9 Years Later, It's Time To Admit The Walking Dead's Most Controversial Episode Is Also A Masterpiece

The Walking Dead’s season 7 premiere made a lot of viewers stop watching the show — and for good reason — but despite the controversy, the episode is a masterpiece. The Walking Dead season 7, episode 1, “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” picked up after the season 6 finale’s cliffhanger ending by revealing who Negan beat to death in that enigmatic P.O.V. shot. This episode began the reign of Negan as The Walking Dead’s big bad. It was a watershed moment for the series; the moment that Rick’s group finally met their match, and it was appropriately terrifying.

A lot of Walking Dead episodes are rightly considered to be masterpieces, from the stunningly cinematic pilot episode “Days Gone Bye” to the chilling standalone psychological thriller “The Grove.” But the season 7 premiere doesn’t get the recognition it deserves for its powerful performances and haunting atmosphere. In fact, it’s often named as one of the series’ worst episodes. But people only hate it because it did exactly what it set out to do: leave them deeply disturbed, despising Negan, hoping Rick would find a way to defeat him but dreading the possibility that he couldn’t.

The Walking Dead Season 7's Premiere Is The Most Controversial Episode Of The Show

The Walking Dead Had A Massive Dip In Viewership After This Episode

“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” opens with the revelation that the character Negan beat to death in the season 6 finale was Abraham. But there’s another twist: an infuriated Daryl jumps up and punches Negan in the face, prompting him to dole out another punishment on the group with another execution. He picks out Glenn and similarly beats him to death, this time on-screen. Negan then spends the rest of the episode psychologically torturing Rick to the point that he almost forces him to cut off his own son’s arm as a symbol of subservience.

At the time, The Walking Dead was one of the highest-rated shows on television, with a dedicated fan base. But after the shocking season 7 premiere, The Walking Dead’s viewership started to decline. After this episode, millions of viewers tuned out and stopped watching the show. There are a couple of reasons for this. Glenn’s death felt gratuitous, not only because he’d just had a cheap fake-out death a few episodes earlier, but because his demise was so unnecessarily gruesome and drawn-out, with his eyeball being dislodged from his head in a horrifyingly sustained shot.

When Negan began his reign of terror, The Walking Dead stopped being a soap opera with zombies and just became grueling torture porn. Before Rick and his group would band together to defeat the Saviors in an all-out war, every episode was spent putting our beloved characters through hell. That started with the season 7 premiere, as Negan threw Rick into the middle of a horde of the undead for laughs. It just wasn’t fun to watch anymore, so a lot of people simply decided to stop watching.

Despite Its Criticisms, "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" Is A Masterpiece

Director Greg Nicotero Creates A Tense, Unsettling Atmosphere

Although it’s been widely criticized, “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” is technically a masterpiece. Director Greg Nicotero maintains the unbearable tension from beginning to end, and uses the fog and the darkness to create a truly unsettling atmosphere. Andrew Lincoln and the rest of the cast give really authentic performances that sell the characters’ terror and make the whole ordeal feel even more real, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan made an unforgettable debut in the role of Negan. If it makes you scared and uncomfortable, then the episode did its job.

The Walking Dead Season 7's First Episode Is A Turning Point For The AMC Show

This Episode Divides The Show Into Two Distinctive Eras

This episode marked a major turning point for The Walking Dead. The show is split into two distinctive eras: before the season 7 premiere and after it. This one kicked off the series’ longest-running villain arc and made the overall tone of The Walking Dead much, much darker.