The Walking Dead Season 7 Finale: The script Andrew Lincoln promised was worth the wait

Back in February when The Walking Dead was ready to return, Andrew Lincoln talked about the tone of the second half and the promise of an amazing finale.

The first half of season 7 was dark and brutal. Our group was broken and separated. It was difficult for them and for us as an audience. The mid-season finale left us with some hope as Rick and some of our friends from Alexandria showed up at Hilltop and even Rick and Daryl were reunited.

Right before the show returned in February, Andrew Lincoln spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the shift in tone of the back half of season 7. We couldn’t wait.

Now we’ve reached finale time. We can look back at the words of Andrew Lincoln in retrospect because we’ve watched the back half of season 7 with the exception of the finale.

"There’s a lot more levity, if you can believe that, than you’ve ever seen before in Mr. Grimes. There’s sort of a freedom in him, a feeling that comes from losing everything, and also the thrill of the fight. It’s the thrill of the fight again. He’s back in. All I’m saying is that the band is back together.It’s probably the opposite of what you just witnessed. Certainly from Rick’s point of view. You see a man in action again with some of the members of his closest family.There are several episodes that I loved being involved in and it certainly feels very much more like a show that I knew and recognized in the back eight. I loved the episodes that I was in."

It’s easy to see what he was talking about with the levity. He was likely referring to his time with MIchonne at the carnival, and perhaps some moments with Negan or Gregory. There was quite a bit more fight in all of the characters. They are ready to do what needs to be done. Some of the characters are even a little too eager to get to the fighting.

As we head into the finale tomorrow, I wanted to remind you of Andrew’s words about the finale script.

"Wait till [episode] 16. I promise you, there is one beat in 16, I dropped my script and started punching the air and did a little jig."

The finale looks to be intense and will likely be a set up for war in season 8. Season 8 will mark the 100th episode of The Walking Dead and potentially take the show in new and unexpected places. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow that prompted the script-drop, the air-punching and the jig!!

Next: The happiest sad scene in The Walking Dead

I can imagine all of us will be yelling at our television sets, dropping our jaws, covering our mouths, punching the air and doing all kinds of normal The Walking Dead  viewing things during those 90 minutes. Come on back here after you watch the episode and let me know what you think made Andrew Lincoln do his jig.