Jadis' betrayal was the highlight of The Walking Dead season 7 finale

When Jadis betrayed Rick on The Walking Dead, it was as if time stood still. You felt every thought swirling in Rick’s head, screaming in agony. Perfection.

You need to move mountains these days for people to be legitimately surprised at anything. Between spoiler culture and general desensitization, there is very little daylight available. It practically takes guaranteed character deaths for people to even tune in to their own favorite show. Then Jadis happened. Here was a moment that required no character loss to shake you to the core. Instead it harkened back to the days of classic storytelling: Betrayal. A tale as old as time. Julius Caesar’s ‘Et Tu Brute?’ (You too Brutus?) Walking Dead moment played by our very own Rick Grimes. Perfect storytelling.

The initial reaction when the dynamite didn’t go off was not that Jadis and the Scavengers had betrayed Rick. It seemed more like a malfunction. Perhaps not every piece they collected for their mighty armory on the road was up to speed. A setback but not a deal breaker.

The Day Time Stood Still on The Walking Dead

When Jadis pointed her gun at Rick, point blank, the scene slowed to a snail’s crawl. Life playing out a grave mistake in front of your eyes and you can’t hit the reset button. No rewind or do-overs. The rest of the scavengers followed suit and Rick’s whole group was bewildered and lost. Even the usually calm Michonne, truly vulnerable and helpless for the first time.

A Dream Turns Nightmare

Steel toed boots literally stomping all over Rick’s hopes, his dream of a unified flag. Freedom for all. Buried underneath and torn to shreds, as pieces fly in the wind. All while the saviors rub their foot in on the leftovers for extra measure… It was the last episode of Season 6 replaying itself in a stunning way.

Everything that made the Season 6 Finale classically horrifying getting an unannounced impromptu sequel. Rick, beside himself in the folly of trusting complete strangers with his people’s lives. The ‘We Are All Negan’ theme swallowing Alexandria in one gulp.

Not since The Governor’s final jail ambush in Season 4 has a scene perfectly captured the essence of human nature on The Walking Dead. No true pacts, just temporary relationships formed from mutual interests. Good deals if you will… Until a better one arises. Eugene perfectly emphasized this notion. Even best friends can be torn as we learned in the Rick and Shane days.

Murphy’s Law

The scene personified what it’s like when everything you had planned goes for a dive. You show up, bright eyed and brimming with confidence and lose before you even get started. Dream shifts to fantasy, reality to your eyes. Murphy’s law, everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. Negan, one step ahead the whole time.

Jadis’ betrayal was not only a standout moment of the Season 7 finale. It was the unrivaled best scene, and one of the few surprises left on television to leave your jaw hanging on the floor. For people, who don’t follow spoilers or necessarily follow the comics, only the show… A top tier surprise of that magnitude is worth its weight in gold. Kudos to actress Pollyanna McIntosh. She’s really made the Jadis character come into her own. Pollyanna’s excellent performance will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Follow me on Twitter: @nirregev

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Jadis’ betrayal was the highlight of The Walking Dead season 7 finale

By Nir Regev | Apr 3, 2017

When Jadis betrayed Rick on The Walking Dead, it was as if time stood still. You felt every thought swirling in Rick’s head, screaming in agony. Perfection.

The Day Time Stood Still on The Walking Dead

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