User Reviews

The Walking Dead has now come to a point in which they can take a few episodes off from the main conflict and still get away with it. Granted, I hope this doesn't go on for an entire season of inconsistency, but tonight was definitely a freebie.

It's about dang time we spend significant screen time with Daryl. And who better to complement and parallel Daryl with thematic plot points than everyone's favorite Dwight. I wasn't initially a fan of the façade this Dwight character was putting on last season and his automatic allegiance to Negan. I just didn't think they would give him all that much to do, but I was wrong. Having Dwight and Daryl serve as parallel plot points under Negan tonight was extremely beneficial.

Just as Negan broke Rick down in the premiere, Daryl was his next project. Of course, Daryl was already going to be a tougher sell with him throwing that punch in the opener, but everyone can be broken right? Daryl stuck to his guns, however, even with that Scarlett Letter 'A' on his shirt and being tortured to near death. It wasn't just physical torture either. Hearing the same upbeat song every day for a long time and eating dog food as a 'treat' doesn't seem like the most pleasant way to spend my time.

But it was also nice seeing Dwight in such a vulnerable position several times tonight as well. Just like Daryl said, we understand why Dwight was a jerk to Daryl way back when, and it was pleasing to see his character be humanized for once. Negan clearly has everyone in the saviors brainwashed and Dwight is a big part of that. And looking at this particular arc, it sure seemed like Negan is ready at any moment to get rid of Dwight and hand Daryl his right-hand man gig. But to be honest, I'll buy any Negan monologue, they are just too dang captivating.

So it was another slow-burn episode but a very different tone and feel to last week. I'm starting to enjoy these one-offs when they are done right. Let's just not make a habit of spending too much time away from the main group.

+Daryl & Dwight

+They are all Negan

+Daryl stuck to his gut

9.2/10

Although Season 7 was a very disappointing season overall, and considered one of 'The Walking Dead's' worst for very good reason and considered the one that started the show's decline again justifiably, to me it didn't start off badly straightaway. Although the other six seasons started off at a much higher quality, the seventh started off promisingly though was still flawed, flaws that were the same throughout the season and to worse effect in succeeding episodes.

"The Cell" is the third episode, after two more than worthwhile but imperfect previous outings, and is again another worthwhile episode (one of the season's best) but not a great one and is nowhere near 'The Walking Dead' at its best. There are flaws here, and they are flaws present throughout the season, but there are also a good deal of good things and the show has far worse episodes, almost all of them after this but even Season 6 and before had disappointments.

Will start with what was done well. The acting was great, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan absolutely chilling as Negan and Norman Reedus' performance is intense and deeply felt (helped by some of his meatiest material in a while). Also shining is Austin Amelio, capturing Dwight's intensity, vulnerability and conflict perfectly to unnerving and sometimes affecting effect. For me, he was the most interesting character of the the characters focused upon. The chemistry/dynamic between Daryl and Dwight is edge of the seat stuff and the treatment of Daryl is harrowing without being overkill.

Also thought it did better at advancing characters, great to see a more complex Dwight, and progressing the story than the previous two episodes even though fewer characters are focused upon. It is a well made episode visually, very gritty and effectively claustrophobic without trying to be too clever for its own good. Mostly the music looms ominously while not hammering home too much. The directs has some nice tense and stylish moments.

However, the pace is still a bit too slow for my liking in an episode that had a story that required more tautness in my view, and actually think that there wasn't quite enough story to sustain the length. It would have helped immensely if there was less talk, its not tight enough and rambling nature tending to bog down the momentum.

Did Negan's dialogue again need to be so long-winded and need to explain everything too much? It did take away from the suspense and is starting already to get annoying, parts felt like padding. And even though it was meant to irritate, as a torture method, the song is so repetitive and over-bearing that it irritates the viewer too.

In a nutshell, worthwhile and with a lot to recommend but again something was missing. 7/10

The three episodes couldn't be more different from one another in any aspect possible. The gore fest of the opener, the Utopian tiger-esque follow-up with a reminder of the ever-present danger at the end and now the Holy Trinity of the third part.

This part isn't about Daryl vs. Dwight. Or Daryl vs. Negan. Or Dwight vs. Negan. It's a battle between good, evil and someone lost in between. Negan respecting Daryl in a way, wanting him to become his ultimate trophy, Daryl resisting the turning to the dark side. And Dwight. He's human after all. Broken, mean, sympathetic, accepting his reality and wishing it wasn't so. His background, as we now discover it, is bitter and explains his actions and words. He's swaying between saving his life and saving his soul. He will most surely die for one of them.

I'm sure some people who loved 0701 will hate 0703 and vice versa. I'm not complaining about any of them. To me, S07 is immersive, fascinating, full of fear and expectations. JDM is simply Oscar-worthy with Norman Reedus really stepping up now that he's given a proper chance. Not a single season came close to this now. So far. Let's see where our favorite show takes us next...

It looks like this season we're getting an episode devoted to many of the individual characters. I really do love that, because with a cast as big as this, it's hard to flesh them all out. It's made even better when they make it all relevant to the story. Daryl only appeared in the show, so it's obvious this episode diverges from the comics. I heard even the comic's creators said they like him so much they don't think introducing him into the actual comic would do him justice. That's great mythology. Anyway, there was something that did annoy me with this episode.

