Walking Dead history: Seven year anniversary of this divisive episode

On October 23, 2016, The Walking Dead aired one of the most horrific episodes of the series. “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” was the season 7 premiere episode that began where the massive cliffhanger from the previous one left viewers. This episode is significant due to several elements and became one that would divide the fandom.

“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” was written by Scott Gimple and directed by Greg Nicotero. This was the second episode to feature Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the Savior’s newly introduced leader.

As the episode begins, viewers know that because of the look on Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) face, Negan had already chosen his victim. Negan immediately begins to taunt Rick, who says, “Not today, not tomorrow….but, I’m gonna kill you.”

Who died in The Walking Dead episode The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be?

Rick recounts memories of the people in Negan’s lineup, and then viewers see the killing of two victims. Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) was the first to receive a blow to the head with Lucille, Negan’s barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat. Abraham would then defiantly raise up to deliver a final one-liner, “Suck…my…nuts.” The Negan begins bashing his skull into a bloody pulp.

He tells the group to look at his “dirty girl” covered in Abraham’s blood and brains. He then shows Rosita (Christian Serrtos) an up-close view of the carnage. This is when Daryl (Norman Reedus) has had enough and jumps up to punch Negan. Dwight (Austin Amelio) then dragged him back into the line.

Negan, reminding the group there are always consequences for their actions, selects Glenn (Steven Yeun) as his second victim.

The episode received polarized reviews from critics and divided the fandom, causing many viewers to cease watching the series. Many critics who bashed the episode appeared to have never read the comic story calling the story gimmicky or torture porn. Glenn’s death was straight from the comics, and adding Abraham to the mix gave viewers a moment of relief, believing Glenn survived his comic fate. That is good TV strategy. One critic even criticized Gimple and Kirkman for stooping so low for sensationalism’s sake.

While it was distressing and difficult to watch the episode, one many fans skip over during a rewatch; it was part of the original story that was used in the series to show how evil Negan was. This set the tone for the new story about to unfold. This event would drive several characters’ storylines, especially Maggie’s (Lauren Cohan).

This episode did see many fans refuse to watch it again after the death of these beloved characters, especially Glenn. Fans had a stronger connection to him because he saved Rick in season 1 and was such a mild-mannered presence in the story.

The review from Steve Wright of SciFiNow was a positive one, stating:

"“Sometimes, shows need a game-changing moment to jolt the formula and stop things from getting samey. If any show was in such dire need of one, it was The Walking Dead, and it has definitely got that. Welcome back.”"

Who said the day will come when you won’t be?

The quote “The day will come when you won’t be,” where the episode gets its title, wasn’t spoken during this episode. Fans remember in the season 1 finale “TS-19” that Dr. Jenner (Noah Emmerich) made this comment to Rick when he told Jenner he was grateful for him letting them live.

Love it or hate it, The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be was a pivotal element in the story to follow.

You can watch all eleven episodes of The Walking Dead on Netflix.

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