The dust has settled and tears have dried...

Before I start, please proceed with caution reading this if you are one of the few people who are yet to see The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 1.

In this post, I will avoid naming names and spoiling the episode. However, I don’t think there are people of the social media generation who have managed to avoid the spoilers. They are everywhere, and it is infuriating. But if you are one of these people, and have avoided the spoilers and yet you call yourself a fan of The Walking Dead, then WTF?!?!? How have you not seen the episode yet!??!

Ok so here goes... Warning over…

Under usual circumstances, we do not get the new episode of The Walking Dead here in the UK, until the day after it premieres in the US.

However such was the nature of the cliff-hanger at the end of Season 6, the executives at FOX decided to air the Premiere of Season 7 at 0230 on Monday morning– so it would air at the same time as it was broadcast in the US. The same strategy employed by the team at SKY regarding Game of Thrones.

I went to bed on Sunday evening, feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve. I knew that when I awoke, there would be a present for me, sitting on my PVR planner, delivered overnight by the Santa like people at FOX (AMC in the US).

I personally knew that I could not take the risk of seeing a spoiler, so decided set my PVR to record the 0230 transmission, and set my alarm to wake me up early on Monday morning to watch the episode at 5am, before my partner and baby wake up, and before I needed to start getting ready for work. I knew that someone on social media or a news outlet would have posted something, and I wasn’t going to let the agonising six month wait that was almost over, be ruined by someone else.

In the week leading up to the premiere, there had been prominent marketing from the channel and programming itself about fans not spoiling the episode for other fans, unfortunately this wasn't hugely successful, as once fans had seen the show, their initial reaction was to flood social media outlets with their views, and to communicate their emotions with like minded people. It is inevitable and impossible to police.

I was up before the sunrise, settled in my comfy clothes, ready and waiting with anticipation for what was about to come. We already knew something BIG was going to happen. We had seen it from that characters point of view six months ago. But the question was who?

Soon the question we had been agonising over, the question which had led to the creation of hundreds of YouTube theory videos, the question we had been discussing on social media and talking about with friends and loved ones had been answered.

We knew the identity of Negan’s victim.

The Walking Dead was back in all of its gory ultra-violent glory, and was back with a huge bang. Well more than one bang. More like repetitive strikes of Negan’s barbed wire wrapped baseball bat named Lucille.

The dust has settled, tears have dried and the realisation of what I witnessed has sunken in. Opinions have been formed, reaction videos uploaded, online & print reviews posted and verbal discussions have occurred all over the world. But for the majority, the line between real life and TV has been crossed. As a viewer we, our main group of protagonists suffered hugely in this episode. So much so, that the show will have a completely new direction after this episode.

Personally, I felt a sense of bereavement and grief at watching this episode, as if it was somebody that I knew who had passed away, and not just a fictional character in long running television series about surviving in a zombie apocalypse. I had invested years of my life in supporting this group. So what happened really hit me hard.

The reviews of this episode have been mixed. Some fans have loved it for twisting the narrative, for breaking the character of Rick Grimes, and leaving the show with a new avenue to travel down in season 7. Others fans were left disgusted at the level of gore and violence, labelling the episode as “torture porn masquerading as storytelling”

I guess it depends on how you see your level of association with the programme. Super fans will have loved it, and every day casual fans may have been totally turned off. If you had viewed from the start, you will have seen the group’s struggles gain in intensity over the seasons, and the same can be said for the violence and suffering that they have suffered and imparted as the seasons have progressed. Some people have stated on social media that they will no longer watch the show. In my view this is just ridiculous. If you have invested years into something as graphic as TWD, then although this episode was shocking, it is not beyond the realms of what this show has been capable of. We have seen beheadings a plenty, a son killing his mother, a crossbow arrow to the eye, torture and cannibalism to mention just a few shock factor moments.

Such is the contrast of the critiques, that that the governing body who regulate what can or can’t go on television here in the UK, OFCOM, received complaints after people viewed the 0230 transmission, which lead to FOX having to make minor edits to the 2100 screening, to make it more compliant with the regulations. 

One of these edits appeared to remove one character's very poignant last words to another character, which led to confusion, as that particular line "I'll find you" was discussed in the talk show Talking Dead which airs immediately after the 9pm showing on FOX UK.

Although left depressed and in a mood of reflection after this episode, in my opinion it did everything that I wanted it to. I found out who the victim was after a long six months, I was left jaw wide open at certain things which happened, and I cannot wait to see how this season progresses from here.

I was in awe of some of the acting performances in this episode, notably Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, and Andrew Lincoln as Rick. The way  they played their interactions was exactly what was needed, and completley believable. Notable mention to Lauren Cohen as Maggie, expressed what everyone at home was feeling. 

The episode is on track to be the highest performing show ever on FOX UK, and after spending three years working for the channel, I am delighted that they are receiving figures like that. The show continues to grow in the UK, with a 59% increase on viewing figures from the opening episode of season 6. Amazing numbers for a channel such as FOX, and a great place for advertisers to align themselves.

The Walking Dead airs on FOX UK @ 9pm on Mondays. – Not sure if they will continue to simulcast with the US for future episodes.