WARNING SPOILERS!!!
Last night, I settled in to watch the season finale of The Walking Dead, along with millions of my fellow fans. I prepared myself for the moment we have all been waiting for, the introduction of the big bad villain, Negan, but I was seriously disappointed along the way.
The episode started out with Rick and half the group loading on to an RV and heading to Hilltop to get Maggie to a doctor, but of course things did not go as planned. Every route the group attempted to take was blocked off by Saviors. The group made several U-turns only to end up facing a ever increasing group of men. On one road they are stopped by a chain of walkers. Upon closer inspection they realize that one walker is wearing a lock of Michonne’s dreads and another wearing Daryl’s vest. Of course, it was a trap, but the group got away unharmed. Finally, as the sun set, Eugene volunteered to be a decoy and drive the RV while the rest of the group headed out on foot carrying Maggie, who was getting sicker by the minute. Negan’s men were waiting in the woods. The group is forced to their knees. The back of truck is opened and the captured group members, Daryl, Michonne, Glenn and Rosita, are reunited with the group. Minutes later, Negan appears in all his glory, to play a game of “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe”. The camera angle switched to POV as Negan brought down Lucille, in retaliation for the group killing his men. The screen faded to black as we heard screams and the sound of the bat making contact with someone’s head, over and over.
We did get to see Morgan come to Carol’s rescue but, even that was odd. I mean who get’s shot twice and doesn’t fight back? Carol went from several seasons of being badass to being completely pathetic. I thought it was ridiculous. There has been nothing in her story that should have triggered that kind of 360. If someone she was close to had died, it would have been understandable, but there was nothing to really trigger the change. Okay, Carol and Maggie did get captured a couple of episodes back, but they survived. Since then story line has felt lazy. As a savior stood over Carol, about to shoot her again, Morgan tells him that he “doesn’t have to do that” and that he “can walk away from this” but the man makes a move and Morgan shoots him. Seconds later, two new characters in riot gear ride up. One was the man Rick and Morgan saw at the barn in episode 15 looking for his horse, which Morgan has found. That meeting will be important in season 7.
Back to Negan. Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, was impressive, in a suave psycho kind of way. Morgan was the perfect choice to play Negan and he’s everything we hoped he would be. He was imposing, sexy and killed with a smile. He’s the breath of fresh air the series desperately needs.
As for who was killed, the only comment Negan made during the brutal attack was “Taking it like a champ!”, leading us to believe it was one of the guys who was killed. In the leaked video footage it appeared as though either Glenn or the person next to him got the bat. Glenn has had a lot of close lately, maybe his luck has finally run out. Considering all the clues, it’s my opinion that either Glenn or Daryl was killed, but we will have to wait until October to find out for sure, and that leaves me more pissed-off than actually interested. Even some of the cast aren’t sure who died.
For months, the season finale has been hyped as “one of the biggest moments in TV history”. But to be honest, I was not impressed and according to my Twitter feed, I’m not alone. The ninety-minute episode was filled with 40-minutes of filler, the group riding around. And in what world would half a group leave home when they are expecting to get attacked? The group knows better, this isn’t their first rodeo. All but the last fifteen minutes of the episode was unimpressive. Yes, I realize that some of that was necessary to build suspense, but it mostly felt like the writers were stretching it out. And that ending, another cliffhanger, really, AMC? The series has pulled that stunt one to many times. The finale, over all was terrible, from the wasted time to the cliffhanger, it was infuriating.
There comes a point in every great show when the peak is reached and it begins to go down hill. I’m wondering if that has happened with The Walking Dead. They’ve had 6 great seasons, maybe it’s time for them to start contemplating the end. I would rather see a great show end on a high-note than seeing it run into the ground. It’s been stated that there are 6 more seasons planned for the show, but will it be worth watching? I sincerely hope that AMC puts quality before quantity. AMC has already added a spin-off, Fear The Walking Dead, whose second season premieres on April 10th. I wonder how long they can milk the zombie apocalypse before fans have had enough.
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