It certainly was exciting, but looking back, I think it’s also when the Walking Dead jumped the shark so to speak. My wife and daughters stopped watching after Season 7 Episode 1. It was like there was TOO much buildup for that episode, and how are you supposed to top that level of intensity? Fact is they didn’t, and Negan’s emergence just happened to coincide with the beginning of the downfall of TWD. In my opinion.

 

A few of the things I liked about the season 6 finale was Rick's growing sense of guilt and desperation: Rick arrogantly brought the war on the group and Alexandria; now he's trying desperately to get an ill Maggie to the Hilltop's doctor, but the Saviors have blocked all the roads and his options are dwindling. At one point Maggie weakly tells Rick she believes in him, and he almost breaks down in tears.

I didn't care much for Abraham, but he won my respect when he silently offered to "pay the bill" for the group.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan made a great debut as Negan, but l think his introduction was over the top (AMC had been promoting Negan for months). I remember fans complaining that Negan's speech (which is a near copy of the comic) didn't contain any F-bombs, but I think most of Negan's dialogue sounds ridiculous when read aloud; Jeffrey was intimidating without the cursing.

The Lucille lineup itself is in my top 5 moments TWD had me terrified. And to watch Rick absolutely broken! Great acting by Andy Lincoln.

That said, I hated that Daryl was in the Lucille lineup. I think Gimple wanted Daryl to be Lucille's victim, but AMC wouldn't allow it.

Then, of course, there's the infamous Lucille cliffhanger. TWD has never recovered from that.

 

I wish Daryl went after—and rescued—Carol. That would've balanced out the Lucille cliffhanger (fans still would've been pissed, and rightfully so).

Bad as Negan is, he showed remarkable restraint towards Rick and the group. Rosita should've been Lucilled for putting that bullet in her in the S7 episode "Hearts Still Beating".

 

Another thing about the season 6 finale: Maggie should've had a miscarriage.

Negan Lucille's Glenn, causing an already weakened Maggie to suffer a miscarriage. Maggie recovers, and becomes obsessed with revenge.

This scenario also would've doubled Maggie's tension with Rick, who was himself obsessed with seeing Carl's dream of peace between the Alliance and the Saviors become a reality.

 

Had the episode ended with Abe getting the hit, it would have been the best episode of the series. The episode itself is amazing, easily the most intense episode of the series. The stakes being raised every moment. It was the "F-you" cliffhanger that left everybody with a bad taste in their mouths.

End it with Negan taking his first whack at Abe and cut to black the instant he first hits the ground. Start 701 off the same way it did, with Negan taunting then taking Rick on the RV ride. Only change would be when Rick starts to have his flashback, show the entire thing. Don't cut back and forth from the night before and Rick on the RV. Just have Rick looking up at the sky and go back to that initial hit and show the entire rest of that scene uncut.

 

The cat and mouse thing was a nice touch. It was a pretty good episode overall, but I still think the cliffhanger ending sucked all of the tension out of it, sadly.

 

It is one of my favorite episodes!