The sixth season of "The Walking Dead" started opening the world of the show up further, and as a result gave us some pretty big questions to consider: "Why did they kill Tabitha?" "Why'd it take so long to kill off Ron?" "Did Michonne really eat Morgan's last peanut butter bar?" (Which later become "Did Michonne really think it was ok to eat Morgan's last peanut butter bar?! - the answer yes, but she's wrong).
Oh, and there's also that cliffhanger about someone dying or whatever. NBD.
The cliffhanger, with the point-of-view death fading to black without viewers actually getting to see who died, hasn't so much been the big talking point in Walking Dead circles as it has been the only talking point. It overshadowed what was, up until that point, an excellent back-half of Season 6, and it's dominated the conversation since.
It's understandable, and it's certainly something the show needs to provide a satisfactory answer to (good luck with that). However, it also detracts from just how much is going on in The Walking Dead right now. With new worlds, new characters, and a new status-quo, everything is about to change, and there are lots of big, important questions beyond wondering 'Who Got Lucilled?"
10. What's Happening At Alexandria In Rick's Absence?
Rick. Daryl. Carl. Michonne. Abraham. Glenn. Maggie.
They're just some of the folk who have been captured by Negan, and the ones who would plausibly live-up to the hype and sense of occasion of 'the death'. What it means, however, is that there isn't much left behind. Does anyone really care what, er *checks names for who's left* Spencer(!) is up to?
Nah, thought not. But still, Alexandria is the main location of the series right now, and it's been left without its main defenders and leaders. Has anything else happened in their absence? Deaths? Attacks? Someone stealing food? Depending on how the timings work out, we may have to see some of Alexandria sans Rick and co, but what will that really look like?
9. How Much Will Hilltop (And Jesus) Feature?
The introduction of the Hilltop Colony was a little hit'n'miss last year. It didn't really have time to fully flesh the place out, meaning it's hard to care too much about it right now. On the other hand, it tied in with the arrival of Jesus into the show, which is one of the best additions in a long time.
With the Alexandrians currently attempting to deal with Negan to save themselves and Hilltop, it's unclear just how much the latter will figure into things - especially with the Kingdom being introduced as well.
How much can the show juggle these various locations, and will anyone outside of Jesus really get to feature much? (And that's assuming he will, because, well, he's awesome.)
8. What State Of Mind Is Carol In?
Carol has been on a considerable journey throughout The Walking Dead, going from wallflower and victim to being a certified badass. She's one of the most interesting and well-developed characters on the show, and has started taking another step - Season 6 saw her apparently suffering from the trauma of killing so many people, and that looks like continuing in Season 7.
Injured, she's been taken to the Kingdom, a new location that'll come into play this year. The S7 trailer showed us a Carol who was looking and talking, well, very un-Carol like. While there's always the chance she's playing them, it seemed like she was under heavy medication - probably to calm her and ease the pain. What Carol are we going to see when the show picks up, and how will that progress throughout the year? Has the killer gone for good?
7. Has Morgan Changed?
Serving as an ideological counterpoint counterpoint to Carol, Morgan has been adhering to a strict 'no-kill' policy since his return to the show.
While he was tested throughout Season 6 and refused to crack, leading to tensions and confrontations with Rick and Carol, he was eventually forced to pull the trigger in the end - shooting a Saviour in order to save Carol.
How will that impact upon him? Are we going to find a Morgan dealing with his actions and carrying that weight around, or is this the start of a new Morgan who is happy to kill when required (a potential role-reversal with Carol)?
6. How Big A Role Will Ezekiel Play?
Oh, and he has a pet tiger called Shiva, who is fiercely loyal to him, eats zombies, and yes, is coming to the show!
What’s not clear is just how much we’ll see of Ezekiel - and even less how much we’ll see of Shiva, which may be restricted depending on budget. The Walking Dead already has a lot of characters to try and balance, so it’ll be interesting to see just how much room they’re able to make for the King.
