User Reviews

(review will contain minor comic spoilers)

It's not looking good for Rick and the gang.

This is definitely the worst state the group have been in. In this episode, the Saviors are cruel and unforgiving. Rick is given no choice but to comply - they are so greatly outnumbered that an ambush is out of the question.

This whole episode takes place in Alexandria; something we've been waiting to see for a while. Negan and his men arrive at Alexandria (slightly earlier than expected) to collect their first offering. This is pretty much the main theme of the episode - what they decide to take. The episode opens with the shot of Rick and Michonne, mirroring the opening shot of 6x15, except this time they're facing apart; separated. This is what Negan has done to the group. He's breaking them, splitting members of the group apart in the process.

Carl's outburst results in the entirety of the group's guns being taken away, which is a big blow if/when they decide to fight back. We can only hope they still have some hidden away somewhere. If they do, Eugene's skills with ammunition could come in very handy.

As many people will know, the inclusion of Spencer blaming Rick about the Saviors predicament results in a scene from the comics that I'm sure everyone wants to see; I won't go into details here. I just hope the writers have the guts to recreate the scene.

Like the first episode of the season, it's impossible to watch it without feeling devastated for the group. Their lives and being torn apart; their possessions being taken away infront of their eyes, and there is nothing they can do. The saviors don't need a lot of what they take - they just do it to oppress our group. This is especially apparent at the end of the episode when Michonne finds the burnt mattresses.

As always, the acting is of a high standard (except perhaps from Chandler Riggs) - Andrew Lincoln always stands out, and Norman Reedus also puts on a good performance this episode, although he doesn't actually have any lines. JDM continues to impress as the feared, comical leader of the Saviors. I can't agree with the people who say he's not intimidating - although Henry Rollins would have probably been a better choice if they were simply going for intensity and intimidation, JDM is as funny and charismatic a choice as anyone could be, and he fits the role perfectly. To me this episode confirmed he was the right pick.

As for the Morse code theory - at first I didn't even consider it, but looking back, they really do seem to focus on Daryl's blinking (and Rick trying to interpret it). I still don't think they were communicating, but I do think the clues were included on purpose, perhaps just to make fans talk.

With the new synopsis' out for episodes 5 up until the mid-season finale, it seems like the group could begin to rebel by the mid-season, which will be interesting considering the Saviors' seemingly infinite numbers in the TV show - I can't see it going as (surprisingly) well as it did in the comics when Negan comes for the second time.

Overall, this was a great episode. These first few episodes have perhaps not been as great the first few of seasons 5 and 6, but great nonetheless. I'm quite surprised at the amount of low ratings and bad reviews for this one. We've just been introduced to the greatest villain in TWD, and this is the start of that tension-filled period before All Out War. It's episodes like this that will make the impending war and revenge for Rick ever more sweet when it comes.

There will be some payback for the group, we just have to be patient.

Negan and the Saviors come to Alexandria to loot Alexandria and show power over Rick and his group. They take their arsenal, bed, mattresses and other goods from the Alexandrians. When Negan learns that a Glock 9 and a .22 are missing from the inventory, he threatens to kill Livia if the weapons do not appear. Will Rick and his group find the missing guns?

"Service" is an episode that shows how Rick is shaken with the death of Glenn and Abraham and how weakened his group is now that they lost their arsenal. Daryl seems also to be emotionally destroyed and it is sad to see how powerless the Alexandrians are. Negan gave all the chances to someone put a bullet in his head, but Rick is not the same. Negan is irritating with his way of speaking and most of the viewers are certainly looking forward for the episode where he will be destroyed. Rosita now has a hidden weapon and let's see the consequences of her action. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Service"

Is this what the season is going to be? I don't mean to be an instant gratification kind of guy, but this glacially paced, slow burn of tension is beginning to get on my nerves. I am beginning to feel like a masochist waiting and waiting, for a glimmer of light. I feel like my chain is being yanked with this spiral further and further down into darkness.

Maybe I am getting old or maybe I have seen it before, but there comes a time when - for the sake of one's psyche - we let go of this fictional darkness. I mean, there's plenty of darkness in the real world. What made TWD great is the survival in such a malevolent world. The writers are breaking the characters to the point of no return. Even if they survive Negan, all we could expect any normal people to do on the other end, is mourn and mourn some more.

Yeah sure there will eventually be a satisfying revenge payoff as with the governor or the cannibals. But how much sadness, depression, and pain do we need to be dragged through to get there?

8/10 for the quality of the production, acting. 5/10 for emotionally manipulating viewers, who are tethered with commitment to the show, but don't appreciate the route.

