Even long-time fans of “The Walking Dead” cringed at the level of brutality at the season 7 premiere of the TV series on Sunday night. The fatal beating of Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) in the hands, or by the bat, of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is the topic of a lot of comments on social media sites.
Negan used Lucille, the bat, to crush the skull of Glenn, pop out one of his eyeballs and beat out the brain matter, earning for that scene the description by Lindsay Putnam of The Post “without doubt the most gruesome scene ever broadcast on cable television,” New York Post noted.
Many agree with Putnam’s assessment. The Parent Television Council found the show too violent for families to watch. Tim Winter, council president, said it is not enough to change channels because the “brutally-explicit show is a powerful demonstration of why families should have greater control over the TV networks they purchase from their cable and satellite providers,” Time quoted Winter.
However, Greg Nicotero, executive producer and episode director, defended on Monday the scene which many viewers found devastating and gross. He said it is in line with what happens in the comic book and sets up the events of season 7. In a conference call with reporters, Nicotero said when he read the comic’s scene, he was struck by its being horrifically graphic, senseless and brutal scene which led him to want to capture those moments.
“This is by far the most despicable villain that we have ever encountered. We felt that it was important to launch us into this season by showing the extent of what Negan is capable of doing because that drives so much of where the series is going from here on in,” Nicotero explained.
Cudlitz found out 15 months ago of what would happen to his character which required him to keep it a secret for almost a year since that pivotal scene was shot before Thanksgiving 2015. The cast spread a rumor that they did not know what was going to happen since they shot a death scene for all because that was the time contract negotiations were ongoing.
At the conference call, Cudlitz admitted the rumor was a lie. “It enabled us to not have to defend who was dead or hide who was dead for at least five months, which was great,” he shared.