*The following contains spoilers for the The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 4, “Service”*

Photo from TWD season 7 Episode 4

In this week’s episode of The Walking Dead, Negan finally makes his way to Alexandria to really demonstrate his power and rub in the fact that he has ‘won.’ He struts through the gate with his bat, Lucille. He’s quite disturbing as he says childish things such as, “Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy” while swinging his barbwire bat around as a threat.  

This episode revolves solely around Negan being a jerk. He comes to Alexandria. This is where Rick resides ill prepared. Rick doesn’t have any guns hidden for personal use, nor has he rigged the armory inventory to at least make it seem as if there are fewer guns. The group is fully exposed to Negan and his pillaging.  The only thing they’ve done to protect anyone is make a faux grave for Maggie to make it appear as if she’s died. Rick has left the group open and exposed to anything Negan feels like dishing out.  

Rosita and Michonne believe that this entire situation is ridiculous. Rosita goes out and finds her own gun. Another character, Spencer, steals two of the guns from the armory.  Spencer is incredibly skeptic about Rick’s ability to protect. Furthermore, he resents his previous choices as leader. Afterall, it was Rick’s cavalier, know-it-all attitude that led on all of this drama and trouble.

Michonne spends her time using walkers as target practice. After shooting at walkers all day she returns right in the middle of Negans looting. Rick takes her sniper rifle and surrenders her gun to Negan, who continues to heckle Rick for making him so submissive.

Personally, I didn’t like this episode.  It was more of Negan being a self absorbed villain and Rick acting like the kid who remind the teacher that there was homework.  Although I enjoyed the Kingdom in episode two and last week’s character analysis of Dwight, I could’ve gone without this episode.

Negan appearing and looting the entire town could have been a portion of an episode, and would have been just as effective.  Alternatively, we got an hour of Negans annoying ‘villainous’ monologues.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Rick was never a great leader.  In spite of that, he holds things together.  All of his past mistakes were minor in comparison to the horrible mess that is their current situation.  People are dead because of Rick’s lack of composition and shrewdness.  Now the survivors are vulnerable with no way of protecting themselves.  Thanks Rick.

“At least we’ll have a life,” Rick says unconvincingly. What kind of life are these people living? Clearly not one worth living.

So far in this new season, this episode was the lamest one. I really do hope the next one is better. I hope the writers and producers get it together and start give the audience more action and interlaced story lines.  Also, if there are going to be long winded Negan scenes, we should at least fear the man. There just seems to be lack in tension when he is on the screen. In this episode he made the threat of killing the woman in charge of guns and food. Let’s be honest, we aren’t invested in her. We don’t care.  His character peaked in the first episode with the killing of Glenn and Abraham.