In a word… Negan! But before we get to him, let’s take a much-needed deep breath and exhale on what was probably the most explosive and gut wrenching season finale if not episode ever of The Walking Dead. And given what we’ve seen in the past, that’s saying a lot. Warning, spoilers ahead…
It’ll take roughly 75-80 minutes before we meet Negan. Till that time, “Last Day on Earth” opens with Morgan on the trail trying to find Carol and bring her home. When he finally does catch up to her, he discovers that she had been injured due to her encounter with members of the Saviors in the previous episode. Carol wasn’t too happy to see Morgan. She wanted her wishes to be honored about not following her. Morgan disagreed. He told her that she’s part of their community and they protect each other. Then they exchanged ideas on what it means to kill and what it takes to protect the ones you care about or love. These two represent the ying and yang of this series. Their philosophies regarding both subjects are quite different and yet there’s a sense of understanding both their point of views. Carol will later ditch Morgan and go off on her own again. The ever-persistent Morgan not only tracks her down again and saves her life from the Savior who got away from the last episode who was also tracking her. That pretty much sums up the Carol-Morgan storyline for this finale now let’s talk about Negan.
Rick is desperate to get Maggie medical attention. The only place he knows he can do so is at the Hilltop community. Abraham, Sasha, Eugene, Carl and Aaron join him. Every road they took, they were met with the same results, a roadblock of Saviors standing in their way. At the first crossing, Rick wanted to talk and perhaps negotiate but they would have none of it. Instead of spilling more blood, Rick doubled back the RV and the group looked for another road to Hilltop. For a good portion of the season especially the latter half, Rick and the others have had the upper hand. They looked as if they had all but put an end to Negan’s Saviors. The sad reality was that they hadn’t even scratched the surface.
Finally, Rick decided to have Eugene take the trailer back and they’ll take Maggie by foot to Hilltop. That didn’t bold too well for them as Rick and the gang were lured and now trapped by the Saviors. These Saviors are many and they are scary. This is even before Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) makes his highly anticipated and terrifying debut a few moments later.
As I see everyone surrounded and their fates hanging in the balance, one could make a strong argument that Rick might have brought this upon himself and his people. When Negan finally steps out of the RV, it was chilling. The worse kind of killer is one who is charismatic in his demeanor. We just entered pee pee city. The first thing Negan wanted to know was, who’s their leader? It was established that it was Rick and Negan made it perfectly clear that they all work for him now. What they own, belongs to him and his Saviors. But retribution is something else he seeks. He expresses his disappointment at Rick for the killing of his men. As Negan circled the group and introduced Rick to his weapon of choice, the barbed-wire wrapped bat called Lucille, he warned him that a price had to be paid for those killings. The price was going to be one of Rick’s own. So as they all knelt down in front of Negan, he played the most horrifying game of eeny-meeny-miney-moe you’ll ever see or hear in your lifetime. When Negan landed on “it”, the camera shifted to his victims POV. And then it happened, the swing heard around the world followed by the cries of many across social media. As blood spilled across our TV screens, the nauseating sound of each and every strike can be heard as the season six faded to black.
We won’t know till October who died and speculation will run rampant till then. If you’ve read the comic, you know whom it might be but as we’ve seen through six seasons, The Walking Dead doesn’t always follow the source material, which only gives fans more food for thought. Let me speculate on who I believe it could be. I’m ruling out Maggie, Sasha, Michonne or Rosita. I don’t believe a narcissist like Negan would choose a woman at this time especially one who’s clearly weak. Which to be also eliminates Daryl. Aaron wouldn’t have much of an impact. Rick needs to stay alive to keep him in check. Killing Carl would only fuel Rick’s rage and Negan wants to dangle Carl in order to control Rick. This leaves us with Abraham, Eugene and Glenn. Again, if you’ve read the books, you have an idea but I’m going with Abraham. For no other reason than the way he stuck out his chest at Negan. Also, I thought the embrace between Eugene and Abraham was a foreshadowing of things to come. Nonetheless, the landscape will be changed and the impact this death will have on Rick and the others will haunt them forever.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
