Last week's episode of The Walking Dead built to a thrilling climax that threw the fate of one of the show's lead characters into uncertainty; that AMC would rob said character's fate during the promotion of the show's latest outing undercuts much of the excitement (well, dread) you experience sitting down to watch it. Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is alive following her 'suicide mission' glimpsed at the climax of the previous episode, and instead of showing how things went down, the first time we see her she is locked up in a cell very similar to the one that Daryl spent the majority of the first half of season seven locked in. She's been spared the “Easy Street” treatment, thankfully.

Her extended sequences opposite Negan bubble with tension, as we see his would-be killer come face to face with the man who murdered the person she loved. Making Negan's first act of the episode to murder one of his men who tries to rape Sasha - a famous moment from Robert Kirkman's comic book series counterpart - was a switched on inclusion, almost humanising the malevolent foe. While never truly thinking that Sasha is in danger of defecting and joining The Saviours (unlike Eugene), it's rather tragic to watch a character being so helplessly manipulated by her arch nemesis to the stage where the failed mission has rendered her fate rather meaningless. Knowing that Negan will use her to throw Rick and company into danger, Sasha begs Eugene to provide her with poison so she can kill herself instead.

At this stage of the series, Sasha's doom seems a certainty - it's a sure bet she won't make it out of the finale alive. it's unfortunate then that, in one of the episode's most misjudged moments Sasha's big reveal is merely heard in favour of being shown from the viewpoint of Eugene who is listening outside the door. - something of a head-scratcher.

The episode's other crux sees Tara (Alanna Masterson) lead her fellow Alexandrians to Oceanside, the community she clashed with back in episode six. While these scenes zip along at a fair pace, the outcome's inevitability - that they'll acquire new guns and allies in their war against The Saviours - seems like a done deal the minute they embark on their journey robbing these scenes of much tension. if anything, they only serve to add a layer of skin to Tara's character, somebody who hasn't registered on the same level as, say, Rosita this season, but has more than marked herself as character you'd mourn should it ever come to that.

The most shocking Walking Dead moments Show all 10 1 /10 The most shocking Walking Dead moments The most shocking Walking Dead moments Sophie's a walker (season 2, episode 7) Much of season two's opening half is spent looking for Sophia, the missing daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride). Turns out she was locked up in Hershel's barn as a zombie all along. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Shane reanimates without being bitten (season 2, episode 12) When Carl (Chandler Riggs) guns down a deranged Shane (Jon Bernthal) to protect his father, the shock arrives when he manifests into a walker despite not being bitten; turns out everyone's infected with the virus and will turn whichever way they die. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Axel's bullet to the eye (season 3, episode 10) A character introduced in the show's prison arc, Axel is a reformed prisoner who strikes up a friendship with Carol - until he's gunned down mid-sentence. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Carl kills Lori after she gives birth (season 3, episode 4) Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) goes into labour at the very moment a zombie siege breaks out at the prison. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it through the procedure with her son Carl being the one to put a bullet to her head. The most shocking Walking Dead moments The Governor slays Hershel (season 4, episode 8) The Governor makes his dramatic return for a showdown at the prison after he captures Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Hershel (Scott Wilson). Rick reaches out, attempting to reason with him - but The Governor starts a war when he proceeds to decapitate poor old Hershel instead. The most shocking Walking Dead moments "Look at the flowers" (season 4, episode 14) In a standout episode from the show's fourth season, Carol is forced to take drastic measures when young teenager Lizzie murders her sister Mika in the belief that she'll live on as a zombie. Realising Lizzie's depraved mind would endanger those around her, Carol puts a gun to the young girl's head and, telling her to "look at the flowers," pulls the trigger, fighting back the tears. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Carl's bullet to the eye (season 6, episode 9) Season six returned from its mid-season break in typically dramatic fashion when an iconic moment from the graphic novels came to life: Carl takes a bullet to the eye. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Beth is killed (season 5, episode 8) Upon being kidnapped, Beth (Emily Kinney) is taken to Grady Memorial Hospital managed by Atlanta Law Enforcement. Forced to reside there against her will, the group - including Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) - eventually find her - only for her to be accidentally shot in the head by her captor. The worst thing? Her sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) had just arrived outside. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Negan kills Abraham Season seven opened in brutal form as we discovered it was Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) at the opposite end of Negan's baseball bat. "Suck my nuts," the soldier growls as the Saviours' leader brings Lucille raining down on his head until nothing remains but a pulpy mess. The most shocking Walking Dead moments Negan kills Glenn Negan decides to punish the group once more after getting clocked round the face by Daryl. Without expectation, he thwacks Lucille round the head of poor Glenn. With his eyeball popping out of his head, he manages: "I'll find you, Maggie before Negan proceeds to finish the job ending the former pizza delivery boy's life.

It's an old-fashioned walker set-piece that stands out as an episode highlight: as Oceanside are attacked by a horde of the rotting undead, the latter spark into action alongside Alexandria, sparking into action having had no reason to use their weapons for a while. If anything, it serves as a preview of how the communities will work together to defeat The Saviours in the season to come, each Oceanside character being established as more than just faces with their very own dedicated action shot.

It seems like as good a time as any to point out that, while season seven has struggled to match the quality of previous seasons, the score, from composer Bear McCreary, has proved he's one of the best working in TV today with an array of pulsating compositions that have matched whatever an episode had thrown his way; we're sure he'll have his work cut out for next week's finale.