In Defense of ... The Walking Dead Season 7

The viewing figures would have you believe that The Walking Dead is on a downward spiral, as would the negative Tweets and Facebook posts which seem to be on the increase. Yes, it's sure to say that season seven of The Walking Dead hasn't been to everyone's taste. The 'seeming' lack of walker action, Negan and the scattered group have all been given as reasons for switching off. In this post I'm going to, hopefully, provide a reason to keep on watching. Sure there are bad things but there's a whole host of good things to say about the show and in my opinion, humble as it is, most of those negatives can actually be seen as positives from the right angle.

The introduction of Negan brought a more sympathetic
side out of Rick 

First I'm going to deal with Negan. Prior to Negan and his menacing Saviors, The Walking Dead had lacked a real bad guy. The Governor was good but was dispatched too quickly in my opinion. Since then, we've had Gareth and his band of cannibals, the hospital in Atlanta and the Wolves. None of those provided a prolonged obstacle to our main group of survivors. With Negan we perhaps have the greatest threat our group has ever faced. Let's be honest, Rick needed bringing to his knees and Negan did just that. The effect has been, from my point of view at least, a new found sympathy for Rick. He's changed as a character and he's now someone I can get on board with again. Gone is the arrogance of the man who waltzed into Alexandria like he owned the place. As for Negan, for all of his pantomime villainy, he's actually a multi-layered character. Sure, some of his morals seem slightly off (he doesn't allow rape yet essentially has a harem of slave women of his own) but underneath his bluster, there's a man who once upon a time just wanted to do the right thing.

The lack of Walker action is something that I've seen suggested by a few people as a negative. The thing is that there are still lots of Walkers featured in the show. It's just that they are no longer the threat they once were. Remember, in The Walking Dead time, we are perhaps 2-3 years into the apocalypse. It's not that Walkers are suddenly no longer dangerous, it's just that our survivors are bloody good at dispatching them. Regardless of this fact, to suggest that the show has gone Walker lite is just plain wrong. What about the highway in the mid season premiere? What about the Ocean side walkers in episode 15? What about Rick and Michone at the fair? What about the Alexandrian Walkers on the fence? What about the lake walkers in the mid season finale? Walkers are featured in pretty much every episode. The truth of the matter is that after 7 years, they just no longer add shock value.

Would've been great to have seen more of the King and his
tiger in the first half of the season.

The scattered group is a problem, I completely agree with that. However, it becomes less of a problem if the show handles it correctly. When we get stand alone episodes featuring one group of characters as happened at the start of this season, then it becomes a problem. Tara's first visit to Ocean side was great but that fact that it happened in one episode meant that we actually didn't care for the newly introduced characters. The same can be said of the kingdom, which featured twice in that first 8 episode run. Now though, with recent episodes splitting time between different characters things are looking better. It allows for better story lining in my opinion as each strand connects.

My final point is that this season has an endgame in sight and I guess will probably be viewed better as part of a marathon in years to come. In the comics, these events we're witnessing on screen are part of the famed 'All Out War' arc which sees our coalition of settlements take on the Saviors. Most of that war will encompass season 8, I'm sure, with what we're seeing now being the build up. If next season is going to be the 'All Out War' season, then this season is the 'Rise Up' season. Let's not forget where this season started! With Rick and his group on their knees in the dirt as Negan bashed in the skulls of two of their friends! That's not something you get over easily. Trust me, in the wider context this season makes total sense.

What do you think about this season? What do you love or hate about it? What would you change? Feel free to leave a comment below and thank you for reading.

The Walking Dead Goes Nuclear!!!

