Warning: The following article contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead" season seven

“Suck my nuts” and “Maggie, I’ll find you” are two last words "The Walking Dead" fans will never forget. Those aren’t the only things we won’t forget, though; the brutal and senseless pulverization of Glenn’s and Abraham’s skulls will flash before me every time I blink, that’s for damn sure. However, as much as I will mourn their loss, I love Negan’s character and what he’s brought, and will definitely bring, to the show.

There are fans who are announcing that they will no longer watch the show because of how violent it has become, or because of how unnecessary this violence is. Some fans even consider the season seven premiere as the show at its worst. I feel sorry for these people because I think they are too weak for brilliant television. And no, I don’t need violence for brilliant television, I just need conflict. And in "The Walking Dead" universe, Negan is the ultimate conflict.

This is a show about the zombie apocalypse. Even if this show was about one of those things or the other it still goes without saying that violence is a no-brainer (pun intended). But seriously, I wonder if these people have seen any of the other episodes of "The Walking Dead"? The opening scene is literally of Rick shooting a zombie child in the head. Guaranteed all of the surviving characters have witnessed at least a single loved one turn into zombie meat before their very eyes. Rick’s own wife died during child birth on the floor of a prison and then was devoured by walkers. Carol shot a little girl in the back of the head because she was afraid of the child. The Ricktatorship was taken captive by cannibals. I could list gruesome and controversial scenes all day, but the point is: violence that pushes boundaries is not something new to this show.

Let’s talk about the necessary existence of violence in a show like this. We are in a post-apocalyptic world, people, where we are following the tragic story of survivors trying to live after the end of the world. Death is in the definition of post-apocalyptic. It is unavoidable. “But they don’t have to show it during the episode!” That’s like constantly being disappointed by the scenes in "Game Of Thrones" where they don’t show an epic battle because they’re saving all their budget and resources for an even more epic battle toward the end of the season, except with every battle. The satisfaction never comes and fans are left empty. "The Walking Dead" writers and creators built up to the introduction of this character Negan, who is the iconic villain from the comic series, and even waited an entire seven months to reveal his victim(s), so to work toward this episode and not show the results would be an insult to the fans who are looking for that satisfaction.

Negan himself is a terrifying human being. He loves being dramatic at the cost of innocent lives. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure literally every single human being to cross his path gives him what he wants (“half your shit”). Negan needed to set an example for Rick and co. or he would have risked losing everything. In a show about supernatural monsters, man is the monster. It has become one of the largest themes of the show, and it does a fantastic job of mirroring similar themes in real life culture. To not show the violence we saw in the season seven premiere would have been out of character for not only Negan, but for the show as well.

I wish instead of complaining about violence in a fictional world that people would focus on the real note-worthy things from the episode. Just to name a few:

• Andrew Lincoln’s performance (Rick)
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s performance (Negan)
• The ensemble cast’s collective performance, of which several are nod-worthy, including but not limited to:
• Sonequa Martin’s (Sasha) face when Abraham was chosen by Negan and then flashed her their loaded peace sign
• Lauren Cohen’s (Maggie) reaction to Glenn, her husband and the father to her unborn child, being pulverized to death (YAS Maggie coming for Negan’s wig from the get go!)
• Christian Serratos’s (Rosita) performance
• When Norman Reedus (Daryl) punched Negan in the head (Award-worthy right there)
• Literally every cast member who was on their knees in the premiere

Because of these performances, I was able to experience the pure emotion elicited from the characters due to these gruesome deaths. Fear, horror, disgust, shock, heartbreak and hatred, to name a few. This is what great television produces; emotion in all of its levels. Without emotion, is it even entertainment? Because I’d rather the media focus on the things listed above instead of “why the show is at its worst,” there’s only one thing to say to those who think this violence is “unnecessary” in a show like "The Walking Dead": don’t watch the show because I can guarantee you that it is going to be one hell of a bloody, messy ride from here on out.