Zombie turning character death, tiger attack, betrayal and a battering!

This week’s episode marked the end of Season 7 and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.  This half of the Season was off to a bit of a shaky start in my eyes but the last few episodes have definitely been worth the watch, especially the Season finale.

The finale was full of tension, suspense, heartache and surprises.  It’s hard to pinpoint a personal favourite scene but if I had to choose, it’d be between the Scavengers turning on our protagonists or Shiva jumping in and helping to save the day.

The Scavengers turning on the group was one of the highlights of the episode; I truly didn’t see it coming.  Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) had us all convinced that she wanted to help Rick and co., and then the betrayal happened like flicking a switch.  I liked Jadis when we first saw her, she came across as a force not to be reckoned with and in an unexpected way, she’s met my expectations.  I highly doubt she’ll stay in the shadows in Season 8 and I wonder if she’ll stay with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) or truly turn to help Rick and the others?

One of the biggest turn of events was the death of Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green).  Part of the group for a long time, her death has sent major ripples through Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom, as well as The Walking Dead fandom.  Her death appeared inevitable for some time now but even so, when it finally happened it was a sad moment.  However, there was a somewhat silver lining to her death as I briefly thought it might have been the end of Negan.  Bursting out of the coffin, Negan was in for a nasty surprise when she tumbled out with glazed eyes and a hunger for human flesh.  I’m pretty sure this is the first time that we’ve all rooted for a zombie.  Nevertheless, this was not to be the end of Negan, but it was time to say goodbye to Sasha.

We also got to see characters that we don’t normally see much of in the finale.  Aaron (Ross Marquand) is a prime example.  Aaron is one of my favourite characters but we don’t see as much of him as I’d like.  A courageous and intelligent character, I think he’s got a lot more to prove yet and I’m hoping that Season 8 will give him that chance to shine.

Overall this Season finale definitely ticked all the boxes.  Badass protagonists doing what they do best?  Check.  A long-serving character sacrificing themselves for the greater good?  Check.  A tiger jumping in to save the day?  Check.  From the way this finale ended, we know that in the next Season there’s going to be a war, and a big one.  This feud between the Saviours and everyone else has exploded into something else entirely so I’m really looking forward to seeing what Season 8 holds.