Recently, a number of big American shows have returned with their respective seasons. Once Upon A Time has really hit the ground running with its 2nd season while dexter is as good as it's ever been. One show which has really changed the game is The Walking Dead. This is a show which has been abit of funny one over the past couple of seasons. Season 1 was superb but lacked something. It was only 6 episodes long, which was kinda enough. It had plenty of zombie action while also having the time to focus on the human element. Season 2 took it down a notch as the group settled at Hershels farm. Many within the tv critic community have dubbed it as a post apocalyptic Emmerdale Farm. It had shocks, sure. It was too slow though and gave the impression that there were genuine sanctuaries within this world that had gone to hell. The moment it turned was (ironically) when Shane turned. That in turn led to the farm getting overrun forcing our survivors onto the road. This season began 3 months later with the survivors still on the road. They soon found the prison and set about clearing it out. Andrea meanwhile has found herself in a heavily defended town called Woodbury. Fans of the comic book will be loving this 3rd season. The Prison and Woodbury are both iconic settings within the comic book universe. The Governor (the man in charge at Woodbury) and Michone (Andrea came across her after getting split from the group) are also two hugely ionic characters in the comic. The great thing about this show though is that it only really uses its source material as a base. It would've been so easy to follow the comic story line to the T. It would've kept the the hardcore cult fan base happy while having enough about it to keep the rest of us hooked. In deviating away from the source material, the writers have done a very smart thing as it means that even the hardcore amongst us are often surprised. This season has been the most surprising yet, despite the presence of the most iconic features from the comic book. In the comic book the prison is a place of safety where the walkers are kept at bay outside of the prison compound. It's a place where our group live for some time before they are forced back onto the road. The governor is a genuine madman, an evil psychopath of the highest order. On screen, he is more of a thinker, more of a manipulator. You can see the man he may eventually become but he is very much a psycho in the making. The one thing that needs to be noted as regards to the comic book is that that universe is based in a different reality. The tv show is a reality that we can maybe relate to more, even though it's a reality few of us can really imagine and it is that which is the genius behind the show. So, onto this season and how the group has evolved. This season picks up 6 months after the end of season 2. In that time the group have moved around and got through winter as best they can. Andrea has been experiencing life away from the group who think she's dead. From the off we can see how the group had evolved in the way they go about the dispatching of walkers. Now they are more of a unit, more disciplined. They opt for the silent kills and make use of ambush techniques. They also know when to make a quick exit. They are a more together group too, no doubt in part due to the absence of Shane. I will actually take a moment to talk about Shane because for the first 2 seasons he was a pretty integral part of the show. Cult fans of the comic book will have known his days were numbered as he dies in issue six! For fans of the show though who aren't familiar with the comic book, his death will have come as a bit of a shock, especially so soon after Dale's death. Although his presence is still being felt in regards to Rick and Lori's marriage, his absence is pretty much unnoticed. That is yet more testament to the fantastic writing as you get the feeling that any character could die and the show could carry on. That feeling that anyone could die has certainly not been eased by the first 4 episodes, especially episode 4 and it's episode 4 that I'm going to talk about now.

T-Dog has been criminally underused throughout The Walking Dead. His imminent death has been the subject of speculation since the 1st season finale as he was essentially a spectator throughout season 2. His self sacrifice to protect Carol was a fitting end for the character although by the end of the episode, his death was quickly forgotten. Another character who's death has been widely expected is Lori. Many people will have cheered in the 2nd episode when it looked like Hershel had turned and attacked her. This cheer will have quickly turned into a groan when it turned out he was just hugging her. For some reason she had been hated by the majority of viewers. Saying that, she redeemed herself when she died in the way she died.

In the comic book, she dies in a shoot out when the prison falls. In the Tv show, she died in childbirth in a harrowing hark back to the Pre-modern era of child birth. Insisting that Maggie perform a caesarean to save her child she gave an emotional speech to her young son Carl. In the end It fell to Carl to shoot his mother in the head before she came back as a Walker, something that will surely affect the character for the remainder of the show. Ricks reaction when he realised what had happened was unbelievably heart wrenching. I've been impressed with Andrew Lincolns portrayal of Rick on numerous occasions throughout the show. His portrayal of a father who had just found out his wife had died then that his son had had to shoot her in the head was absolute brilliance of the highest calibre that should earn him an award or two. Of course, with the events at the Prison, as well as the addition of The Governor, it would be easy to overlook a major cast returnee. Merle was a guest character back in season 1. He ended up handcuffed to the top of a roof, courtesy of Rick, after being racist towards T Dog. When the group went back to rescue him he had gone, leaving behind his severed hand. Despite a brief dream appearance last season he was presumed gone

forever. He is back now though having been taken on by The Governor and his reunion with Daryl (his brother, now Ricks right hand man) is surely only a matter of time. It will be interesting to see where Daryl's allegiances lie then. It will also be interesting to see the confrontation between Rick and Merle. With this first 4 episodes packing so much in, it will be interesting to see where the season goes from here. We have maybe been spoiled somewhat and surely there has to be some respite. That may come from the mid-season hiatus which is a couple of weeks away although I'm sure that we'll be left with the mother of all cliffhangers!