"The Walking Dead" Season 7 shocked many viewers with its two character deaths, as well as the explicit depiction of Negan's brutality. Critics slammed the AMC series for its gory premiere episode, while its showrunner revealed why they chose to kill Glenn and Abraham.
Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) showed his charming yet scary side in the Season 7 premiere of the AMC series "The Walking Dead." The leader of the Saviors was merciless as he bashed Abraham's (Michael Cudlitz) head with his barb-wired bat Lucille before attacking Glenn (Steven Yeun).
Released on Oct. 23, Sunday, "The Walking Dead" Season 7 premiere showed viewers several scenes that contained blood, brain matter and violent actions. The Parents Television Council (PTC) blasted the said episode and described it as "brutally explicit" for families to watch, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The organization's head Tim Winter questioned whether the TV rating system should be changed to add a separate category for very violent shows. Currently the AMC series has a TV-MA rating, the highest classification at the moment, which warns viewers of content fit for mature audiences only.
In an interview with the same publication, the PTC president slammed the AMC show's creative team for using graphically violent scenes instead of opting for a different alternative to better tell a story. Winter commented of how "The Walking Dead" Season 7 premiere "crossed the line" when it featured Negan's head bashing spree.
Winter even highlighted the difference between old shows and new programs where showrunners avoided showing violent scenes on TV. He added, "Now it seems like they can't tell a story without adding the severity of the graphic violence, and it seems to me like a crutch."
In other news, "The Walking Dead" showrunner Greg Nicotero revealed why they needed to kill both Glenn and Abraham during the show's Season 7 premiere. In an interview with TVLine, Nicotero explained that the two characters death were necessary plot developments to effectively depict Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Daryl's (Norman Reedus) stories after Negan's attack.
"The Walking Dead" Season 7 airs every Sunday on AMC. Watch the preview for the show's episode 2 below:
