The Walking Dead Season 7: 7 Ups & 2 Downs From 'The Cell'

"We're on easy street, and it feels so sweet, because the world is but a treat..."

The Walking Dead The Cell Ups Downs
Gene Page/AMC

Heading into its third episode, it was hard to judge where Season 7 of The Walking Dead was at. The plot is still very much in the setup phase, and we've had two wildly contrasting episodes to kick things off.

There was the gore-filled, sadistic brutality of the premiere, which killed off two characters and left everything else seemingly broken. That was followed by a positively lighthearted romp (by Walking Dead standards) through the Kingdom, where we met King Ezekiel and his pet tiger, and the show even managed to crack a few jokes. As tonal changes go, it was enough to give you whiplash.

The Cell doesn't help settle anything in that regard. It's once again a tonal shift, this time mixing the lightness of episode 2 with some of the premiere's darkness. It flips around a bit, but ultimately manages to work.

It's also another episode that focuses in on one location, and a couple of characters, for the entire duration. This time the spotlight is put on Daryl and Dwight, two characters who appear to be two sides of the same coin. Best of all, it's another episode that shows Season 7 is definitely on an upwards curve, even if it's not clear where exactly that curve is headed.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.