After mind-blowing episodes, tears and plenty of zombie slashing, the roller-coaster of Walking Dead has taken that big loop-the-loop into forbidden territory, with our beloved heroes and heroines being forced to their knees for a showdown with the name that’s been flowing through the wind – Neegan.
Hell, I’ve even thought Judith would of been Negan! I’m suspicious of that child… she has her own tactics!
It feels like centuries ago we were seeing Rick trapped in a tank surrounded by oncoming zombies, after five seasons we’ve witnessed the many sides of Rick Grimes, and not just the side-on stare he does or the way he narrows his gun at anyone who stops him. He might not be father-of-the-year but he sure is close to that title, the soft spoken officer now cold and collective badass has had the luck of the Irish when it comes to tactics, precision and game plans for raids.
The previous episode where the gang raid what they thought was Neegan’s lair proved absolutely spell-binding, it was like playing a third-person shooting game that kept me on my toes. Riddled with bizarre images and ungodly sleeping arrangements, this season has proven to be the biggest cock-tease in all the right ways!
Speaking of games, anyone notice Steven Ogg, voice actor of the adorable Trevor of GTA, make an entrance. At his height, what an intimidating entrance indeed!
As the crew gather to track down Michonne, Daryl, Rosita and Glen, the genius of what I call ‘The Wizard of Oz’ scenario was nail-biting itself, with every stop Rick must use his instinct to choose whether they fight the gang in front or talk it out. If there’s anything that really hit me hard, it was watching Rick using his instincts and watching it slowly fail at every moment and it just got worse.
Upon the journey to Oz, we also catch up with Morgan and Carol, the bittersweet relationship they have is starting to take its toll on me. Quite frankly, I am disappointed to see Carol so down and out, it seemed a little filler that needed to justify what was going on cross-paths with Rick’s crew and introduce a band of Knights, in this scenario I’ll call them the Tin-Men.
Regardless, when Carol and Morgan are ever in the same room I get chills, I’m never sure whether they’ll fight, kiss, cry or turn. It was powerful to see such a strong character weakened and we all know the saying ‘Why do we fall, so we can learn to pick ourselves up’, and that stems strong in this side – in the long and short of it, I’m waiting for Carol’s comeback so a Morgan-Carol team can spruce up.
Now for the main couple in question. Negan and Lucille.
The smirk, the swagger, the swing – and there’s nothing more frightening than having your life determined by a game of ‘eeny-miney-moo’. Casual and comedic, Negan really shakes up the party with an incredibly insane talent to dominate a room with the colourful words he chooses and the devilish mind games he plays with each character. We held our breath for Maggie, we watched Abraham square up to him from his knees and to be fair to his brick-house frame I would find it surprising if Abraham could feel any pain from the bat.
I felt in awe watching the characters take a hesitated kneel towards their new ‘saviour’. The flippant nature of Negan is yet to be discovered too, as well as who was punished from the group. I take my sheriff hat off, it was sublime and definitely a showdown that’ll become a milestone in the series leaving an impact as strong as the Governor did.
It seems the yellow-brick road has taken a U-Turn towards a beacon of false hope, the Land of Negan lays upon the horizon – let the games begin!
No Comments