'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'The First Day of the Rest of Your Life'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

One cannot discuss season seven of The Walking Dead without somehow discussing that devastating season premiere. Because let's be honest, that premiere had some important emotional consequences when it comes to the fan base. For starters, it actually managed to drive away fans with the events that occurred; case in point, my close friend Shae stormed out of the room when Lucille came down on Glenn's head and she vowed to never watch the show again, a vow she has honored completely. Meanwhile, other fans found themselves lost and grieving like another close friend of mine Kerri, who burst into tears when Abraham met his end.  There's nothing wrong with the fact that plenty of people walked away after that premiere. It was brutal, it was sadistic and it was crushing and if they could no longer stomach that, they did the right thing.

But for the fans that stayed, they were invested in an equally tough aftermath following the death of Glenn and Abraham as they watched their heroes struggle with those untimely and violent deaths and some folks posed the question to myself and others, why stay and watch a show this dark and this brutal? Well the answer to that was simple...for those that stayed, we were all hoping that something special was going to come our way, that we would be rewarded for sitting there and suffering through this waking nightmare...that eventually Rick Grimes would snap out his funk and lead the good people of Alexandria into a fight where justice would be served upon Negan for his crimes and well...last night's episode 'The First Day of the Rest of Your Life' finally delivered on that titular moment, in its own unique way of course, because while it may not have been pure justice, but it was a bold and beautiful step in the right direction.

Because last night, the fight we have all been waiting for came to fruition, and everyone that needed to be part of it, made their preparations. In Hilltop, Maggie made the call to march to Alexandria to help to defend it and a size-able force from the Kingdom made their way there as well, and in the Safe Zone itself, Rick's strange but reliable new allies from the Junkyard all made preparations for war, with a brand new ally in their pocket as well, by way of Dwight. He promised to buy the tiny berg a little bit of extra time to make sure they were fully prepared and well, there was a real joy to be found in watching everyone ready themselves for this fight because they were unified with a sense of purpose because it was all about making the Saviors and Negan pay for what they've done.

But alas, nothing ever quite goes as planned on this show and when the Saviors arrived at the gates, it turns out that Rick had traitors in his midst because the Junkyard gang, turned their guns on the Alexandrians, revealing that Negan offered up a better deal than Rick did and they were more than happy to serve him instead. It led to a tense standoff, where Negan offered Rick another deal to quell this growing insurrection and part of this deal, was the safe return of Sasha and that's when we said goodbye to another character on this show, because realizing she had an opportunity to sour the deal for Negan and incite combat far sooner than expected, Sasha finally took the pill that Eugene had made for her and when the big moment arrived, the zombified version of her stumbled out of the casket she was hiding within, and that's when things got interesting. 

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However, before we dig deep into what comes next, we do need to take a moment and talk about the wonder of Sasha's sacrifice because holy cow...she went out like a champ, since this was her moment of redemption through and through. For several seasons now, Sasha has been struggling to find a purpose or a way to contribute after the loss of Tyreese and of course Abraham and thanks to a special guest appearance from Michael Cudlitz, we were taken back to Abraham's last day on this earth where she was reminded of the fact that laying their lives on the line was what they did in Alexandria and that if they had to go out, it better be for a damn good reason and Sasha's sacrifice was indeed just that. By surrendering her life, it looked as though Negan had lied to Rick and company and the surprise of seeing a Sasha-walker stumble out of that casket...was the welcome distraction Alexandria needed and just like that, Sasha had found her purpose and contribution, albeit in death...and the battle had begun.

What I appreciate most about this particular twist however is that it didn't lead to some cliché 'noble moment' where Negan and his men suddenly ran away in a scurry and Rick was able to talk about what they had done on this proud afternoon. No...instead the situation turned grim. Outnumbered and dealing with the surprise of being double crossed, it seemed as though the fight was going to be all for naught. More Alexandrians lay dead in the streets and Negan once more was able to put Rick on his knees, and once more it seemed that Rick Grimes was about to suffer and suffer greatly for trying to make things right and that's when the  big moment arrived, when everyone at my viewing party cheered as loudly as possible...because help arrived. The Kingdom had come to Alexandria with guns a-blazing. Hilltop backed them up as well and for the first time ever on the show...we saw the Saviors on the run, and even Shiva jumped into the foray, and well...it was simply magnificent.

To see Morgan and Carol put aside their personal issues and join the fight was nothing short of tear inducing because this was truly about something bigger. This fight went beyond revenge, this fight was about one thing and one thing alone...a better future for what's left of mankind and truly, that's what made this episode so incredibly satisfying; the fact that they were honoring Glenn by doing what he always did, the right thing when it came to other human beings. He was always willing to fight for what was right and just, and he was always willing to put himself in harm's way to make sure that others were safe and that was hammered home in the final moments of the story when Maggie spoke of Glenn, and how he in essence, taught them all to be just like him. The speech that Abraham gave Sasha, the fact that everyone banded together, they did it because of Glenn's influence and his wishes to see a world where every single person...tried to make it a better place where life is precious.

Granted, it will be hard to see that in the days ahead because All Out War is now upon us, and there will be devastating losses in the battles to come and questions as to whether or not this fight is worth the effort. But in the here and the now, we know what this war is about...properly honoring the dead at last, and digging in to make the world a better place and I'm hard pressed to think of another moment in the history of this series that has ever been this hopeful or optimistic about the future and the credit for that goes to Scott M. Gimple and the entire writer's room for giving that notion life last night and for truly taking us on an emotional journey this year. We've had our hearts broken, we've suffered alongside Rick and his friends, but last night...was the grand payoff everyone was waiting for, and it was a satisfying reward indeed and it's going to be a long and painful wait, for all the right reasons this time, for the season eight premiere. Until next time.

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