In the seventh episode of The Walking Dead season 7, titled “Sing Me a Song,” we get a better look at Negan’s world when Carl gets a strange welcome to the Sanctuary. Meanwhile, several Alexandrians are out on supply runs, Rosita is still gunning for a bullet and Michonne has a mission of her own. This episode really focuses on Chandler Riggs‘ Carl, and it is interesting to see how Carl deals with Negan in contrast to all the adults around him.
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Carl Attacks the Saviors
As the episode begins, Carl and Jesus are still hiding out in the back of the truck heading for the Sanctuary. Jesus opens up a bottle of syrup and pours it out of the truck to leave a trail. When he realizes they are getting close to the Saviors’ home base, Jesus tells Carl they need to get out of the truck. Carl is not thrilled about jumping out of said truck, but Jesus says they just have to roll with it. Carl gets Jesus to jump first and then just waves from the truck once Jesus is out. Jesus smirks, realizing that Carl played him.
Once the truck arrives at the Sanctuary, Carl grabs a gun and takes aim. When the Saviors get ready to unload the truck, Carl fires on them, killing at least one. Carl then jumps out of the truck and points his gun at the Saviors. He tells them he is only there for Negan and he doesn’t want to kill anyone else. Negan keeps himself shielded behind some of his men as he speaks to Carl. While he is impressed by Carl, he also admits to being scared of him. Carl fires at the Savior shielding Negan, and Dwight knocks Carl to the ground. Negan stops Dwight from harming Carl, saying that Carl is now their guest. We see that Daryl has been watching all of this unfold.
Negan takes Carl into the Sanctuary and shows Carl just how much “respect” his Saviors have for him, as they all kneel the moment he walks in. He then leads Carl to meet his wives. (Yes, wives, as in plural.) Negan pulls Sherry aside and asks her what happened with Mark and Amber, even though he already seems to know the answer. Sherry confirms that Mark skipped his turn on duty to see Amber, clearly breaking one of Negan’s rules.
Negan hands Carl a beer while he talks to Amber. Negan tells Amber that he doesn’t want anyone with him who doesn’t want to be there. He reminds her that she cannot cheat on him but tells her that she can go back to Mark if she wants. Amber says she’s sorry and that she wants to stay with Negan. He tells her she knows what has to happen if she chooses to stay.
Dwight brings Daryl in, and Daryl exchanges a look with Carl. Daryl wants to know what Negan is doing with Carl, but Negan says it’s none of his business. He then orders Dwight to fire up the furnace.
Negan Punishes Carl
Negan sits Carl down, saying he wants to get to know Carl better. Negan then says he wants Carl to remove his bandage. He says it’s punishment for Carl killing two of his men. At first, Carl refuses, but Negan makes it clear that Carl does not want to make him angry. Carl slowly removes his bandage, revealing his wound. It’s pretty gruesome given that you can see into Carl’s skull. Negan taunts Carl about how ugly it is, and Carl ends up crying. Negan then acts like he feels bad for making Carl cry, claiming it’s easy to forget that Carl is still just a kid.
Their conversation is interrupted when one of the Saviors, Fat Joey, tells Negan that he left Lucille out by the truck. Fat Joey gives Lucille back to Negan, and Negan then demands that Carl make up for killing two of his men by singing him a song. Eventually, Carl sings “You are My Sunshine” while Negan swings Lucille in the background. Negan asks Carl if his mother sang that song to him and learns that Carl’s mother is dead. Carl says he was the one who put his mom down before she could turn. Negan thinks that is probably why Carl is a serial killer in the making. He then makes Carl hold Lucille as he handles some business with the Saviors.
Negan addresses his people and reminds them that no one is exempt from the rules because the rules are what keep them alive. If someone breaks the rules, they get the iron. Negan then approaches Mark, who is tied up to a chair. Negan has Dwight hand him the iron, and he proceeds to burn Mark’s face with it. Mark eventually passes out from the pain, and Negan leaves Dr. Carson to take care of him. Daryl and Carl watch this whole ordeal, and Daryl keeps looking to Dwight to see how Dwight reacts to the event that clearly happened to him in the not-so-distant past. Negan tells his people that he hopes they learned from this so he doesn’t have to do it again.
Carl has some words for Negan after witnessing the iron in action. He tells Negan to jump out of a window and save him the trouble of killing him. (Negan and I are both impressed with Carl in this moment.) Carl also says that if Negan was capable of killing him, he would’ve done it already. Negan says that maybe Carl is right and then tells him they are going for a ride.
