Major spoilers for The Walking Dead follow.
The Walking Dead‘s Season 7 (The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life) finale saw a key member of Rick’s group killed off before its extended run time came to a close. While many suspected the death based on knowledge of The Walking Dead comics, others were surprised to see one of their favorite survivors reanimated as a zombie.
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On the following slides, we will run through what [spoiler]’s death means for the future of The Walking Dead. Only click through if you have watched The Walking Dead‘s Season 7 finale! Spoilers ahead.
The Comics
Although The Walking Dead altered Sasha’s death by comparison to her comic book counterpart, it still answered the reaper when he called.
The Walking Dead has made one thing clear throughout Season 7: it will remain faithful to its source material.
Killing Abraham in the Season 7 premiere was a course correction to offing a face that was already dead at the equivalent story point in the books. Glenn’s fate was realized all too accurately. Spencer earned his iconic guts death. Denise Cloyd, who died at the bite of Sasha’ comic book counterpart, is already dead.
With the exception of Heath being taken off the show, the AMC series is following the comics more accurately than ever before.
War
Now, it’s war.
Sasha’s assault on the Sanctuary plus Negan’s attack on Alexandria means that it is officially time for war, as if Negan’s speech didn’t make this clear enough.
Going forward, Rick will not cower in fear as Negan commands. His people will not back down to the Saviors. The Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the Alexandria Safe-Zone will come together in clear, angry unity to fight their oppressors and free their people from Negan’s tyranny.
Season 8 will offer war and battles like have never seen on The Walking Dead before as the stakes are raised higher than ever before.
Abraham’s Legacy
Abraham’s legacy lives on.
Not only did Sasha set out for revenge against his killer but Abraham was heavily featured in The Walking Dead‘s Season 7 finale. Unfortunately, flashbacks likely won’t be a factor in the AMC series going forward but Abraham’s legacy has been cemented into fans’ hearts following the episode.
Now, we know that Big Red knew the true danger of helping Maggie. He knew the danger everyone near him was facing. Most importantly, we know how he felt about Sasha and how she felt about him. The characters’ stories have been told in their entirety and they can live on in our memory.
Alliances Revealed
Sasha’s death signified two true allegiances: Eugene stands with the Saviors and Dwight stands with Alexandria.
Well, Dwight technically stands with Negan still, but his allegiance is to Rick and his group as shown when he helped block the roads.
Sasha’s death had little to do with it but her arrival in Alexandria and the battle that ensued helped cement our opinion of these characters. It’s quite surprising that Eugene would help Sasha kill herself before he would help her escape the Sanctuary but, then again, the character has been out for himself since day one of the apocalypse.
Boo, Eugene.
