This seventh season of The Walking Dead seems different from what we've seen before. The episodes seem much more focused and the writers seem hell bent on destroying their audience's mentally. The third episode, The Cell, continues the trend from the last two weeks with another move away from the main group. Centering on Daryl Dixon and some new painful developments for his character, TWD continues to make heavy strides to let us know exactly who Negan is, how powerful he is, and how far and wide his grim nature can reach. This is no Governor. This is going to be a multi-season villain that will undoubtedly continue to cast a dark shadow on the realms of the undead for some time.
Breaking from type, Norman Reedus gives us a new form for Daryl Dixon. The strong, take no prisoners motorcycle riding, crossbow shooting anti-hero is bruised and battered. He's changed and damaged. And this is what we call great storytelling. Season 7 is going to take us through hell and back, altering how the rest of the series may go. Where last year's arc showed us some hope at Alexandria, the next episodes will only continue to beat us all down while we watch the fragmented group start to serve someone else's interests instead of their own. Survival will become partnered with Negan's wishes. Things have progressed to a point of no return now. I'm not a betting man. But, I'll put money on the fact that nothing will wind down until the mid-season finale.
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| Has anyone seen a shower? Or some soap? I promise not to drop it. |
Again, music is becoming more of an important player on the show. It's a really interesting addition to a series about zombies and brain bashing violence. The repetition of music that fueled the breaking of Daryl also puts their audience on edge. No matter what, this latest season of The Walking Dead is turning out to be one of the best ever. The addition of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and solid new support actors puts the show on solid footing for the entire year. With continued good writing and the direction being on point, there is nothing to complain about yet. Hopefully they keep up the momentum and don't let us down.
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Score
-CG