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Rosita Gets Her Bullet
Rosita and Eugene are heading outside the walls, and Spencer thinks it’s for a supply run to produce for the Saviors, but Rosita says that’s not what they are doing. Spencer and Father Gabriel then decide to head out on an actual supply run while Rosita and Eugene go on a mission. Before they leave, Rosita and Spencer argue, and Rosita makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with him. (Honestly, it’s about time.)
During their brief car ride, Gabriel and Spencer discuss Rick. Spencer has a lot of issues with the way Rick runs things, but Gabriel has faith in their leader. Gabriel knows that no matter what happened in the past, they are here now and have to look to the future. Spencer doesn’t think they have a future with Rick as their leader and he thinks the best thing for their people would be if Rick doesn’t make it back from his supply run. Gabriel says Spencer is acting like a “tremendous shit,” so he decides to head back to Alexandria without him. Spencer continues searching for supplies and eventually comes across a walker hanging from a tree. He cuts said walker down to see what he has on him.
Instead of looking for supplies, Rosita takes Eugene back to the factory that Eugene once said could be used to make bullets. She still wants him to make her one, but Eugene tries to back out of it. He says that one bullet is nothing and the Saviors still have the numbers to defeat them. Even if Rosita can take out Negan, they will still be punished. Rosita says she is willing to pay the price and calls Eugene out for being a coward. She tells him to be useful for once and make her the bullet. Eugene gives in and gets to work.
Once Rosita has her bullet, she tries to apologize to Eugene, but Eugene knows that she meant what she said. When they get back home, they run into Spencer. He has a car full of supplies because the walker he found had a list of nearby caches in his pocket. Spencer intends to hand it all over to the Saviors, but he also claims he’s going to do more than that. Spencer appears to be headed for his comic fate.
Negan Takes Carl Home
After Carl’s outburst, Negan decides to take him back to Alexandria. As they are leaving, we see Jesus on top of Negan’s truck. Daryl also seems to spot Jesus, but when the camera pans back to the truck, Jesus is gone.
When they arrive in Alexandria, Carl takes Negan to his house. Olivia is there watching over baby Judith. Negan asks where Rick is, and Olivia tells him that Rick is out scavenging for him. She then says Alexandria is low on supplies and they are practically starving. Negan takes the opportunity to make a crack about her weight that causes Olivia to cry. When Negan apologizes and offers to “screw your brains out,” Olivia slaps him. (I have never liked Olivia more.) Negan says he’s about 50% more into her now and then sends her off to make him some lemonade while Carl gives him a tour of the house.
This tour ends with Judith’s room. Negan has Carl hold Lucille so he can pick up Judith. The episode ends with Negan sitting on the porch, with Judith in his lap and Carl by his side. Negan says maybe Carl was right and he should kill both Rick and Carl. He can bury them in the flower bed and settle into the suburbs with Judith.
In Other News
Michonne is out on a mission of her own as the episode begins. She whistles to draw out some walkers so she can kill them. She then drags the bodies away, and we wonder what she’s doing with them. We find out toward the end of the episode when one of the Saviors is driving down the road and is forced to stop. It seems that Michonne has set up a walker roadblock. As the woman gets out of her car to check things out, Michonne gets the drop on her. She makes the woman put down her weapons and then says, “Take me to Negan.”
Michonne and the woman get in the car, and the Savior tries to fight Michonne, but Michonne bests her yet again. She holds the woman at gunpoint and once again demands that she take her to Negan. (As much as I appreciate Michonne being proactive in going after Negan, I cannot imagine what she has planned when she gets to him.)
Rick and Aaron are still out on a supply run. Rick seems slightly disappointed that Michonne hasn’t contacted him via the radio he left her. As Aaron opens up the truck that he and Rick took shelter in, he notices something in the distance. This turns out to be a sign on a fence warning people that there is nothing here for them. Since Rick and Aaron only have today to gather what they can and head back home, they decide to check it out.
Eventually, they come across another sign that announces that if they’ve made it this far, the person writing said sign must be dead. Rick and Aaron then discover that this person has protected his supplies by leaving them in some kind of structure surrounded by walkers and water.
Daryl ends the episode back in his cell. He listens as an unknown person approaches his cell and slips a piece of paper under the door. Attached to said paper is a key and a brief note that reads, “Go now.”
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Were you surprised by how Negan “punished” Carl? Who do you think slipped Daryl the note and the key? Was Rosita too harsh with Eugene? What is Michonne’s plan once this Savior takes her to Negan? What do you think will happen in the winter finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The Walking Dead season 7 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of AMC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