Spoilers will follow. This episode was totally unbelievable and very annoying to watch. I could feel my blood boiling. As other reviewers have mentioned they knew Negan was coming, had a full armoury including a RPG and had lots of combat experience. I know they were supposedly traumatised by the events of episode one but thank goodness the brave men at Normandy on DD day didn't just give up after seeing much worse. The writing made no sense and I had to actually stop watching when they gave up all their guns. I'm not enjoying season 7 so far. I gave it 3 because of the decent acting, otherwise it would have been a 1.

My take on this episode involves looking at nuances and subtle visual clues I believe the director is feeding to us. I believe Rick is way too clever to remain under Negan's thumb for much longer. He has a plan, and the mental fortitude, to get his people out of this mess. It must be a long term endeavour which is why Rick is carefully maintaining his servile pose and ensuring everyone else toes the line in order to survive in the meantime.

Carl's behaviour is a little off (he would never shoot to miss) or, more likely, his outburst is orchestrated by Rick in order to split Negan's focus. Rick can't risk Negan examining his motives or picking up on the impending treachery I think is coming. The way Rick's grip tightens and releases on Lucille, carefully shown to us several times during the episode, indicates he is not the beaten man Negan thinks he is. He's biding his time, albeit impatiently.

His willingness to give up all the guns, especially the rocket launcher, is supposed to lull Negan and his group into thinking the Alexandrian community is no threat to them. I bet when the Saviours return for their next tribute collection they will be arrogant, unwary and undermanned.

I find it interesting when several people look at the same object and see so many different facets. Different viewpoints are great as they help expand our knowledge, question our opinions and change our preconceptions.

I think the show might feel too slow for some (attention span challenged?) as we're watching 3 different, interconnected story lines unfold. We'll see if this is a winning formula as the episodes are released.

If the first three episodes this year didn't already convince you, The Walking Dead is no longer the same show. Having Negan around has completely changed around the structure. Heck, just looking at Rick would give you that impression.

I'm not sure if the makeup department actually changed Rick's appearance at all, but it sure seems like it. Him, and just about everyone else who witnessed the brutal murders a few weeks back, look emotionless and mentally drained. It makes for a rather somber episode. It reminds me a lot of season 5 of Game of Thrones, everyone is miserable and there seems to be no glimmer of hope whatsoever. It's working right now, but I just hope I don't grow tired of watching a depressing 60 minutes (or in this case 90) of television every Sunday night.

Luckily for us audiences, we have Jeffrey Dean Morgan to give us a chuckle every once in a while. Man can that guy deliver great monologues. Week after week he's outdoing himself with punchline after punchline. I would say I want someone to stand up to him, but we all know what happens then. Tonight it was Olivia, the Alexandrian inventory manager, whose life was threatened by Lucille.

Speaking of the dreaded bat, Negan mandated that Rick handled his beloved for the entire episode. Quite the temptation, huh? He's asking Rick to take a swing at him. In fact, he's begging Rick to take a swing at him. Oh, the temptation. But I also found it interesting that this could serve as a way for the audience to suspect Rick will 'become Negan' down the road, at least in the metaphorical way. Just take a look at the way he treated Spencer in the closing moments, you can't tell me you didn't see a little Negan in Rick there.

Another nice metaphorical moment was Michonne trying to kill a walker, only to shoot a deer instead. (shout out to season 2 at the farm). That's a nice way to sum up the last few weeks for the crew, they just can't catch a break. Michonne, like most Alexandrians, spent most of the episodes with little to say. That is, before Rick made her give the gun she was using to Negan. This prompted a much needed 1v1 with Michonne and Rick back at the house. This conversation had a few reveals, including that Rick knows that Judith is in fact Shane's daughter, not his. It was nice hearing Shane brought up for once, especially since the world they live in now is so vastly different than it once was. On a side note, this scene was a nice call back to the opening scene in which the couple are sleeping in their beds, only to be on the floor sleeping by the end of the night. Damn Negan for burning those mattresses.

Although there were still a few people who weren't totally on board with Negan's ways (come on guys did you not watch the premiere), most of the survivors and Alexandrians have changed forever. It's a little bit weird we didn't get more closure with Glenn and Abraham, but I have to believe that will come once Carol and Morgan return. Overall, this show is just getting better and better. The writing is as good as its ever been. Let's hope this continues as we are now 1/4th of the way through this season.

