Summary:
The Cell airs tonight at 9pm EST, which is really messing with me because daylight savings time has my body thinking I should be curling up in bed and going to sleep.
Oh well, TWD is worth it.
The Cell starts with an interesting montage showing what life is like in Negan’s camp. Some people have it good, others are just slaves – which appears to be just about everyone who isn’t a warrior. There is also a fenced in area of biters – which Negan’s men apparently keep maintained.
Which leads us to our first glimpse of Daryl – as he’s being fed a dog food sandwich. He’s naked, he’s a captive, and he’s hungry. At least dog food has all the nutrients that you need to survive.
We see several days of Daryl in isolation, being fed bread and dog food until some pre determined point has been reached. He’s given clothes and taken to the doctors where he meets the young woman who was with Dwight when he first met them. Dwight doesn’t seem happy to see the pregnancy pee stick – but its not clear why – yet.
When Daryl is put back into his cell his Dwight tells him he is going to kneel eventually. Daryl disagrees. Dwight tells Daryl he didn’t want to kneel at first either – but he will eventually anyway.
Whatever Dwight is up to Negan tries to reward him with a girl – but something strange is happening, Dwight doesn’t want his reward. I think Negan may have taken his woman, which would explain why Dwight looked hurt/angry when he saw the pregnancy test. His woman is now someone else’s.
Dwight goes off to perform Savior business while Daryl uses the lack of attention his new guard has to effect his escape. While out on Savior business Dwight finds himself under an overpass – which has turned into a zombie splat zone.
As Daryl is trying to get away he is caught by Dwight’s girl who cautions him to go back. 
He won’t go away and Negan will just torture him worse. Daryl makes it outside only to find himself surrounded by Negan’s men, which made it feel very much like a set up. Negan confirms this a moment later. He was seeing what Daryl was going to do.
Negan tells Daryl he has three options. Be a biter guard, be a prisoner working for “points”, or be a warrior and work for Negan directly. Negan then takes a swing and halts it just before it lands, which leads to one of the best lines of the show ever.
Negan spares Daryl from death but lets his boys go at Daryl.
After Daryl is back in his cell Dwight’s woman tells him through the door that he was right when he told her a long time ago that she would pay. Apparently life under the savior’s is a bit hellish.
We get more of the back story when Dwight catches the runner.
They used to be friendly – and we find out the woman was Dwight’s wife – at least until Negan took her from him. His bounty tells Dwight he’s okay – he’d rather die than go back, at least until Dwight tell shim he’ll make everyone he ever talked to suffer. His bounty gets up and begins to walk away before Dwight shows him mercy and shoots him.
When Dwight gets back from his bounty he bumps into his wife in the stairwell and bums a smoke from her. He asks her if Negan is good to her. They sadly ask each other if the other is okay and they both lie, trying to make themselves believe they did the right thing.
Now that Dwight is back he takes back up his duties over Daryl but Daryl is mad now. He’s stopped eating – which causes Dwight to give him a picture of Glenn on the ground after telling Daryl it was his fault. They are trying to break Daryl. I want them to fail. I want him to escape and kill Negan and all the Saviors.
The last thing we see is Daryl being brought to Negan’s apartment. This is when we hear how Dwight used to work for points. Negan was supposed to marry Dwight’s wife’s sister. But the sister died when they tried to escape and to save Dwight his wife offered to marry Negan to save his life. Negan says all this while Dwight is seething – but he tells Daryl that he could be that guy as well. All he has to do is offer his allegiance to Negan. Negan tells him all he has to do is answer one question. “Who are you?” Daryl is supposed to say Negan like all the others.
He says, “Daryl”.
He and Dwight then have a short conversation. Daryl now understands what drove Dwight to do what he did. Maybe, just maybe Dwight has found an ally.
Things I loved about this episode…
- The zombie splatter zone under the overpass.
- Daryl not flinching when Negan is about to hit him with his bat. “You don’t scare easily.”
- Daryl saying his own name when he’s asked who he is.
Things that I didn’t like about this episode…
- Daryl getting caught.
- Dwight and his wife’s suffering. That just sucks.
Firsts…
- Is this the first time we see how Negan makes his people bow when he walks by them? What an ass – but it also likely has a functional purpose as it would make it harder for someone to attack him.
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