5. Will Maggie Have The Baby?
They wouldn’t kill a pregnant lady, would they?
If we assume that they will, then Maggie immediately becomes a big contender for the one killed by Negan. The show can continue without her (the reason why it won’t be Rick), but she’s a big enough character that it would still hold the required shock-factor and impact on the rest of the characters.
However, that’d be a waste, since there’s a lot more to do with Maggie - they started exploring her leadership qualities in Season 6, and it’s something they can expand on a lot more. So let’s say Maggie lives. What next?
The show already has one baby, and I don’t think it’s in a position to juggle two (and it doesn’t exactly make for riveting viewing). So if Maggie does live, is something equally as tragic in store, or will they go ahead and allow the pregnancy to play out?
4. Who Did Negan Kill?
Okay, this is the question everyone is asking and cares about, so while I’ve already alluded to it, it kinda has to be in here. There are 11 candidates for the death, or so AMC would like us to believe.
Rick, Carl, Michonne, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham, Eugene, Rosita, Aaron, or Sasha.
However, there’s no way the show is killing off Rick - it just ain’t happening. It’s not going to be Carl either, since Negan talks about cutting his other eye out if anyone interferes: not likely if you’re beating the guy to death first.
And then there were 9. While it could be any of them, imagine the uproar if the death was Eugene, Aaron, Rosita, or Sasha. Without being disrespectful to the actors playing them, they just aren’t ‘big’ enough right now.
That leaves 5: Michonne, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, or Abraham. There’s not much point killing Glenn, after the whole death fakeout, and the fact it’s what comic fans expect.
Abraham is the one my money is on right now, while Daryl would cause the biggest shock.
Unless, of course, he kills two people?
3. How Will Rick React To The Death?
Working on the basis that Rick and Carl are the only two people guaranteed to survive the Season 7 premiere, then they are the only ones whose reactions we can wonder about regardless of the outcome (whereas, say, if Sasha died Abraham would be more hurt, and likewise for Glenn and Maggie).
It's the reaction of Rick that's going to be most interesting, since he's the leader of the group and the one charged with their safety - and the one they'll all turn to for retribution. Will Negan's action have an equal and opposite reaction?
Rick's instincts may be to take Negan out, but he's going to have to be more cunning than that, and agree to play the game for a time. Quite what plans he'll start cooking up though, and how he begins to organise a response to the Saviours, will likely be a big part of Season 7.
The other aspect to consider is how much this will alter Rick on a psychological level. He's been through hell before, but the man witnessed at the end of Season 6 was completely broken down and helpless - how does he recover from that, if at all?
2. How Will Rick's Group Get Back At Negan?
Negan is in charge now, which will shake-up the status-quo of the show and Rick's group. Previously, the Alexandrians were the ones in control, as evidenced by the way they dealt with Hilltop.
Now, however, they're in a similar position to where Hilltop were, under pressure and set to be targeted by the Saviours, who'll be taking half of everything the safe-zone has, and anything else they feel like taking as well.
Because of Negan's actions, there's a chance the Alexandrians will just take that lying down - but will they all be happy doing that? How long before they get sick of taking the hits, and instead start planning out a way to fight back?
1. What Does 'Negan's World' Look Like?
The world we've been living in for the past six seasons has, typically, been that of Rick Grimes. Sure, he's been challenged, but through it all he's maintained control and been the steady presence, aided by his loyal group of fellow survivors.
Now, that's changed. This isn't Rick's world - it's Negan's. He's the one calling the shots, the person in command, the man at the very top. That's a considerable shift for the series to make after six seasons, putting Rick and the survivors in a new light: the victims, the hunted, the downtrodden.
Just how big a shift - tonally, character-wise, and storyline - are we going to see in Season 7, now that we're living in Negan's world?
What questions do you have going into Season 7? Share your thoughts down in the comments.