+Rick & Negan relationship

+Judith bombshell

+Writing

+Those monologues

-A little weird without closure for Glenn or Abraham

9.5/10

The episode focuses on Alexandria and the arrival of Negan there. Throughout we see the relationship of master and submissive between Negan and Rick and the characters supporting the situation.

the episode in general is good and has good interactions and performances but its duration of 60 minutes ruined the pace it could have had lasting 40 nothing more.

the episode begins showing alexandria's characters calm until she arrives negan saying little pig little pig let me in. the incident was good and the threat and presence of our saviors I love and it gives a lot of fear.

Negan has an incredible display and his scenes are very entertaining and Rick's submission was an interesting twist of the character. Rosita has a good participation. Daryl had an interesting behavior and I am glad he did not return to Alexandria as it reflects his way of being. I liked Michonne shooting with a sniper just like Andrea in the comics, but her participation was low and her development was not explained well.

The best part of the episode was Rick telling Michonne that Judith is not her daughter.

the episode was filled and did not have to, just to lengthen the episode. For example: the problem of missing weapons. More participation from Carl was missing, since he and negan have good chemistry.

This is the first episode to give us a glimpse of what life is going to be like back in Alexandria. For the most part, it goes as expected. Neegan shows up at the door step with his mocking grin and begins his intimidation routine almost immediately. Going house to house, taking whatever he chooses. Neegan has a very strong screen presence, and he has enough good lines to keep the episode a little scary and humorous at the same time, despite little action in it.

For Rick, this is the weakest you may ever see him. Just idly sits by as Neegan insults, mocks, and bullies him for over an hour. We know he will eventually get it together, but he is a broken man in this episode. Overall this is a good episode. Some of the action kiddies may find it a little slow, however.

So they basically ruined it, once again. All the tension that has been built up the last 10 or so episodes has been wasted by doing a completely illogical unrealistic and out of character episode. They even managed to turn Negan into just another over the top cliché bad guy. He is losing appeal with every scene he does with this poor writing.

Sure, Rick and the group have been traumatized by Negan in the first episode but is that reason to instantly completely get rid off all survivor instinct, any will power etc they have gained during the show? Alexandria had guns, sniper rivals and even a freaking bazooka. They knew Negan was coming, they had numbers over the group that came visiting, guns and foresight. You couldn't even claim they could risk Daryll's life cause he was right there, not under any threat.

Anyone that has been watching from the beginning knows what this group has gone through. They have turned into an elite commando team of slick killers just a couple of episodes back, went through hell and back and all of a sudden...they can't even think to do anything?! With a little preparation they could have easily taken Negan's team out and have Daryll back. They could also...just leave.

Nothing in this episode made any sense. I loved the last two slow episodes but this was just an insult. Seems the writers have decided the shocking scenes from the first episodes should be enough to drag us along once again, without adding much of substance. Very disappointing.

Negan came and took their guns, and even Rick's bed. The only one standing up against this are Rosita and Michonne. The previous antagonists like the governor were more fun to watch. Negan is just being a brat constantly and it comes across as cartoonish after a while.

This episode is great which really intimidate us on how we really hate the Saviors. This episode took place where Negan paid a visit to Alexandria where he took anything he wants,including all the guns that the armory have. We can see how Rick has changed in this episode, how he get scared enough after the "magic guns" scene, how he really cares about the people, how he doesn't want to lose any more lives. To be honest, Negan is the villain you really hard to hate and hard to love at the same time. He will get anything he wants, or his Lucille will do the job. The most respectful of all is that Negan asked Rick to hold his Lucille as it intimidates Rick on the death of Glenn and Abraham. Now Alexandria is living under the wrath of Negan and the Saviors. Hate it or like it, they gonna get used to it or someone else dies.

p/s: Spencer should die

This episode focuses on Negan entering Alexandria for the first time with his people. They take everything the group has to offer leaving them unarmed and weak. Too many this episode might seem boring or even like a filler yet I really enjoyed it.

Rick makes clear that he isn't in charge anymore, Negan is.

Rick talks about Shane for the first time since season 4(the episode where Rick and Carl leave the destroyed Prison) and makes it clear that he wants to see his daughter grow up which is why he can't fight.

I especially liked two scenes.

The first one is where Negan sees the old recording off Rick where he first entered Alexandria(the Interview from Season 5). Negan himself admits that he wouldn't have messed with that guy but Rick isn't "him" anymore.

The second one is where Spencer confronts Rick about not dealing with Negan before they fought him. Rick walks away but after Spencer mentions that they are as lucky as Glenn and Abraham Rick tells him that he will brake his jaw and knock his teeth out if he will ever say sth. Like this again to him. Rick who is broken at this point still wants to show some kind of superiority.

