In the words of Negan, "Pissin' our pants yet?" Yes, Negan has obviously been the center of this season so far, but there are so many different areas to cover. In this, we'll cover; Negan and his character, how Hilltop, The Kingdom, and Alexandria can work together to take down the Saviors, why the writers continue to split everyone up and are there a new group of antagonists on the horizon?
First thing is first, Negan.
How to sum up the character of Negan: A volatile, manipulative, foul-mouthed asshole with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire named, Lucille (after his dead wife)! He intimidates people by being very straightforward, keeping his promises no matter what, using foul language and sick scenarios to take control. He keeps eye contact with those he is intimidating and doesn't let up. It's very obvious how he rose to power. He has multiple wives and even intimidates them as well. His sick and twisted sense of humor can get the best of people and he can really dig deep into someone's mind and belittle them.
Second, The Kingdom.
So, King Ezekiel rules over this community called, The Kingdom. The man has a tiger with him and it looks badass!! BUT!!!!! He still has to give food and supplies to The Saviors. This badass community has to provide for Negan like Hilltop and Rick's community. The Kingdom was not mentioned a lot during this season which leaves a lot to the imagination. Morgan and Carol settle into the Kingdom before Carol leaves to be on her own. However, they do not reveal a whole lot about this place and why a king is needed.
Next, How can all of these groups work together?
They need to be able to find more people, weapons, and other supplies and be able to stash them away from The Saviors long enough to finally gear up for a fight. Right now, they are out manned and out gunned. They need to communicate and get together to take out Negan and The Saviors. They may need to persuade The Saviors to break away from Negan and join them to outnumber Negan to take him down.
Finally, do we finally get a glimpse of our next group of villains?
There are rumors that the boots you see in the above picture (When Rick and Aaron are crossing the lake) are from a group called, The Whisperers. The Whisperers wear the skins of walkers to blend in. There have been rumors that they have made appearances in previous episodes, but nothing has come from that. Some speculation believes it to be a woman in particular based on the shoes. Some are suggesting it is the owner of the boat Rick and Aaron climb on to. Some are suggesting it is Dwight spying on Rick and possibly wanting to leave Negan because of how he is treated. We don't know yet. It could be anyone at this point, but it is someone that has taken notice to Rick and Aaron and may follow them.
The second half of season 7 will probably be slow. I think it will be a lot of strategic planning for the three communities to take down Negan and the Saviors. We will still miss Glenn, Abraham, Spencer and Olivia, but we move on. There is a huge need to take out Negan and get revenge for all of these deaths. The second half will be a lot of dialogue and either a huge fight at the season finale or they're about to fight and they will hold us on the cliffhanger until season 8. Overall, not a bad season so far, they just need a better way to follow everyone's stories and not drop off so much after a great season premiere.