‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Finale Recap: Going Out With A Bang (And A Flying Tiger)

After one of its most controversial seasons, everybody’s favorite zombie apocalypse melodrama went out with betrayal, bloodshed and one angry frickin’ CGI tiger. At the episode’s start fans wondered (drum roll please…) who snitched on Rick, what’s Dwight doing at Alexandria, has Morgan lost his mind (again), what’s Negan’s plan and what will happen to Sasha? For all intents and purposes, the entire episode was a set up for Rick finally telling Negan to take this job and shove it, I ain’t scavenging for supplies in the walker-infested ruins of the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area for you no more. And though we all know any hour and a half-long The Walking Dead episode = 55 minutes of action + 35 minutes of commercials, the payoff was kind of worth it in the end.

The Walking Dead Season 7 finale, titled “The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life,” starts with Sasha listening to Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free” on headphones inside a coffin and having flashbacks of her last morning with Abraham (miss that guy). Now considering last episode Eugene gave her a poison pill, freedom is often seen as a metaphor for death, Hathaway himself committed suicide, and actress Sonequa Martin-Green landed a starring role in the new Star Trek series, things ain’t looking good for our girl.

Back in Alexandria, Dwight tells Rick and the Survivors he wants to help get rid of Negan. They, however, are leery of him since, you know, he shot Tara’s girlfriend in the eye with a crossbow and tortured Daryl and that kind of stuff. He does tell them, though, that Negan’s coming by for a surprise visit tomorrow. Rick calls for his new besties, the Junkyard hipsters, who arrive in garbage trucks and bicycles. I can’t decide which mode of transportation is more predictable.

This of course sets up the big confrontation between The Saviors and combined Survivors / Scavengers (as they’re officially known) forces. Bad news: The Scavengers are actually the ones who tipped off Negan, and betray Rick. Good, but also kind of bad news, Sasha did take the magic pill so when Negan springs her from the coffin he was keeping her in to show Rick what a reasonable guy he is, she’s turned into a walker and tries to eat him. Chaos ensues, Rick gets shot, Michonne maybe dies (but you know she didn’t die, right?), Negan says he’s going to kill Carl (which I actually thought might happen), Rick says do your worst because I’m still going to kill you, and right when you think it’s over WHAT THE HEY, SHIVA JUMPS OUT OF NOWHERE AND CHEWS SOME GUYS FACE OFF! The Kingdom and Hilltop come to Alexandria’s rescue to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat(except for Shiva whose jaws are full of some dude’s head)!

Starting as it did with the brutal on screen deaths of Glenn and Abraham, Season 7 of The Walking Dead was a mixed bag. While fans balked at the demoralization of Rick and his crew, I thought it was actually a great way to keep things fresh, and flip the tables this far in to a series. From the mid-season premiere on, I got the sense the show’s creators were working overtime to give the fans what they thought they wanted; Rick and The Survivors rising up to show that meanie Negan what for. That’s actually, when I got things the writing started to falter, and honestly, this many seasons in, I find Negan and life at The Sanctuary more interesting than all the melodramas back in Alexandria.

Looking forward to Season 8, I think The Walking Dead needs more action, and less drama. While the character development was initially one of the show’s strengths – and what made it more than just a never-ending zombie movie – too much screen time is now spent with those long pensive shots of Carol or Daryl or whoever sitting around and pondering all the losses they’ve endured. I want more battles, more zombies, and and more Negan. Hopefully, next season, which follows the “All Out War” plot line from The Walking Dead comic will deliver the goods.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician who grew up in the 1980’s and thus has a deeper understanding of zombie movies than most other people. Follow him on Twitter: @BHSmithNYC.

Watch "The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life" episode of The Walking Dead on AMC