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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
The Walking Dead
Season 7 Midseason Finale
By Garrett Yoshitomi
The Walking Dead kicked off its seventh season with an
episode that shook the series to its core, killing off two beloved characters
(one especially beloved), and introducing Negan, our heroes' most dangerous
foe, yet. Every piece of season seven promotional material promised that things
were “just getting started,” implying that Negan’s reign of terror would only
continue to escalate after the chaotic season premiere. But, while Negan has
quickly become The Walking Dead’s most hated villain (a distinction he
has surprisingly little competition for), the only thing that’s really “gotten
started,” so far, has been the half-season long separation of our main cast,
and the frustratingly stagnant plot that comes with it.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
This season hasn't been all bad. There
have been a couple of gems along the way- Carol and Morgan’s Kingdom episode,
and last week’s coming out party for Carl, in particular, have been my
favorites. But the show took way too long exploring the aftermath of the
narratively impactful season premiere. We didn't get a follow-up episode with
Maggie until almost a month after Glenn's head got bashed in, and right after
Jesus and Carl hopped aboard a Savior supply truck, and the main storyline
finally looked like it was about to take off, we were sidetracked by a quintessential
Walking Dead filler episode, centered
around Tara and *yawn* Heath.
So how does ‘Hearts Still Beating’ play
into these season-long trends? Unfortunately, it errs more on the underwhelming
side, as most of the storylines that were built up last week culminate in
relatively disappointing endings. I guess if you look at things from a broader
perspective, we get a pretty good setup for season 7B’s “March to War” arc, but
it’s getting harder and harder to overlook The
Walking Dead’s perpetual inability to deliver on these promises of delayed
gratification. At some point, pretty good setups just aren’t enough, and this
show will need to create storylines that are both compelling in their own
right, *and* serve as useful lead-ins
for future episodes.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
Let’s start with the man of the hour, and
the highlight of what’s been an otherwise uneven season. I’ve spoken at length praising
Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan, and how the leader of the Saviors checks
off every box as the bad guy you just love to hate. Things are no different in
the mid-season finale, as he continues to creepily settle into suburban living,
making life extremely uncomfortable for the Grimes family and the rest of
Alexandria. After going several episodes without turning anybody’s brains into literal
oatmeal, it would’ve been surprisingly easy for Negan to slowly lose his
threatening aura. Sure, he did burn some dude’s face off last week, but when
his victims are just “some dude,” and not a character we actually care about, it
can be hard to internalize the fact that Negan is still supposed to be incredibly
dangerous, rather than just a cheap one-liner in a leather jacket. However, despite
this episode’s low stakes, the writers manage to keep Negan menacing, for now.
But, as the winter months pass, and Glenn and Abraham’s deaths get farther and
farther away in the rear-view mirror, it will be interesting to see if Negan is
able to maintain this- especially once the tide starts turning against him, in
favor of Rick and co.
‘Hearts
Still Beating’ starts to lay the
groundwork for this eventual turning tide, with a focus on the leadership
emerging from the main cast. Maggie has stepped up nicely into a leadership
role; at the Hilltop, and has been welcomed with open arms by its residents. It’s
probably just a matter of time before she usurps Gregory as king of the Hilltop,
though, it’s clear he won’t go down without a fight. Meanwhile, Rick continues
to struggle with regaining the confidence he lost during his initial encounter
with Negan; and yet, he still manages to inspire loyalty and trust within
characters like Aaron and Olivia, who both follow and support him, despite the
immediate danger it puts them in. On the flip side, Carol makes it very clear
that she wants nothing to do with the Kingdom’s potential revolt against the
Saviors, regardless of how valuable her murdering skills would be to their
cause. Carol’s been on a pretty frustrating trajectory since the second half of
last season, barely recognizable as the no-nonsense badass that made her one of
the series’ most popular characters. What’s worse is that her screen time this
season has been limited to an episode and change, leaving her with little
opportunity to inch forward into her next arc.
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| (Photo Credit: AMC) |
As for the bad, the mid-season finale certainly
has its fair share of disappointing and seemingly misplaced storylines, no
different than what we’ve seen on a wider scale throughout season 7A. I really
thought Rosita’s quest for bullets, first introduced back in episode four, had
some potential as her first, and so far, only major arc. But, its conclusion is
bizarre and somewhat hard to take seriously- the consequences trivial when
compared to the seriousness of her actions. At the end of the day, I suppose it’s
better to have Rosita do something, anything, rather than stand in the background
with her hands on her hips, but I do wonder if her bullet storyline would have
been better served with Michonne at the helm. Michonne’s short attempt to find
Negan is, well, short. And unfulfilling. It does help her come to terms with just
how powerful Negan and his forces are, but I believe this could have been
similarly achieved had Michonne suffered a re-worked version of Rosita’s
defeat, instead.
And
so, with that The Walking Dead slides
into its winter hibernation. In just a couple of short months, a little zombie groundhog
will emerge from its hole, declare that the second half of season seven is
right around the corner; and just like that, the gang will be thrown back into
it, for another eight episodes that will hopefully ramp up more quickly than
the eight that preceded them. If there’s any hope for a faster paced end to the
season, it’s season six. After a winter run of episodes that were bogged down
by Glenn’s fake death, season 6B was like a day at the races, and probably
would’ve ended as the show’s best half-season, if not for that disastrous
finale.
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