'The Walking Dead' Recap: 'Service'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

It's a well known fact that each and every single one of us have a breaking point. That imaginary line where we can no longer take or handle the stresses that are surrounding us and affecting us in our lives and when that moment comes, when we reach that breaking point, everything changes for us. We shut down, we hide, we do what it takes to survive and that's exactly what happened to Rick Grimes at the end of the season seven premiere of The Walking Dead.

After having to endure hours of psychological torture from Negan, and seeing two members of his surrogate family brutally murdered, Rick finally reached his breaking point and in an effort to end the bloodshed, made an incredible compromise and it was clear to all of us in that moment, he would never quite be the same. But alas, we saw so little of Rick and the Alexandria Safe Zone after that stunning episode that we were left wondering how our characters were getting by after burying two of their own, that is until last night, when the show returned us to that tiny little berg to show us the aftermath of Glenn and Abraham's loss...and just how evil a man Negan truly is when he and Lucille and the rest of the Saviors arrived in town early for their pickup, and considering how brutal 'Service' turned out to be, one now has to wonder...can Rick walk away from that dark place in his mind and can he stand up and fight once again. 

But before we explore those possibilities, let's talk about Negan because if the premiere didn't get the point across that he's an outright sadist who takes incredible amounts of pleasure in maintaining power over anyone and everyone he encounters...this episode took care of that. In fact, it seems that Rick is now Negan's favorite whipping boy, since he asked the man to not only hold Lucille for the duration of his visit to Alexandria, he demanded a personal tour, taking the time to humiliate and intimidate virtually anyone in his presence, and making sure that Rick agreed with what he was saying or backed him up in a decision to continue to drive home the point that Negan was now the man in charge and Rick was nothing more than a figurehead, one that executed any plan he set forth with glee, and it was simply devastating to see Rick put in this position after spending so many seasons as a much stronger character, yet in many ways, Negan was just getting started. 

After all, despite the smiles and charm Negan exhibited at first, he was quick to turn to his darker side when he discovered that a pair of guns had gone missing from the Armory. If anything it was stunning to see the evil that resides within this man appear so quickly but just like that, it was there and Rick was suddenly on a mission to find those guns and any other ones missing lest he see another person endure Lucille's wrath once again and this was...truly the lowest moment of the episode. Because while it's clear that Rick is broken and afraid, so many others in this town are not. After all, as Rick pointed out, they weren't there to see the horrors that he was witness to, and they have to take Negan's savagery at Rick's word...but it's clear that few in this town are pleased in the slightest that they have to deal with this man...and they are looking to Rick to do something about this mess, which brings us back to an earlier talking point...is there still a fight hiding within Rick?

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The answer to that question is thankfully a resounding yes. Throughout the entire episode, the fire within, the one that Negan thought he had removed from Rick popped up from time to time. Heck, it was evident enough that at one point, Negan told Rick once again to back down when it came to that crazy look in his eyes and Rick even had a chance to give Negan a taste of his own barbed wire medicine, but he never once gave in to that rage...and while that was disappointing at first, we at least found out why Rick has suddenly changed his tune when it comes to fighting the Saviors...Judith. 

In one heartbreaking moment, Rick expressed to his new love, a secret from his past that well...has had the audience guessing for years...that deep down he knows that he is not Judith's biological father, but despite the fact that he is aware of this sobering fact, in his mind Judith is still his daughter and had the fight continued, had he done everything to resist the Saviors, innocent lives such as hers would be in jeopardy. It was a moment that gave all of us pause and reminded us of the Rick we first met seven years ago, the one who tried to find the peaceful way out before firing his gun and while it's not necessarily a bad thing that a less feral Rick has returned, the people of Alexandria are now suffering, which brings us back to the second half of that talking point, will he ever find a way out of the darkness that now surrounds his mind and see just how bad things are going to get under Negan's rule?

Eventually...he will. He has to, because this is a town filled with people that he cares for deeply and clearly he will make incredible sacrifices to keep them safe. But despite his best efforts to keep these people in line with the Saviors' agenda, insurrection is building in this tiny berg. We saw subtle versions of it by way of Father Gabriel and his digging a grave for Maggie when no one was in it to protect her from Negan's unwholesome desires and we saw outright defiance by way of disgust and disdain from Carl, demanding they leave the medicine and from Rosita and her desire to have a gun and get her hands on some ammunition to avenge Abraham. So really, it's only a matter of time before Rick comes to realize that the deal with Negan will cause more harm than good, especially considering that the mattresses the Saviors took from Alexandria were burned just for the hell of it.  

Soon he will figure out that Negan and his merry band of thieves are going to do nothing more than make life in Alexandria a living and oppressive hell and when that day comes, more sacrifices will be made, in blood no doubt because Rick will have had enough...and Rick will be more than happy to fight Negan and the Saviors to the last man standing. Either way, what a stunning episode this turned out to be. We more or less learned that the time has come to outright hate Negan, despite the fact he can make the audience laugh because wow...the guy is just an asshat, no two ways about it and by the end of this one, I wanted nothing more than to see Rick get the Python back and make Negan kneel for a change. But alas, we must be patient, and sit through this quagmire in the here and the now because eventually, Negan's day will come. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow...but it will come. Until next time.

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