7 Things We Want To See In The Walking Dead Season 7

When The Walking Dead returns for its seventh season in October, it has the chance to offer up an almost entirely new show. Negan’s introduction rattled the landscape and while Rick’s group is going to be left fractured, they won’t be completely broken.

The world of The Walking Dead began its expansion late in its sixth season. We were introduced to the Hilltop. We met Gregory and Jesus. We even got a tease of the Kingdom’s existence.

Comic book fans have very high expectations for the show’s new season this fall. There are places, characters, and moments we all want to see but some stand out more than others.

Let’s take a look, but be warned, this does mean major spoilers for The Walking Dead comics and possibly for the show…

Guts

 

Negan doesn’t take any s–t. Well, technically, he takes half your s–t, but he doesn’t like being stood up to.

When Spencer Monroe, the last remaining member of the Monroe bloodline stands up to the ruthless, arrogant menace, Negan questions where Spencer’s guts have been. Quickly, Negan whips out his handy knife (which he uses to kill more people than Lucille) and slices Spencer’s stomach wide open.

As Spencer lays on the ground, dying, Negan mocks him and says, “There they are!” about his guts.

It’s a brutal moment which shows just how little thought Negan puts into killing someone. Sure, he has a code and some surprising set of rules, but he won’t hesitate to take out anyone who questions him.

The Sanctuary

 

Negan’s version of the Safe-Zone is called the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is where the Saviors serve their fearless leader and are, in turn, given refuge.

Among the people living at the Sanctuary is Negan’s group of wives. He doesn’t hit them. He doesn’t rape them. But he does offer safety in exchange for basically whatever he wants. One of Negan’s wives is actually Dwight’s long time lover.

Speaking of Dwight, his new face spawned from the Sanctuary. After his disobedience, Negan pressed an iron to Dwight’s face to permanently remind him and the rest of the Saviors what happens to those who disrespect, disobey, or stand up to Negan. Dwight was not the only victim of this punishment, so surely, we’ll see it first hand when The Walking Dead returns.

Negan and Carl

 

Negan and Carl’s relationship is one of the most intimate and twisted of the entire Walking Dead series.

After Carl’s eye injury, he loses a chunk of himself and not just physically. He is embarrassed by his scar. Negan, however, wants to exploit Carl’s insecurities.

When Carl decides to hop in the back of one of the Saviors’ trucks, he is brought back to the Sanctuary and unloads a machine gun on a group of enemies Scarface style. Ultimately, though, he is captured by Negan. He isn’t harmed but he is escorted to Negan’s quarters where Negan instructs him to lose the eyepatch and sing a song.

For some reason, Negan has a layer of respect for Carl unlike any other character.

When asked about whether or not we would see Carl and Negan’s relationship explored when The Walking Dead returns, showrunner Scott Gimple said, “Yes. A thousand times, yes, but in a very weird… I’ll say this – it may be very, very, very brief but we will absolutely see them have a pretty intense moment. There’s gonna be a bit of remixing. There might be another character involved that takes some of it. I’m kind of tripping on some aspects of it that I don’t want to reveal but that relationship will be absolutely shown.”

Out of the Darkness, into the Light

 

Dwight, one of the characters we all hate so much right now, eventually crosses Negan. 

We saw a glimpse of his disobedience for the man in the first half of the sixth season but upon his re-introduction, it’s clear where his allegiance lies. In the comics, though, that changes. Dwight defects against Negan and serves as an integral part of Rick’s army defeating the Saviors in battle.

At one point, Negan even covered his weapons and ammunition in walker guts to ensure that even the slightest strike will take out the enemy. When Dwight has a clear shot at Rick while sitting next to Negan, he takes it, but switched his arrow as to not infect Rick.

Currently, Dwight is the leader of the Saviors, carries Lucille, and loyally follows Rick in the comics.

All Out War

 

The aforementioned battle is called All Out War in the comics. We likely won’t reach the grenade tossing, machine gun blasting, sword slashing battles until late in the seventh season, but get there eventually, we will.

The All Out War was one of the most epic, deadly series of issues in The Walking Dead comics. It was brutal. Politics came into play. Betrayal was a factor. Armies clashed and soldiers fell.

In the end, Rick Grimes and Alexandria came out on top. They didn’t kill Negan but locked him in jail instead. Whether or not this plays out the same way on television is to be seen.

Maggie the Leader

 

Following Glenn’s death in the comics, Maggie takes residency at the Hilltop community.

We know that Gregory is the leader of that community but that’s mostly because no one else has stepped up to the plate. We’ve also already seen Maggie manage to out-negotiate Gregory once, so taking his position will probably be a breeze.

Whether or not Glenn was Negan’s victim in the television series will be seen when the show returns but even if he survived the Lucille encounter, Maggie could still want out of Alexandria and find herself in charge of the other group. She has Jesus on her side.

Plus, she has the haircut for it now, too.

Ezekiel and Shiva

 

We can all but guarantee we’re going to see the Kingdom when The Walking Dead returns. Members of the community have found Morgan and Carol and are escorting them back in an effort to save Carol’s life.

That said, we hope to meet the community’s leader and his trustee pet tiger: Ezekiel and Shiva.

Sources involved with The Walking Dead have said that they are “trying to do the tiger” but aren’t sure whether or not it will come to fruition. However, when The Walking Dead unveils its new trailer at San Diego Comic Con, we should probably be expecting to hear and see a tiger.

Ezekiel is one of the best characters in The Walking Dead comics. His leadership is unparalleled. He acts as a king but has an enormous amount of insecurities brewing inside of him. Prior the apocalypse, he was a zookeeper. When everything fell apart, he kept his beloved and loyal Shiva nearby as she protected him from the infected.

If we only get one wish for The Walking Dead’s seventh season, it’s for a kick-ass tiger.