Season 7 is said to be the least best out of all yet I really liked episode 1, 3 as well as 4 of this season so far.

One of the positive points of this episode was its timing. Because seriously, it took exactly 1 hour to prove that Rick and his gang are afraid of Negan. But what worries me is that the creators are trying to leave no hope for the viewers, that is, Rick is not really able to fight Negan. ! But we found out in the previous episode that Negan's staff doesn't have fond memories of him, and this could cause Negan to slip up, of course, in the future! ... Well, the next thing to note is that Rick's group seems to have forgotten the events of the first episode so quickly, it annoys me. But among all this, we have to be proud of the wonderful acting of Andrew Lincoln and the actor who played Negan, because they were really great at their jobs. I give this episode an 8.

I mean seriously, how lazy are the writers? They keep giving us these long and quite frankly boring scenes of Negan just rambling on and on about all kinds of bs.

It's not fun to watch and I hope this isn't gonna happen more often, because this is simply to lazy and boring.

Somebody would have shot the jerk with the bat.

Ugh. Is the rest of the series going to be about an unrealistic bad guy, making ridiculous speeches? This isn't 1960's James Bond.

After all they've gone through, the "group" would have fought back, or drove away.

With all their experience and people, nobody would have shot Negan with a sniper rifle??? Even the bad guys would have welcomed this, so one of them could take over.

History has shown the main characters react, not cower. The best time to react would be the first time Negan visited their community. They were caught off guard because he showed up early??? Laughable.

Let's give them all our guns, and kiss their butts??? Darryl and Michonne were the only ones who behaved like their characters.

I realize they are trying to create tension, but dragging it out like this gives the viewer too much time to analyze peoples behaviour.

Even in the old west, a rifle poking out from between a building, would have eliminated any insane madman trying to terrorize a group of people.

The had no problem eliminating 10,000 walkers breaking into the community, but 20 mattress stealing thugs were too much?

reading the other few reviews here, this episode seems to cause quite a different reaction in other people compared to how I experienced it.

Yes, Rick is broken, I got that part but seriously, I'm not convinced this would really happen like it did in that episode. Although it was more than horrible what Rick and the others had to witness with Negan it doesn't really make sense to me that after that they get back to Alexandria, have all their weapons still there, then wait for Negan to show up (and of course he would show up only with 10-20 men) and yet no one get the idea to just position snipers all around Alexandria, wait until he comes knocking and then shot him and the few that accompany him. Even if Rick was too much in shock still to react somebody else could have had that idea and just be done with Negan. Would he be gone and the news would go back to his camp, his followers wouldn't try to attack Alexandria without their psychologically important leader. So no, I just don't buy this episode from a psychological point of view. Also I am getting tired of the ever same faces and tone of Negan and the rather bad writing too. (letting him say " looook at thiiiiis!" five times in one episode is almost irritating and makes the character seem unreal to me for example)

And this episode just completely failed to impress me, I wasn't scared of Negan, I didn't find it to be tense, I was just annoyed having to see this being dragged way too much with the Negan intimidating Rick, Rick looking broken, Negan saying yet another predictable phrase in a predictable tone, and yet, while Rick is so broken, Carl of all people dares to be the cool kid again, raising a gun and having a really weak line like "you just don't know yet how strong we really are".(although he also witnessed those horrible killings of Glenn and Abraham and he is still just a kid but hey, of course he takes it way easier than the grown-ups - no way and totally unbelievable for me) So, it starts feeling like the writers really seem to have had problems with a logical plot and instead filled episodes with way too long sequences of Negan rambling and babbling on and on with the ever same annoying tone and phrases. So, no, I didn't find this tense it just annoyed the heck out of me.

People are right - it is pretty annoying everything about Negan. I don't say people are right for not watching it.

/***Spoiler Alert***/ I will watch it, but this episode is so unexplainable and null. Why don't the Alexandrians get armed and defend in their own town, where in the visiting of the Negan's group to attack and the all the visitors could be killed, cause I saw that the people coming with Negan were not more that 35. Yes, the others will come, blah, blah - the Alexandrians will deal with them, cause the advantage is in them - they would have killed the Saviors leader, some of their best soldiers - they would deal with the others, right?

Why didn't Carl kill the people taking medicine and then Negan - it was a perfect opportunity, right? Why didn't Rick kill Negan /I am not sure his axe was with him, but still!/ in the armory? Cause it is too early for Negan to die - he is the biggest badass until now in the show, he can't just die in just 3 episodes - a cliché, which makes all these unlogical and annoying stuff and annoys me. :( :( :(

I give 3/10 for the episode. I give 5/10 for the season.