The show didn't mock Glenn either. Negan did. No more than Ramsay mocked Theon, when he torturted him.

Bottom line to me: Negan will not survive the series. They want us to anticipate the day someone, anyone, kills Negan. They don't want us to "love to hate" Negan. They want us to hate him. I think some people forget that we're not supposed to love a villain.

Interestingly that is not at all how it goes down in the comics.

The ultra-violent seventh season opener of the AMC zombie drama Sunday night delivered 17 million viewers and an incredible 8.4 rating among adults 18-49.

So much for the bullshit excuses that people were tuning out after the cliffhanger finale. Basically they did exactly what they were supposed to do: build buzz all summer for the premiere. And it worked.

I do wonder what drops will occur now though.

Funny, the show just called me like ten minutes before you posted this and said, umm, it never gave any fucks about you.

Don't cry Ecksy...

This past episode was terrible. I know this is what TWD is known for but having the episode focus on Carol and Morgan in this new environment was not enough for anything substantial. Just reminds me how half the time this show is just.. ugh.

ok

Sunday's episodes editing seemed really off. I know they were going for something arty. Didn't really work for me though. Seemed very out of place from the rest the series. Also I think they're trying to make you like Dwight. I think the actor is just bad.

I don't mind Dwight. He's a bit off as far as normal casting, but I kind of like it. He just looks a bit like the bad guy in a family movie. You know he's bad but he looks kind of goofy too. I just like the direction of it. They did a nice job of showing what it's like in Negan's world. And kudos to them for going all that way with the episode and making us think Daryl would break and say "I am Negan".

Not sure about Ezekiel though. It seems like a jump the shark moment to have this character with a goddamn tiger (I know it's in the graphic novels, but that doesn't make it any better). It's cool on the outside, but I'll have to see how it progresses.

And of course, I'm sure we're not getting a tiger unless we see it in action down the road.

We're back to normal TWD, which I am perfectly fine with. I just don't quite get the low reviews on the last two episodes. They're pretty standard episodes. They couldn't all be horrific action like the premiere. Although I've tended to like the lesser episodes (I love the Daryl/Beth episode in Season 4, but that ranks low with most fans, at least on IMDB).

I kind of liked how they paralleled Dwight with Darryl. Essentially kind of saying Dwight used to be just like Darryl.

And Daryl was kind of an antagonistic character when he started. It wasn't until Season 2 that they wrote him more positively and people loved him.

Dwight has committed a few more villainous acts than early Daryl, mind you, but I like the development. And we all know Dwight is going to see the bad end of Lucille eventually, probably in the second half of the season.

I liked Sunday's episode. Not sure they needed to make it an extended episode, but it was a nice companion to the premiere.

Thoughts:

-Andrew Lincoln is killing it. I buy so much of what they're going for based on his performance. I actually feel like Rick and the crew are fucked, because he has no hope that they can conquer Negan. I hope he gets some award attention, but I doubt he will.

-I've seen Negan four times now. I love Negan. But I need something more next time besides the smug sway and the shit-eating grin. They can't sustain him in this same level. Either he has to get way more intense in the next appearance, or show us something more.

-I like the idea of having a few of them trying to work behind Rick's back. Rosita going to Eugene at the end about making bullets is good. And I think it's probably going to lead to a failed attempt to take out Negan, which may result in more bloodshed.

-Negan meeting Father Gabriel was aces.

Overall, I'm definitely into the season, and I'm excited next week to go back to the Hilltop Colony and see Maggie.

Rick has been GREAT this season. And I hope they give Father Gabriel more to do this season.

Yes, I hope so too. He's been a fairly boring character since his introduction. I've never really cared much for his "crisis of faith" moments. But his scene with Negan and then with Rick at the "grave" was good.

11.4 million tuned into Sunday's episode. This is normal, to me, even with the huge premiere. That attracted a lot of fans who wanted to watch it live. I'd be curious to know what the DVR numbers are season-to-season now. I'm sure it's down, but the show lost fans after last season's finale, and then the bloody premiere. As long as it doesn't dip below 10 million, it's good.

I thought this week's was a satisfactory episode. People are saying how boring it is, but the show is basically the same as it always was. It only occasionally ramps up the action, like in the premiere, so I have no issues right now with the pacing. It helps that I've been a fan of Xander Berkeley since his George Mason days, and haven't really seen a lot of him since 24.

Chandler Riggs is just an OK actor, but I really liked the Carl and Enid scenes.

People shit on episodes like last night's, but I enjoy when the show focuses on a smaller character for most of an episode. I'm actually surprised how long it's been since we saw Tara. And it was an interesting thing to do to have this character coming back to Alexandria, completely full of hope and having it dashed away.

On the flip side, it was a bit silly to have a Heath walker lookalike. That seemed way too contrived.

like there would be another black walker

Can't tell if you're agreeing or not...

That trope has been used so many times I'm just used to it. It's tiresome for sure.

I did really enjoy this Tara episode. She was a delight.

Same. I tire of seeing the superhero characters all the time. It's nice to see someone struggle and persevere.

Excellent episode. They did everything I would want from them: they've effectively built Negan into the next level of terror (the rambling is still overkill, but it worked better this time), they've built some suspense with our heroes with a few of them closing in on Negan, and they pulled off some very squirm-worthy scenes (the iron; Carl serenades Negan; Negan holding Judith).

Every year, I expect something major out of the midseason finale but they never deliver, so I hope that's not the case next week. I can't imagine there won't be more bloodshed.

Props to Chandler Riggs. I really enjoyed the Carl/Negan scenes.

Yeah, Carl has really grown into his own. He had become this "psycho killer" and then with one action/ramble, Negan turned him into a crying kid.

Great stuff.