What The Walking Dead Premiere Means For Season 7

WARNING: Major Spoilers For The Walking Dead Ahead!

Fans of The Walking Dead need a break after that season seven premiere, as it sent shockwaves through the community. Not only did two beloved characters die, but the episode kept up its high pressure from beginning to end. So many things happened in this premiere, and it will continue to affect tha characters for the rest of the season.

How will this episode change the landscape of The Walking Dead for season seven? Well, there are quite a few ways.

Let's start with the obvious: Glenn's death is going to rock Maggie.

The couple has been together since the second season, and fans can't really remember the two without each other. To make matters worse, Maggie is pregnant with Glenn's child.

Maggie will not really know what to do with herself going forward, and this will send her on a very personal journey. She obviously needs medical attention for her pregnancy, but she will also have to learn to cope with the loss of her love.

In the comics, Maggie uses this pain as a driving force to retaliate against Negan. As Rick begins to plan a war against the Saviors, Maggie moves to Hilltop to avoid her home that she shared with Glenn. After she moves, she learns Hilltop doesn't have a leader that will stand up to Negan.

Since she resents the man so much, she slowly takes charge of the community. In order to help Rick in his battle, Maggie rallies an army from the members of Hilltop.

While it takes her awhile to recover, Glenn's death really becomes a turning point for her story. Look for Maggie to become one of the biggest protagonists going forward, taking on the leadership role that Glenn and Abraham left behind.

Since Glenn wasn't the only victim, other love interests will have to learn how to move on.

Rosita and Sasha were both in love with Abraham, and both were equally as devastated by his death. Sasha seemed to handle it better than Rosita, but Sasha has always been one of the strongest characters on the show.

As far as what will happen to each woman, this moment will affect them both in very different ways.

Rosita will become more broken, not sure what to do without her protector around. This will cause her to hurt even more than she already was after the break-up, and it will probably guide her into Eugene's arms.

No one else knew Abraham like Eugene, and their loss will pull them toegether. In the comics, the two found love after Abraham's death.

As for Sasha, Abraham's death will make her even stronger. Much like Holly did in the comic, Sasha will want to avenge Abraham and kill Negan. Holly sacrificed herself to make this happen, and this may be the case for Sasha.

No matter how she handles it, this will make Sasha go toe-to-toe with Rick. He will want to be patient in his retaliation, but Sasha will hate the thought of Negan living another day. Watch out for this dynamic throughout the entire season.

Rick is now a different man, and his brokenness will bring other characters down on him. Rick has traditionally been the strongest character on the show, but he has now been knocked down the totem pole.

Rick has never been in this kind of position before, and he will have to find out how to react. Even when Lori was killed, Rick had some kind of plan. After Negan killed Glenn and Abraham, Rick is completely and utterly lost.

It's already been established that people in Alexandria question Rick's leadership, and his attitude will fan that flame even more. Spencer will likely use this event in his case against Rick, and he may try to turn him over to Negan. If Spencer can replace Rick as the leader of Alexandria, he will do whatever it takes.

As far as his relationship with Carl goes, Rick is going to be in a place similar to where he was in season four.

After Lori died, Rick lost his mind a bit. Carl thought he was stronger than his father, and this caused an interesting dynamic. Now that Carl really is strong, this relationship will be challenged even further.

Carl will challenge Rick more than ever before, but there is a great chance Rick uses this to bring his son closer.

Now that Rick needs someone else at his right hand, he may bring Carl into the fold. This could be the moment where Carl truly becomes and adult, and begins to serve as a trusted aid to Rick, rather than a son.

Daryl is in a lot of trouble going forward, and there isn't much he can do. One thing is going for him though, and that is Negan's happiness with his vigor.

Negan appreciates the guts that Daryl showed in this episode, and he will use this season to try and bend Daryl to his own will. Instead of breaking him like he did with Rick, Negan will want to mold Daryl into a viscious soldier similar to Dwight and Simon.

Each and every character this season will continue to be affected by this episode, and none of them will be the same again. Not only will their characters change, but their stories will shoot in different directions as well.

The true direction of this season remains to be seen, but it will all unfold in due time.

The Walking Dead returns next week, October 30, at 9pm ET on AMC.

MORE on The Walking Dead season 7 premiere:

Kingdom Preview Released / Negan's Kill Reveal / Season 7 Premiere Recap (SPOILERS) / Who Is King Ezekiel / Where's Daryl Now? / Negan's Comic Book History / Twitter Reactions to Negan's Kill / Was the Premiere Too Violent?

The Walking Ded airs Sunday night's @9/8c on AMC.