They kept doing the same thing where they had happy music play over the dark parts. I think this has been overused to the point of cliché by now. It's just too predictable. This episode still creates great atmosphere as we look at more of how Negan runs his place. We also get some really great scenes with his henchman, Dwight. Apart from the fact that I love his two-faced design, it's great to look at the relationship he has with the other characters. Even henchmen should get their own spot in the limelight. ***1/2

Daryl is kept arrested dirty, wounded, naked and fed by sandwiches of dog food in a dark room and forced to listen to an annoying loud music by Dwight. Meanwhile Dwight is assigned to bring his runaway friend back to Negan's compound. Negan unsuccessfully tries to break Daryl to turn him into another "Negan", offering a comfortable apartment, food and supplies if he works for him. Negan also tells how Dwight was broken by him after stealing medicines for his sister-in-law Tina.

"The Cell" is an episode dedicated to Daryl and Dwight. It shows the fate of Daryl locked in a dirty room. The strong personality of Daryl is impressive and he resists to Negan's attempt to make him work for him. He is only affected by Roy Orbinson's song "Crying" ("Yes, now you're gone, and from this moment on, I'll be crying, over you") that brings him to tears. Negan burned Dwight's face and might have destroyed Dwight's sex when he lost his wife Sherry to Negan. It is not totally clear who damaged his penis. The resentment of Dwight may be important in the future. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "The Cell"

The storyline of this episode is solid we get more comfortable with Negans character and it's always good to have Negan present as he always adds good monologuing and dialogue.

I'm really not sure how so many people thought this episode was great. It was so boring and other than really two scenes - one involving Daryl and one involving Dwight - it hardly held my interest at all. Very disappointed.

Is it good to get some Daryl time again after he's been off the screen? Sure. But I don't find Neegan all that interesting and have come to the same conclusion that many viewers have, namely that the writers are just running out of material. They take something that should be a 10 minute interlude of an episode and turn it into an entire episode. Is it just to save money on production? Did Andrew need a week off for vacation? This episode is generally not why people have been committed to the show for so long.

"So... I'm gonna go, get me a drink" -Negan Smith. This show can't make okay, or good episodes. They either make masterpieces or utter garbage. But most of the time it is utter garbage. This episode was more painful to watch than what Daryl went through. It wasn't actually that bad. There was an unnecessary montage of Dwight feeding Daryl dog food while making him listen to Easy Street. We only needed one clip of that. Nothing in this episode further progresses the plot. All we find out is that Daryl is tortured. Negan carried this episode and he was barely even in it. Norman Reedus's acting was very good in this episode.

After watching this episode, I realized that there is no need for the producers to consider 16 episodes for each season. In fact, this episode, like last week's episode, was aimless and only prolonged the process of the series. The creators tried to reduce the criticism by bringing Negan and Daryl, but in my opinion they did not succeed. This episode was a little more tolerable than the previous episode, but still not acceptable. It is possible to bring all the story lines of the series to the peak of excitement at the same time, but the writer and director were not creative in this matter. In this episode, we learned that Nigan's employees are not too happy with him, and this could be the reason for their revolution against their boss, although it is difficult. In the end, I give this episode a score of 6!

Daryl is being held in a cell at the Savior compound. He has nothing to eat but dog food sandwiches, and is subjected to psychological torture through music.

Dwight is in charge of Daryl's captivity. While Dwight's living conditions are considerably better (he has a nice apartment in which to live, watches old TV shows, and eats good food), it soon becomes clear that in his own way he is as much a prisoner as Daryl. Negan delights in reminding Dwight that he took his ex-wife. She married Negan partly to save Dwight's life after their attempted escape, but also because Negan's wives (there are several) live in relative luxury.

Another one of Dwight's duties is to retrieve Saviors who attempt to leave the fold, much as he once done (leading to his now-scarred face, the result of Negan's punishment). Dwight chases down one such man. When the escapee insists that he will never kneel to Negan again, Dwight threatens his loved ones with being forced to eat feces "for the rest of their very short lives". The man has no choice but to obey. Dwight was sympathetic, however, after listening to the man speaking of the plight that all of Negan's "followers" share. Dwight waits until the man is heading back to the compound, and then shoots him in the back; essentially a mercy killing.

After Daryl attempts to escape he is brutally beaten, then lectured by Negan, who explains that there is no room for individuality within the Saviors. ALL men are Negan. Dwight then tortures Daryl further by putting up on his cell wall a photo of Glenn's nearly unrecognizable remains. Daryl breaks down, sobbing wildly.

Feeling that Daryl is close to breaking, Negan shows him one of the apartments that his top men occupy. He emphasizes the importance of total obedience, then asks Daryl to tell him his name. "Daryl," the man replies. Negan is disappointed, but also confident that in the end he will get his way. Daryl is tossed back in his cell, and the same cheesy pop song is once again repeated played, day and night, to help break his will.

"The Cell" is a haunting and introspective episode that focuses on Daryl's captivity at the hands of Negan and the Saviors. The episode explores themes of power and control, as Negan uses psychological manipulation to break Daryl's spirit and force him to submit to his authority. The bleak and oppressive atmosphere of the Savior compound adds to the sense of despair and hopelessness that permeates the episode.

One of the most memorable scenes in the episode is when Negan tries to break Daryl by showing him the luxurious lifestyle he could have if he chooses to serve him. However, Daryl remains defiant, refusing to bow down to Negan's demands. This moment highlights Daryl's resilience and inner strength, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. The episode also provides insight into Negan's character, revealing his complex and manipulative nature as he tries to assert his dominance over Daryl.

The episode is also notable for its exploration of Dwight's character, as it delves into his backstory and the reasons behind his loyalty to Negan. Dwight's interactions with Daryl shed light on the complexities of their relationship and the choices they have made in order to survive in this new world.

Daryl is seen without clothes. No nudity shown though. At 3 minutes