Walker Weekly: “The Cell” (Spoilers)

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“We’re on easy street.”

For what it’s worth, life among the Saviors isn’t all that bad.

They have plenty of crops, supplies and weapons all for the bountiful harvest by its people.

Whether or not they take it from other colonies doesn’t even faze the Saviors, who go about their lives under the protection of their leader, Negan [Jeffrey Dean Morgan].

In this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” we saw life in the Saviors’ home, the Sanctuary.

However, with a crucial member of Alexandria taken prisoner, there’s a lot to be learned living under Negan’s rule.

The Sanctuary

The episode opened with one of Negan’s right-hand men, Dwight [Austin Amelio], going through the Sanctuary, taking what goods he needed, reaping the benefits of being such a higher-up within the Saviors’ hierarchy.

We were then reintroduced to Daryl [Norman Reedus], who was taken prisoner after stepping out of line when the Alexandrians were fast captured by Negan at the beginning of this season.

Daryl, a man of conviction and stubborn pride, was tortured by Dwight, both physically and mentally.

It was fascinating to see Daryl’s psyche degrading during this episode, both through being forced to eat dog meat sandwiches as well as endure musical torture of the Collapsible Hearts Club’s “Easy Street.”

The song itself isn’t too bad, but in the context of Daryl’s torture it’s upbeat, repetitive tempo is maddening.

They reintroduced the song whenever it was time for his “meal” and whenever they needed him for a task, usually some form of demeaning or dangerous manual labor.

Coupled with the cold, dark cell he’s forced to stay in, it’s becoming clear that Daryl is going to break sooner or later – it’s just a matter of time.

Broken

When Dwight was tasked with retrieving one of the members of the Saviors, Daryl attempted to escape from his prison cell.

He made a break for it, running into Dwight’s ex-wife Sherry [Christine Evangelista] in the process. She showed sympathy for Daryl, but warned him that his actions have consequences.

“Whatever he’s done to you, there’s more, there’s always more,” she told Daryl. “You won’t get away, and when you get back, it’ll be worse.”

Sherry, as it turns out, was taken from Dwight as Negan’s wife after Dwight ran off from the Saviors sometime midway through last season.

Dwight then received an iron to the face, scarring him permanently, as punishment even though he returned to the group.

This led us back to when Daryl was caught by Negan, who surrounded him when he tried to make his escape.

A Choice

Negan berated Daryl for trying to escape, but still had an odd fascination with the crossbow-wielding survivor.

“Who are you?” Negan asked to some of his fellow Saviors.

“Negan,” they all obediently replied.

The Saviors appeared now as obedient dogs of war, showing Negan doesn’t need Lucille to intimidate his foes.

He then gave Daryl a second chance.

“All you gotta do is answer one simple question: who are you?”

“Daryl.”

You could feel the heart-wrenching gasp from audiences before Negan almost reminded us why he shouldn’t be trifled with.

He let Daryl off with a warning, but he saw a fire in Daryl that has him intrigued – which is sickening.

Will Daryl ally himself with the Saviors?

Will Dwight take kindly to his potential replacement?

It’s all hypotheticals at this point, but seeing how the previews for next week show Negan knocking on Alexandria’s doors, there’s no telling what chaos may ensue.

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