Review: The Walking Dead S07E03 "The Cell"

[AMC]

"Better stop dreaming of the quiet life, 'cos it's the one we'll never know" could arguably be the realest piece of advice we've witnessed on The Walking Dead to date, yet I'm not so sure we were expecting it to come as an opener to this week's episode "The Cell" in the form of The Jam's "A Town Called Malice". Quite frankly though anything could happen after last week's introduction to the perceptive character of King Ezekiel and his 'pet' tiger Shiva. 

The 1982 hit is extremely fitting, however, as it only reiterates the new world order foreshadowed in the season 7 premiere by this season's charismatic and bullish new super-antagonist, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). 

After last week's inauguration of King Ezekiel's utopian 'kingdom', a step back in the direction of reality is exactly what is needed... and "The Cell" delivers.

This inevitably transitions us to the Saviour's safe-zone we all know as 'Sanctuary', offering a first hand look at what the post-apocalyptic life is like for Negan and his men. It also happens to be the place in which fan-favourite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) is currently being held captive. 

The first time we see Dixon he's bare-skinned and vulnerable, clearly still anguished by the consequences of his actions in the season premiere, in which much beloved character Glenn (Steven Yeun), meets a grizzly end at the hands of Lucille - Negan's barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat.

Daryl's futile decision to lunge for Negan in episode one landed himself in extremely hot water. Of which, his entire existence now revolves around occupying a rather inadequately accommodated cell whilst reluctantly feeding on barely appetising dog-food-filled sandwiches. 

However, it's soon made clear that this episode isn't just about our now fallen-from-grace favourite. It's the return of our good friend, Dwight (Austin Amelio).

As you may or may not know, we are originally introduced to the character of Dwight all the way back in episode 6 of season 6 when Daryl bumps into him, his then wife, Sherry (Christine Evangelista) and her sister, Tina when they appear to be on the run from something... or someone.

The next time we see Dwight he's heavily disfigured down one side of his face and it's in this week's episode that we find out exactly what happened to him.

And whilst being locked away in a cell seems like the perfect time to catch up on missed sleep, away from the undead, it's yet another luxury Dixon is deprived of thanks to none other than -you guessed it- Dwight, as he's forced awake by the incessant playing of the irritatingly happy-go-lucky brainworm "Easy Street" - a song which has since entered the UK Top 10 of the iTunes chart whilst hugely juxtaposing Daryl's torturous ordeal. 

One of the best events this episode has to offer is our first real look at the boss himself since that horrifyingly nauseating season premiere - one I'm sure many people would rather just forget about. 

At one point, Daryl tries to escape after 'Fat Joey' leaves his cell door unlocked - a move that we later discover was intentional and of course it ends in Dixon being circled by Negan's men, with the big boss following closely behind claiming that Daryl's life was about to get a "whole lot cooler". However, he is given three options; go to work as one of his men, go to work for points or end up as one of the undead on the fence, used to protect the perimeter of the Sanctuary compound. 

When Daryl is later brought to Negan's quarters, he's coerced into deciding his fate when Negan tells of Dwight's plight. Back in season 6 when Daryl bumps into Dwight, Sherry and Tina - it turns out that they're actually running away from Negan after Dwight steals a bunch of meds. At the time, Tina was due to be wed to Negan, however her tragic demise resulted in Sherry taking her place, subsequently leaving Dwight. This wasn't enough for Negan though, so he took a hot iron to Dwight's face in order to disfigure him. Hence why he now looks like a melting wax work.

Love him or hate him, the series now fully boasts a vindictive yet annoyingly delectable antagonist which comic readers have been eagerly anticipating since issue #100. Dubbed an absolute 'game-changer' for the AMC series, Negan is the gnarliest villain The Walking Dead has seen to date and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays the role immeasurably. With his gruff voice and alluring persona, JDM is the perfect embodiment of everything we love to hate.

And whilst Daryl's torment is evidently at the forefront of this season so far, the dark turn in his characterisation is an exciting prospect. 

Although this episode is a distressing, yet more-so chilling disintegration of Daryl, it's an interesting turn of events for a character who has been more-often-than-not unpredictable and difficult to read. 

One thing's for sure though, Negan really is 'just getting started' and whether we like it or not he's going to be around for a while, with Lucille right by his side. And with more blood, guts, gore and grief on the cards, it's likely we're going to see a lot of the edge of our seats this season.