen) will be the center of next week’s Walking Dead.

Based on what we have seen so far, I think we will see the beginnings of Maggie taking over the leadership position at the Hilltop. The deal she made last season with the current leader, Gregory (Xander Berkeley), to take out the Saviors obviously backfired. There will now be a power struggle as Gregory demands further action and Maggie explains to the people that there is no action to take unless unity comes.

I believe that at the end of next episode, Jesus (Tom Payne), will mention the Kingdom to Maggie. This is only the first step towards a unification against Negan that will in all likelihood, take awhile to come to fruition. 

This was a really strong episode, even if things were slowed down. The tension that the show created in moments that would normally be light, such as Negan saying that a certain event “really tickles his balls,” is incredible. If the plot can be imagined as a roller coaster, we are on our way back to the top of the ride after the beginning of the season acted as a brutal drop.

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The episode focuses on Daryl (Norman Reedus) after he was taken to Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) compound after the season premier. We don’t get our first glimpse of Daryl for a bit though. First, we get to see Dwight (Austin Amelio) going about his daily business. This includes watching taped reruns of “Who’s the Boss?” and taking things from other survivors who broke rules and were beaten to death, Then, the fun stops.

Dwight makes a dog food sandwich and brings it to Daryl. We are also introduced to this masterpiece:

This plays on repeat, through basically the entire episode whenever Daryl is getting brought food. In the interest of full disclosure, I listened to this on repeat throughout the writing of this recap. If it drove me crazy, I can’t imagine what it did to a naked Daryl after he was in this cell for such a long time.

Trying not to harp on that, before too long, Dwight comes and gets Daryl to get him examined by a doctor. At the office, the two run into Sherry (Christine Evangelista), who was getting a pregnancy test. She assures Dwight it was negative, and Daryl, in his fresh clothes adorned with a large, sloppy “A.”

The majority of this episode, for Daryl, consists of Dwight and other saviors trying to break him. Dwight starts throwing his dog food sandwiches at him, and showing him the defense fence that is lines with walkers. To keep Daryl in line, they keep threatening to put him on the wall as a walker.

We get a one on one between Negan and Dwight, where Negan offers Dwight a “go” at one of the women in the compound, assuming that woman consents. When Dwight declines, Negan begins asking whats wrong with him, and telling him he doesn’t need to do grunt work. Dwight responds that he enjoys the grunt work.

We go along with Dwight to catch someone who escaped. After a close call and an injury, Dwight catches up with the man. A brief exchange has Dwight threatening him, and him saying he doesn’t care and wants to die. A few moments later, and Dwight wins. Walking back, Dwight shoots him anyway. We later see him on the wall as a walker.

Sherry and Daryl have a few dangerous moments, where she apologizes for stealing his things with Dwight, an exchange from last season. Daryl tries to escape, and is quickly surrounded by Negan and his men. Negan feints a Lucille attack, and tries to drive home the message that Daryl better get on message.

At the end of the episode, Negan has Dwight bring Daryl into his personal room and tries to offer Daryl a place amongst his most trusted men. Negan asks Daryl who he is. (The correct answer is “Negan.”) And Daryl affirms that he is indeed Daryl still.

We also learn how Sherry and Dwight, who used to be married were separated, and how Dwight’s face got all burned up. Sherry married Negan to save Dwight’s life, and Negan still punished him (for the duo’s previous escape), by ironing his head.

This was another strong episode. I personally enjoyed the look into Negan and the savior’s compound. We also get to see more into Dwight and Negan’s character. They aren’t inhuman scum. Dwight has actual problems carrying out Negan’s orders, and Negan refuses to allow any type of violence towards women. He may have 20 wives, but they all consent.

This was a strong episode, and next week’s should be just as strong. A 90-minute return to Alexandria, where we will surely see Rick trying to reconcile what transpired nearly two weeks ago.

And so, as Negan might ask; “Are we pissing out pants, yet?”

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