Not with a bang, but a bashing.
Negan is sick of having his men killed, and hes finally seeking retribution and restitution.
Hes just playing with his food first.
Credit: AMC
Almost every familiar face in Alexandria accompanies Rick on the RV when they set out for the Hilltop.
But any comfort those words provide should start to dissipate at the signs of their first roadblock.
Who knows how long he had to be out at that roadblock for?)
They have a plan in place, and they want them on this very road.
Eugene makes the prudent point, however, that the Saviors seem fixated on the RV itself.
The only one missing is Negan, but dont fear…or do, because hes finally here.
He patches her up and tells her about he wasnt the only one going to look for her.
They want her back, but Carol says she cant go back.
He wont leave her, but she points a gun at him and demands he leaves.
He does, at least temporarily, to take care of a walker hanging nearby that Carol couldnt kill.
He tortures her, shooting her first in the arm and then in the leg.
And Carol says she hasnt suffered enough.
She demands he finish it.
He doesnt get to walk away.
He has to end it, and so he rushes back prepared to.
Until Morgan appears, that is.
He prepares to kill Carol, only to be gunned down by Morgan.
NEXT: Enter Negan
And, without further ado, Negan.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan steps out of the RV to find all of Ricks group neatly lined up for him.
Daryl, Michonne, Glenn, and Rosita have been brought out too from their hiding spot.
Ricks going to regret crossing him, Negan tells him before launching into anextensivevillain monologue.
As played by Morgan, Negan is calm, cool, and reveling in the moment.
He makes his demands clear.
He wants their stuff, and they have no chance of negotiating.
Even worse, hes going to kill one of them because he cant let everything thats transpired go unpunished.
If they fight back, life will only become worse.
He wants them to work for him, and they cant do that if theyre dead.
One casualty is the necessary toll in Negans mind, however, but he simply cant choose.
And how could he?
He only has almost every principal character set out before him to choose from.
So much potential, so many ways to irrevocably change life for Ricks group.
That choice…remains a mystery.
And so they delivered that death but without the gratification of revelation viewers anticipated.
Negans introduction, and the episode as a whole, almost feels like it telegraphs that very twist.
Thisbigmoment obviously wouldnt come until the end of the episode and the season.
And the episode doesnt just nudge the answer to the episodes ultimate question into the final seconds.
Does that make it right?
Personally, not at all.
Cliffhangers can work for season finales.
