Warning: General spoilers ahead

As I had unfortunately expected, this past week has been nothing but a post-7.06 shit-show with groves of fans spilling on the Interwebs about how “Swear” was the most boring, lame episode of The Walking Dead ever. If you read my review, you know that I personally liked it, and I think the episode will become very important later in the season. But, moving on, for those loud complainers, you should know that this week’s “Sing Me A Song” is one fantastic piece of writing and thus, will hopefully squelch most of the grumbling. Multiple character arcs. Great pace. And, of course, lots of Negan with all his brutality and famous one-liners. It’s another 90-minute installment, and unlike some of the previous extended episodes, this one definitely needed the extra time to be able to tell the full story.

Sunday’s episode lays the foundation for next week’s mid-season finale, and so, departing from the format of my previous Advance Previews, I’m just going to provide a few teasers because I wouldn’t dream of spoiling anything major. Yes, the episode is that good and will most certainly be worth the wait and suspense.

• For the avid comic-book readers, you will absolutely love this episode. As we may recall, Carl (Chandler Riggs)  stowaway on one of the Saviors’ trucks while at the Hilltop, and a good deal of the 90 minutes is spent with the aftermath of Carl going full Billy The Kid once they arrive at The Sanctuary. Negan (Jeffrey Dean-Morgan)  doesn’t kill Carl, but instead is quite intrigued with the boy who has bigger brass balls than some of his own men. So, he gives Carl the full tour of the Sanctuary including our first view of Negan’s extensive harem. Now, get your head out of the gutter because remember Negan has a “code.” He refers to Carl as a “kid” in front of the women, and tells him that he should “definitely look at their tits,” but nothing else beyond that.
• Negan has lots of 1-on-1 time with Carl and even makes him cry in one particular scene. He also forces Carl to sing him a song (thus the title of the episode), and in the mother of all tear-jerkers, Carl manages to get the words to “You Are My Sunshine” out while tears flow down his cheeks.
• Ever wonder how Dwight (Austin Amelio)  got his burnt face? Well, any comic-book fan knows, but if not, you will find out come Sunday. And, it’s beyond brutal. Here’s a little thing to remember, though. Has anyone ever cooked with a cast-iron skillet? Well, I don’t because crap sticks to them like hell. Same analogy will apply to Sunday’s episode, except it won’t be food that will be sticking. Have fun with that mental image!
• Negan does eventually end up back at Alexandria before the end of the episode, and one of the best scenes there is with Olivia. She claims that they are all practically starving to death because of the Saviors, and Negan can’t help but laugh in her face because of her weight. This causes her to break down and start crying, and I’m not talking the “sniff sniff” stuff from a couple of weeks ago. I’m talking taking-her-glasses-off sobbing. But, no worries, because Negan is a sensitive guy (cough, cough) and does apologize — then, offers to “screw her brains out” to make it up to her. Olivia’s response — a giant slap in the face! Oh snap! I literally laughed out loud, and it definitely takes Negan off-guard. Ironically, Negan seems to like the feisty type and tells Olivia that just made him like her 50% more. Ha! Gotta love Negan!
• Spencer, Rosita, Eugene, and Father Gabriel all go out on supply runs, but to everyone’s surprise, Spencer is the only one who returns with anything. By a huge stroke of luck, he brings back a pretty big stash of food and supplies, but only uses it to pit others against Rick (Andrew Lincoln), advocating that they should keep it all and not give it to the Saviors. Does this guy have a death wish or what?
• Michonne (Danai Gurira) hatches a plot to kill Negan, which considering Rosita, Carl, and Sasha are all thinking the same thing, why in the hell not? Well, by the end of the episode and seeing where Negan is and what he’s up to, you definitely will see why Michonne needs to get her ass back to Alexandria because it’s all about to hit the fan.

Episode 7.07 of The Walking Dead  is titled “Sing Me A Song” and airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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