I thought the Season 6 finale was poor, and not just for the cliffhanger. There was all of that driving around with very unrealistic roadblocks (chain gangs, burning log piles, the guy being hung etc)

They probably could have gotten around it all by killing Glenn in the finale and then saving Abe for the premiere. But I would have preferred to pick up in the aftermath of both deaths too. It's not as if people wouldn't tune in to see how everyone reacts to such a massacre. And you'd have the buzz of those deaths all summer etc.

 

Yep. That would have been the way to go for me. Killing off one in the season 6 finale and Rick being dragged into the camper. Then killing one more in the premiere would shock the hell out of everyone. As it went down, I just didn't really care who died by the time the season started. In fact, despite my hate for spoilers, I couldn't have cared less if someone had told me ahead of time who was going to die.

 

Absolutely. Perfectly said.

 

in fact, because of the cliff hanger, i sought out spoilers before and then really was ambivalent when i watched it. i would have had more respect for the show if they killed glenn off earlier as he should have in the alley. frankly, i am not sure if i will continue watching.

 

As one of the biggest complainers here of that cliffhanger.....

I 100% forgive it after what I watched last night. 100%

 

I'm not going to say i liked the cliffhanger but i felt it did fit in well with how this episode was constructed. I liked how in the finale we saw the eenie meenie miney moe countdown from Negan's perspective and then in the premiere we saw it from Rick's perspective. I still feel they could've shown one death in the finale and then have the 2nd one be a surprise in the premiere.

But overall i think they did as good of a job as they could of making the cliffhanger make some sense and play in well with this episode.

 

It's a shame because the finale and premiere were both good episodes on their own. But yes, the cliffhanger does mar it. I'll always wish they had written in a way that excluded what I think was a terrible cliffhanger. It's a moment that could have been TWD's Red Wedding, but they screwed up the execution. I'm still saddened by Abe and Glenn's deaths, sure. But the effect would have been much more without the abrupt ending last season.

 

Ditto!

 

I partially agree.

I think they should have killed Abraham at the end of season 6. Pretty much keep everything the same, but at the end pan out and show Abraham's body there. Fade to black. End of season. It gives people time to process the death.

Everyone would have thought they already knew what happened. There would be some closure. No crazy summer of trying to find out who died.

Then have the same exact season premier. Everyone expects to just see Abraham killed... then they get punched in the gut and see Glenn killed too. Wow!

Then we'd be processing Glenn's death on its own. I kind of think Glenn's character deserved to have his death be its own thing.