The Walking Dead Season 7 Premiere: Did You See Negan's Kills Coming?

The Walking Dead's seventh season started out just how we all expected, but with a twist. We'd all expected Negan to kill one member of Rick's group but we never imagined the season would premiere with the death of two beloved cast members. It was quite unbelievable at first sight, but we definitely knew something shocking was in store for the Season 7 premiere after so much hype had been built up in the Season 6 finale.

If you're not up to date with The Walking Dead, season six concluded on a massive cliffhanger ending, teasing the confirmed death of at least one member of Rick's group after Negan and the Saviors captured them.

In the last scene of season six, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has Rick's group kneeling in front of him while he delivers a whole monologue on his new world order, which Negan follows up by stating his intent to kill at least one member of Rick's group as penance for all the soldiers killed by Rick. Negan's monologue takes place right before he starts mercilessly swinging his bat down on an unnamed victim, but the scene cuts to black before we can see who died. Now we know it was Abe and Glenn.

Did you see it coming?

Now that the results of The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere are in, we've learned that Negan's brutality knows no bounds and he's definitely going to be responsible for more deaths.

Along with Rick's group facing several losses, Rick still has to deal with the Negan dilemma before Negan decides he needs to teach another lesson.

How will the Negan problem be resolved? And will it be resolved this season?

There's a war raging at Rick's doorstep, and how he responds to it will either see his community flourish or perish along with the dead. But knowing Rick, he isn't going to give up easily. If Rick wants to survive the war, he's going to need the help of both the Hilltop colony and Ezekiel's Kingdom to deal with the Negan problem

But regardless, there's an issue with eliminating the Negan problem: Rick can't just go in and kill Negan or Daryl will be killed as well.

During the Season 7 premiere, Negan didn't just kill Glenn and Abraham; he had more planned beyond the executions. After executing Rick's friends, Negan decided the lesson he was teaching Rick's group wasn't over yet. So for those who were left living to learn that lesson well, Negan would have to take Daryl captive as a prisoner.

Could Daryl die before the end of the season?

It's unclear how long Daryl's term with the Saviors is going to last, but considering that Negan has taken Daryl captive in a play to keep Rick from retaliating against him, Daryl will probably remain a captive of the Saviors until the joint survivors' colonies (Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom) figure out a way to handle the Savior problem — without causing inadvertent casualties on both sides. Otherwise, Rick or any other group just attacking the Saviors will ultimately result in Daryl's death.

Just because Season 7 started off with several major deaths, it doesn't exclude the possibility of another major character's death taking place sometime this season. Although it's more likely that Rick will gain the upper-hand over Negan, free Daryl, and eliminate the Saviors. But it's still very possible for Daryl to wind up dead in Negan's compound, the Sanctuary.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.