The Walking Dead (TWD)  left us hanging at the end of season 6 previously this year.  The show assumed that leaving who lives and who dies a mystery, would be more captivating than a death itself. With this in mind, the season six finale left the audience guessing which character was killed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s villainous character, Negan. Leaving whose blood was spilled on camera a mystery was enough to scare, shock and traumatize the audience and leave them guessing for months after.

After the season 7 premiere on Sunday night, it is quite obvious that they were right.

By the end of the episode, it is revealed that it was both Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee were killed with Negan’s bloodthirsty ‘vampire’ bat, Lucille.  The hour long episode was exhausting and unpleasant. In a show known for violence and gore, sometimes it’s too much. The premier didn’t just cross boundaries, it jumped across lines and ran from there.

The episode did not open with who Lucille’s victim was, but rather Andrew Lincoln’s character Rick, the fearless leader. Historically, Rick is known for being strong and unwavering. In the opening scene, we see him reduced to a crying mess. As we see Rick lying down crying, taking a breather from Negan’s little ‘game,’ the audience sees the flashbacks of the horrifically bloody deaths that occurred.

Michael Cudlitz’s Sergeant Abraham Ford was the first to go. He spent the better part of season six discussing his plans for the future and everyone knows that is the first sign that a character will be getting killed off. The man known for his one-liners, got in one final line before he died. He left his ladies Sasha and Rosita crying with every hit he took to the head. Despite the fact that the show hid his identity last season, we saw every detail of the beating in the episode.  

The beatings did not end with Abraham. Steven Yeun’s Glenn was kill number 2. He was suspected to be killed off all summer, especially since this was his fate in the show’s comic book. He was bludgeoned to death after an unwise outburst from Darryl that made Negan mad, Per usual, Darryl is always kept safe.  Throughout the series Glenn was a centerpiece of both emotion and morals, he’s also one of the very few original cast members. His romantic relationship with Lauren Cohan’s Maggie Greene had offered the show a certain amount of heart and optimism that counteracted the darkness of the plot and other characters.  He died as he lived, optimistic and thinking of others before himself. As he slowly died from the blows to his head, he managed to wheeze out, “Maggie, I’ll find you.”  

For a show that takes pride in their ability to mangle and disfigure both the living and the walking dead, I felt this this season’s’ premier was almost too gory. Despite that, it was well done and I cannot wait to see the rest of the season. I rate this episode 4.5/5.