The war has just begun between the Saviors and their not-so-loyal subjects on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Continuing its recent trend, the Season 7 finale — “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life” — played through in a remarkably similar way to the graphic novel series of the same name by Robert Kirkman.
This post contains spoilers for the Season 7 finale of The Walking Dead.
The final few episodes of Season 7 have seen AMC’s hit series re-sync itself with Kirkman’s comics. Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) replaces Holly as a zombie — although her sacrifice provided a much more emotionally driven, fulfilling storyline — and Michonne (Danai Gurira) replaces Andrea as Rick’s girlfriend in danger, but it’s all pretty similar. Ezekiel’s tiger saves the day as Negan lays out some fresh insults and threats toward the Alexandria gang, promising to take Rick’s hands off and kill Carl.
“You can do it right in front of me,” Rick says in the show, leaving behind any of his former glassy-eyed apathy. “You can take my hands. I told you already, I’m gonna kill you. All of you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but nothing is going to change that. Nothing. You’re all already dead.”
And then in comes Shiva, Ezekiel’s loyal tiger friend. She rips up a couple of Negan’s people, successfully shocking Negan and giving the Alexandria gang enough time to get the upper hand.
Much like in the comics, it’s easy to assume that Negan will last a while longer in the series. The war has only just begun, and Negan will take his Saviors back to the Sanctuary to prepare for battle. It’s likely this trend will continue for a while, as there are a solid 12 issues of The Walking Dead — two full volumes — dedicated to Negan’s war with Rick’s gang and their allies. It’s definitely not over yet.
Season 8 of The Walking Dead does not yet have a premiere date.
