That scene with Negan and the Warden was so amazing as it really makes the whole Season 7 line up come full circle to where Negan is literally on his knees begging for mercy for his wife just as Rick did for Carl While it may not have been international I think it further solidifies his whole entire character to where he will legit give his own life for the ones he cares/loves about. Plus that ending with Mercer has got to be the breakout moment as I legit got chills Can’t wait for the next episode.
It was amazing seeing Negan on the other side from first being imprisoned for over 7 year to now being on his knees begging for his spouse to live. Negan had potential to actually save people and restore security and peace among all the communities. But chose to be a villainous tyrant now saved by some of the very people who lost everything because of him.
In my opinion this is when Negan finally has been redeemed to the point where he shouldn’t be persecuted anymore Not only was he willing to sacrifice himself for his wife and unborn child he also didn’t tell the leader about Ezekiel and saved everyone else too by keeping his mouth shut and just saying he planned it all himself He was willing to die for people that he went to war with who imprisoned him and some of them he doesn’t even know Also the parallels between Glenn and Maggie in 7x1 and Negan with his wife Annie in this episode are fantastic.
In my mind Eugene’s speech was not only meant to convince Mercer to change his mind But It was also to change the minds of the people of the Commonwealth.
It’s crazy to think that it’s finishing how it started with the Walkers becoming more of a threat Season 1 had more faster Walkers and Morgan’s wife Jenny turning the doorknob and the little girl picking up the teddy bear I love how it’s become full circle.
God that scene with Negan about to be executed was so good So many parallels with the lineup all the way back in Season 6/7 I don’t think a single detail went unaccounted for down to Glenn/Annie begging for Maggie/Negan’s life and running at them to stop them from being killed The Warden was even going to kill two people instead of one That whole thing was such a chilling callback to one of the most iconic moments in the show and the way it ended so differently from the original lineup just solidifies how Negan has been redeemed at this point Who would’ve ever thought we’d see the day where our group willingly put their lives on the line for Negan Also That part where the Warden was talking about not wanting to make a Martyr out of Negan was exactly what Negan said to Rick during the lineup in the comics only Negan saw it as a reason to not kill Rick instead of using it as an excuse to kill even more people like The Warden would’ve I seriously can’t get over how amazing that entire scene was Whoever wrote that is a genius.
Mercer’s last line made me cheer and fist pump I’m someone who does curses from time to time IRL but I always thought it was silly to restrict the F bomb for so many years BCS and BB was full of F bombs and they fit because they were placed for the best impact I’m glad it’s getting the one an episode treatment in this last Season It feels very natural to the setting Imo.
There were Walkers in the sewers way back even when Aaron and Maggie were going to sneak out of Alexandria. Yes the lineup was very reminiscent of 6x16 and 7x01 lot of subtle and not so subtle callbacks The spotlight on the group was a nice touch as was getting them on their knees The Warden going on about someone leading a rebellion much like Negan talking to Rick in his lineup I thought Annie’s outburst paralleled Glenn’s outburst (spouses) more than Daryl’s Then Warden originally going to kill just one then changed to two Plus the threat of killing them all. Also Negan pleading to take only him reminded me of Rick pleading to take him instead of Carl I thought Daryl’s move was just like before except this time he succeeded in taking out the threat. Mercer: Dramatically we had to wait until the end to get that satisfying Mercer payoff I don’t think he actually changed his mind at the moment he took off the sack He wouldn’t risk tipping his hand publicly in front of Pamela He obviously has gathered supporters and they most likely all knew how the trial was going to end so how best to protect Eugene than to have him in custody when the revolution begins.
