Season 7 of The Walking Dead took the life out of both the audience and some of its characters. I know a lot of people who have stopped watching the larger-than-life zombie series this season, due to the cheap tactics the show creators used in the final moments of season 6. When season 7 opened, we saw two main characters killed off in a horribly brutal way by Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) barb-wired bat, Lucille. After this episode, we see Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his new family of survivors like we've never seen them before. They are all helpless, hopeless, and very submissive in every way possible to the rule of Negan. I think this aspect and with how the filmmakers handled the opening episode really turned a lot of people off from the show. We are so used to seeing Rick and the other survivors overcome any obstacle, but with this seventh season, there is only pain, sorrow, and death at every corner, which is upsetting to see your main, strong protagonist in such a pitiful state.

In my opinion, though, I think it was all necessary to grow and develop just how horrible, yet charismatic Negan really is. One of the big problems I had with this season was its premiere with the two deaths that happened within a couple of minutes of each other. It didn't give you time to grieve or mourn these two vital characters, which I guess can be seen as realistic in this apocalyptic world The Walking Dead has created, but with how important those characters were, it felt just brushed off to the side and not given its due time. The rest of the season, however, is quite impressive and introduces a slew of new factions and people. We get to see the inner workings and living conditions of Negan and his followers, along with their brutality and ironic rules.

In addition to this, season seven introduces us to a new group of survivors called the Kingdom, which is led by a good man named King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and his pet tiger, who become allies with Rick and are basically in the same boat as Rick's survivors. There are some great set pieces that feature a zombie filled carnival and junkyard with yet another group that is reminiscent of characters from a Mad Max film, along with a quiet hidden village that only consists of women. The first half of the season splits up our group for most episodes, as they are trying to survive in their different locales and coming to terms with Negan. During the final few episodes of this season though, reunions are more abundant and we see Rick gain his confidence back and start to lead a revolt against Negan and his people the Saviors, which sets up this upcoming 8th season.

What Season 7 does so well here is establish that Rick and his family are not always going to win the day and that they may lose all hope. It's a rough few episodes to get through and see your favorite people break down for so long. The other great aspect of this season is Negan himself. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays this amazing and very layered villain perfectly. On one hand, this is the worst person imaginable who is capable of killing kids at the blink of an eye or torturing anyone who gives him lip. On the other hand, he has a point worth debating in his thinking and has standards and ethics that he abides by, making him somewhat likable.

Then, of course, there are a ton of new zombie kills with buckets of blood, guts, brains, and gooey innards to satisfy the gore-hound inside you. Despite a laughable and horribly rendered CGI deer in the carnival episode, visual effects are still top notch, making this seventh season one of the most brutal yet.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

This release comes with five 50GB Blu-ray Discs with all episodes spread across four of the discs and all of the bonus features included on the fifth disc that is Region A Locked. There is an insert for a digital download along with a multi-page booklet/catalog of al the cool merchandise you can buy in The Walking Dead department. The discs are housed in a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve.