I, as well as many others, have been waiting forever for a sneak peek of "The Walking Dead"'s seventh season and we finally got it! The trailer dropped at San Diego Comic Con on Friday, July 22 during the "Walking Dead" panel. It was then put online via Facebook live for the rest of the world to see.
Here's the link: "The Walking Dead" Season 7 Trailer
Three minutes and six seconds of pure excitement, fear, and adrenaline! I have a couple points I'd like to talk about.
WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE COMICS OR TV SHOW!
The Introduction Montage
Last season's massive cliffhanger is definitely what every fan wants solved. Who did Negan bash with Lucille? In the comics, Glenn met this brutal fate but he seems to be immortal in the TV show. He narrowly escapes death whenever he acts as a scavenger for the group, avoids being eaten by a walker after the group lowers him down a water well to remove it, and manages to survive in a massive herd of walkers after falling into the middle of them by using his recently deceased friend's body as a shield and the shelter of a dumpster.
He's indestructible! Or maybe, just maybe, the producers of the "Walking Dead" TV show wanted us to think that.. just so they could rip him right out of our (and Maggie's) desperate fists come Negan's first appearance. But alas! The trailer did not give us any solid information or any way to draw conclusions when it came to which one of our beloved survivors gets to meet Lucille. What it did deliver was a lot of feels. The montage of all the characters in Negan's line- up does an excellent job of reminding us what these survivors have been through. Showing us the bonds with each this makeshift family has makes that much harder to know one of them will bite the bullet.. or um, bat.
Negan's Command
As Dwight, one of Negan's men, says in the trailer, "Everything's his.. or will be." Makes us think that Negan really is a powerful guy and will not take "no" for an answer. We even see him banging on Alexandria's gates and threateningly sitting with his arm around Olivia as he creepily pours some lemonade. It's nice to have someone like that in the zombie apocalypse-- as long as they aren't your enemy.
I have a feeling that even though Negan is going to create tensions within the survivor group, and the audience at home, he is also going to make us realize something bigger: he's also just trying to survive. Would he do worse than rip out a man's throat with his teeth (I'm looking at you, Rick)? No question. But what is our group going to do? Are they going to descend to Negan's manic level to survive or choose to keep their humanity/morals? "The Walking Dead" constantly stresses the importance of humanity throughout the apocalypse but season seven will push this idea to the extreme (at least until season eight is slated for release).
Negan is an obstacle for our survivors to overcome.. will they buckle under the pressure or come out on top? Questions, questions, questions... soooo many questions.
Questioning Rick's Leadership
Rick's leadership has always been questioned-- by Shane in season one, Carol in season two, Glenn in season three, the entire prison community in season four, and so on. And rightfully so! The group will always be questioning the man who is supposed to protect them, similar to how American's are in the middle of questioning who the right person to lead the states is but that's another article, for another day.
There is bound to be unrest within the Alexandria Safe Zone after Negan gets done with our heroes. Even Spencer shows this when he says, "We should have made a deal with them [The Saviors] when we could've."
At the end of the day, everyone needs to remember that Rick is human, not a god. He may be responsible but there is only so much he can do. It's only a matter of time before someone within the Safe Zone decides they can protect the citizens better than Rick and a coup d'état takes place.
How are the Alexandrians supposed to fight The Saviors and themselves at the same time? It's a disaster begging to happen.
Carol's Losing It, Unfortunately
We've seen Carol grow from a timid housewife who was beat by her husband, to a childless mother, to bad ass protector who would do anything for her people. Then we watched he descend as the severity of her actions caught up to her. By the end of the sixth season, she would have been killed if Morgan hadn't protected her and what's most disturbing is that she wouldn't have minded.
What we now need to think about is whether or not Carol will become a hinderance in the midst of the Savior versus Alexandria/Hilltop war. "I don't know the hell's going on in the most wonderful way!" She cheerfully exclaims while sitting in a bland room. She seems to be talking to someone (a therapist, perhaps?) or maybe she's playing the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing card again. Personally, I believe she has a lot of inner demons to deal with before she can be comfortable with herself again.
We can only hope she's still the wolf.
King Ezekiel, Shiva, and The Kingdom
I'll be honest, Shiva is who I'm most excited to see in season seven. Who wouldn't want to see how a Bengal Tiger acts during the zombie apocalypse?! If you're a comic book reader, you know about Shiva and King Ezekiel's history, but I'll leave that for the show to explain if you haven't read the comics. No doubt Shiva is a massive, and potential secret, weapon when it comes to the war with the Saviors. She is an intimidating and gorgeous (CGI) creature that could sure surprise a lot of men on the battle field. I'm totally anxious to see her role in the TV show.
As for Ezekiel, it will definitely be interesting to see another faction coming forth in "The Walking Dead" world. With The Kingdom comes more resources, manpower, and I'm sure drama. How will he interact with the members of Alexandria and the Hilltop? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I hope you comic book readers can kind of see what I'm getting at here!
"Where, oh where, have Tara and Heath gone?"
Tara Chamblers and Heath were last seen after the initial raid of the Saviors's compound (before Maggie and Carol were held hostage) as they left on a supply run. In the trailer we see her hiding from someone as her hand viciously shakes while gripping her knife. Is this person a Savior? From the Hilltop or Kingdom? A friend or a foe? Are they even a danger to Tara? Once again, we'll have to wait and see.
My bet is on a new enemy. A woman is shown at 2:56, shooting at something or someone. The producers are either being super sneaky and playing with how they edited the trailer to make us think Tara and Heath are in some sort of bind or they actually are in true danger.
Also, can we remember that Tara still doesn't know Denise was killed by Dwight? That's going to be a heartbreaking revelation for our lovable survivor.
Let me take a breath. Obviously, there is going to be a crazy amount of intensity in the seventh season of "The Walking Dead". The premiere date is October 23, 2016.





















