3 OMG Moments From The Walking Dead “The Cell”

This episode gave us a better look at Daryl’s life in Camp Negan. It’s turning out to be everything we expected… And more.

If you haven’t watched The Walking Dead, “The Cell,” you can find a recap here. I’ll break it down for you though:

Last time we saw Daryl, it was when Negan was tossing him in the back of his car after he beat Abraham and Glenn to death. He mentioned to Rick that Daryl was more of man than he was and that Negan wanted that kind of spirt on his team. So he took Daryl. Up until now, we had no idea what was going on with him or what Negan’s plans for him were. This week, we found out.

Daryl is brought to Camp Negan (or Camp Hell, as I like to call it) and Dwight is assigned to “break him.” Daryl is kept in a cold, dark cell. He’s fed dog food sandwiches. He’s kept awake. He’s beaten. And all of this is Negan’s attempt to get Daryl to admit that he’s one of them now. But of course, Daryl being Daryl, he refuses.

Even though this episode wasn’t physically brutal in the sense that The Walking Dead typically is, it was physiological brutal, and it was kind of nice for a change. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting torture on the show, but it was interesting to see them add this new element. It was reminiscent of the Governor’s sick and twisted mind. But this new season is upping the ante and bringing us more, more, more.

Here are my top 3 “OMG” moments from “The Cell.”

1. Negan is worse than we all thought.

Negan is honestly turning out to be the worst villain in The Walking Dead history. And this is saying a lot, as we’ve come across so many villains over six seasons. Between the Governor and Terminus, I thought we had seen it all, but the writers proved us wrong. The mind games that Negan plays earns him the highest rank of asshole on this show.

I’d really love to know what happened to this man to make him the way he is. Before Rick and daryl take him out (which I hope they do soon), I’d like to know more of Negan’s backstory. Did he have a family? What was his job? What happened to him that destroyed his sense of humanity this badly? I have to believe something turned him into this. People BOW before him when he walks around. He’s more holy than King Ezekiel. How did this happen? And why don’t people fight back? Like the runaway said, he’s just one person.

Image via AMC

2. Dwight actually feels sympathy.

Dwight feels sympathy. I know. I’m shocked too. Dwight is the one assigned to “break” Daryl. And although he does feed him dog food and kick him around and play nonstop music so Daryl doesn’t fall asleep, you find out during this episode that Dwight still has some sympathy left.

W were first introduced to him in Season 5. Daryl helped him, his wife (Sherry), and his wife’s sister escape Negan. At the time, we didn’t know they were escaping Negan, as Negan was just a glimmer in our comic book reading imaginations.  The sister had been killed by a walker and Dwight and Sherry returned to Negan. They all agreed that if Sherry married Negan and Dwight became part of his posse, then Negan wouldn’t kill one of them. Sounds fair. Oh, and in that time, Dwight got a hot iron to the face- Negan teaching him a lesson. Negan says they’re “totally cool” now.

But at the end of the episode, Dwight is visibility upset that Daryl won’t just conform to Negan at this point. Dwight is clearly sick of torturing him. So maybe Dwight does have a heart. He says to daryl,  “You’re gonna wind up in that room or hanging on the fence!” But Daryl responds with, “I get why you did it. Why you took it. You were thinking about someone else. That’s why I can’t.” Dwight- careful, your humanity is showing.

Image via AMC

3. Easy Street is our least favorite song.

Raise your hand if you never, ever, ever want to hear Easy Street again. Ever. The torturing methods that Negan comes up with are sick and twisted but the worst one is probably playing this happy go lucky song on full volume so Daryl can’t fall asleep. Leave it to The Walking Dead to take something as chipper as this song and turn it into something nobody wants to hear again. It’s impressive, really.

Image via AMC

This episode of The Walking Dead was more emotional than anything. We’re introduced to a world of physiological pain instead of physical, and that was a nice change. I mean, there’s only so much head-bashing and brain-stabbing I can take in one series. We also saw Daryl in a state of mind that we’ve never seen before. I’m interested at what happens with him. I’m excited for when he reunites with Rick. I’m begging for that to be soon, and I’m asking that they give Negan everything he deserves.

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The Walking Dead airs on Sundays on AMC at 9/8c.