"The Walking Dead" is back for season seven after a seven-month hiatus. The season six finale was quite an interesting twist. For those who are caught up with "The Walking Dead," you know what happens, but for those who aren’t, here is a little recap: Rick and the rest of the group are trying to get to the Hilltop in order to get Maggie medicine. Upon reaching every connecting road, Rick and the group are met by the Saviors. The Saviors are Negan’s group, and the whole episode has you on the edge of your seat. At the very end of this episode, Rick and the group are finally encircled by the Saviors while they attempt to flee through a forest on foot. Finally, we are introduced to the real Negan, who is played by Jeffery Dean Morgan. The final seconds of the episode are filmed through the perspective of Rick’s group, which cloaks the identity of whoever was bashed in the head with Lucile (Negan’s bat).
Alright, now that we are caught up, we can get a feel for what is going on in the subtext of this scene. Before I get into this, I just want to warn anyone who has not seen the episode that this article will contain spoilers, which means you should stop reading this article now. On the other hand, if you have seen the episode, continue reading.
Jeffery Dean Morgan, or Negan, throws a very interesting wrench into the Ricktocracy established by the group in Alexandria. My main focus in examining these scenes will be through the lens of gender. Rick has been the dominant masculine force of the entire six seasons leading up to this very point. It is the very precipice of the Rick Grimes hyper-masculine nature. Rick, who was a leader in his police force, and who walked out of a hospital post-apocalypse, is-- as some would say-- a badass. He fought through Atlanta to reach his family, and he also protected the people he trusted. Rick was a hegemonic force to be dealt with.
In the prior episode when we saw Rick being challenged by being "out-manned,” he always responded with more masculinity through the exertion of power. In one episode, Rick literally bites a man’s throat and punctures arteries in his neck, which results in the man bleeding out. Although Rick is the head of the group, there are also other hyper-masculine members of the group-- the next most notable one being Abraham. Abraham was a former sergeant in the military and, more often than not, got laughs out of killing walkers. In other words, Abraham is a reckless and proud individual with a short temper and an equally profound wittiness. He is brave, strong, persevering, and also has a violent and rude side. He is the living juxtaposition between recklessness and wisdom. Abraham is the epitome of hyper-masculine.
This brings us to the season seven premiere. At the beginning of the episode, we are not exposed to who gets to meet Lucile, but there are hints throughout the episode. Towards the middle, Rick finally recounts what he saw while on top of the RV Negan took him out on the road in. After playing "eeny, meeny, miny, moe," Negan finally chooses Abraham to kill. Negan brutally kills Abraham, but before receiving the first hit, Abraham winks at Sasha, smiling, and then gets bashed. This moment in the series is when Rick gets figuratively emasculated. Abraham is arguably the biggest and most physically capable of killing Negan in the future, which explains why he was chosen. Negan felt threatened by Abraham’s presence, which made him issue a hyper-masculine response. Then Glenn dies, but that was anticipated and in the original comics.
After this point, Rick is treated like a dog, subservient and obedient. Negan makes Rick walk through a horde of Walkers to retrieve a hatchet, which Rick does fine. When returning to the RV, Negan explains to Rick what his position in the hierarchy is now. Rick has been taken off of his pedestal and replaced with an irrationally aggressive, dominant hegemon. I have not watched episode two quite yet because I'm waiting to buy it online on Monday. Ultimately, I am very interested in how this season will develop, and how Andrew Lincoln’s character, Rick, will change as a result of being reduced to a pawn.
