While The Walking Dead was a somewhat laid back affair with last week’s 'The Well' and its introduction of The Kingdom, this week’s 'The Cell' saw the return of Negan and the aftermath of Daryl’s choice to attack the leader of the Saviors. The episode was certainly glum, but it didn’t quite reach the levels of the brutal season 7 premiere, which featured the deaths of two beloved characters at the hands of Negan.

Now that The Walking Dead has performed some necessary world-building duties with the last two episodes, the upcoming ‘Service’ looks to finally reveal the exact impact that Negan and his Saviors will have on Rick’s Alexandria community going forward. With an extended 85-minute runtime, ‘Service’ should have ample time to raise the stakes for Rick and his group. Before Sunday, however, fans of the show can indulge in a little sneak peek of what’s to come.

AMC has released a short promo of ‘Service’ and things are looking dire for Rick and his group indeed. Alongside the trailer, a clip from the upcoming episode can also be viewed for those who just can’t wait.

The Walking Dead seems intent on exploring the power dynamic between Rick and Negan and how the latter challenges every notion of leadership the former has, and ‘Service’ looks to extend on that theme. “I’m not in charge anymore,” Rick says to what is presumably his gathered group of Alexandrians. But that’s not the only intriguing part of the trailer, which seems to give viewers a quick glance at Daryl traveling with Negan’s group to Alexandria, presumably still a hostage.

Andrew Lincoln’s performance in the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead was probably some of the actor’s best screen time in a long time, and it was almost refreshing to watch Rick slowly lose hope in his own ability to keep his people safe from Negan. Though it remains to be seen if ‘Service’ will invite more of this new, terrified Rick, the trailer points to that being the case. Not only that, assuming Rick and company do end up defeating Negan, how will it affect Rick’s leadership long term? Perhaps ‘Service’ will sow the seeds of doubt within Rick’s followers, especially those who have lost someone to Negan, like Maggie.

Not everyone is pleased at the direction of season 7 so far, however, and the sheer brutality of the season 7 premiere has some wondering if the The Walking Dead is just substituting excessive gore for a decent storyline. Still, last week’s ‘The Well’ was well-received by most and season 7 is still in the early stages of its story arc, leaving plenty of time to win people over.

The Walking Dead continues next Sunday with ‘Service’ @9pm on AMC.

Source: AMC