'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'The Day Will Come When You Won't Be'

10/23/2016

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

‘There's your chance. Take it.’

‘I'm Grateful.’

‘The day will come when you won't be.’

- Dr. Edwin Jenner and Rick Grimes
Season 1, Episode 6: ‘TS-19’

Those words in the quote above, spoken between Rick Grimes and Doctor Edwin Jenner in a panicked moment at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta as Rick tried desperately to save his family and his friends from a fiery end to their lives...seemed like desperate and pathetic words from a man who had given up on life and resolved himself to the darkness of death and whatever lie beyond. We all raised an eyebrow at Jenner's words all those years ago, because we knew Rick and company would be facing insurmountable odds surviving in the world of the living dead, but they would live, they would always have a fighting chance and come out on top.

The notion that any of them would ever regret surviving to see tomorrow, no matter how great the loss or how great the challenge seemed silly at the time...but then last night happened. Because after six years of defying the odds, hurting and finding ways to heal but surviving and finding a life to call their own in Alexandria...Rick Grimes finally met his match...and the Doctor's chilling words finally rang true...in what can easily be called the most absolutely devastating episode of The Walking Dead to date. We know death is part of this universe, it might come from a zombie bite here, an accident there or perhaps from a crazed group that makes life hell for our band of intrepid survivors, but one way or another, we've come to expect (and begrudgingly accept) death to come knocking and take a character from us here or there.

But last night, the show defied its own expectations, taking us to some incredibly dark places...in sadistic fashion quite frankly in a story that was designed to break Rick Grimes as a character as much as it was designed to break all of our spirits in the process. This episode left us nauseous, angry, and outright in tears as we said goodbye to not one but two characters and well...the morning after watching this horrific episode I'm left with only a couple of key thoughts about this episode. First and foremost, we were wrong to judge the show or fire anger toward it for leaving us with a cliffhanger. Because had the show revealed its kills in quick fashion in the spring, there would have been zero emotional weight for the audience, where as this episode paid proper respect to those we lost while taking us on one terrifying journey.

After all we were forced to watch every single moment of this waking nightmare as Negan unleashed his fury on Abraham and Glenn and the fact that the show held nothing back showing us every gory detail not only established Negan as the nastiest villain to ever appear on this series to date, but also that the safety net that the show was beginning to build over the past couple of years when it comes to characters dying is completely gone now. If a fan favorite such as Abraham can die, and a long time beloved character, (that by the way has managed to cheat death) like Glenn can join him in the great beyond...all on the whim of a madman, then no one is safe and we may lose others along the way if they get out of line with Negan and the Saviors in even the slightest fashion and now that the dust has settled when it comes to this episode, I think it is safe to say that the other thought on my mind about last night...is that this episode was outright brilliant.

After all, I cannot remember the last time I truly felt afraid watching this show. Sure the zombies are always a threat, and they've met some horrible human beings, but Rick and the gang just kept on putting down the dead, and finding ways to survive. But last night the fear was back, every horrible possibility was running through my mind. As Negan cleaned the axe in the RV with Rick, part of me truly thought this was the moment that Mister Grimes was going to lose his right hand, and the show did such a fine job of pushing the envelope gore wise that for a moment there, I absolutely believed Rick was going to have to slice off his son's arm in order to save more lives. This story was truly a visceral experience and more importantly, it has shifted the tone of the story as well.

Since for the most part, the show has been building up a sense of hope since the back half of season five. Alexandria was a beacon of hope, the chance to begin again and start life over in proper fashion. Where people worked together, put aside their differences and carved out the peaceful world that all of us have dreamt of. But, despite the fact that the world as it once was is gone forever when it comes to this show, some things never change. There can be no good without evil and the series now has its devil in Negan, and over the course of the hour last night, we know that he is not a man to be trifled with. He will go to whatever lengths he must to get his way and that's downright terrifying. He's a psychopath through and through and truly a force to be reckoned with.

Yet, despite the impact Negan is beginning to have upon the story, let's be honest...this episode changed the landscape of the show for fans as well. I can't remember the last time I saw a show evoke such an emotional response such as this. The viewing party that I attended last night cried out in shock when Lucille came down upon Abraham's head and for one viewer in attendance, that quickly turned to tears and then outright silence as Negan continue to wail on Abraham's remains before we all cried out again when Negan turned Lucille's attention to Glenn. It was such a jarring moment that a fellow writer for this site, Shae, stormed outside for a moment. She's a huge fan of Glenn and has outright stated that she's likely never watching the show again for killing him off.

While I'm sure she's not alone, therein lies the brilliance my friends. We were taken on a terrifying ride last night, one that allowed us to experience a bevy of emotions and well...that's what a great story does to say the least. Either way, Abraham and his incredible one liners will be missed on the show, as will the sheer good that Glenn represents and the show truly does deserve credit for throwing caution to the wind and giving us something this dark and this visceral and quite frankly, for even giving us a moment of pause from the terror at the end of the episode to let us grieve in our own special way, and well...when all is said and done, I'm with Maggie...Negan needs to pay for this and it's just a matter of time before Rick snaps out of his funk...and does his best to make good on his promise to deal with Negan...maybe not today...maybe not tomorrow, but someday it will be Negan's turn to swallow a bitter pill, and swallow it...he most certainly will. Until next time.

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