Season 7 of The Walking Dead has definitely been a doozy so far. It started off with a bang, with a gruesome and brutal premiere that killed off two characters, had Daryl kidnapped, and threatened to amputate Carl's arm. Since then, the season has been made up exclusively of capsule episodes, focusing on one setting each week. This past Sunday was no exception, as tertiary character Tara got an episodes all to herself. We last saw Tara late in Season 6, as she and Heath went on a supply run (and actress Alanna Masterson went on maternity leave). She was absent for Negan's presumed victory over Alexandria, and had no idea that Denise, Glenn, and Abraham have all been killed by The Saviors.
But the episode, titled "Swear", actually has an awesome reference to Glenn. And with the Walking Dead community still mourning the loss of the original cast member, it seems like smart timing for the series. In "Swear" we see Tara and Heath attempting to find supplies. When Heath starts complaining about their fruitless efforts, Tara says the following:
Rule number one of scavenging - There's nothing left in this world that isn't hidden. We just have to find it.
While this seems like a fine enough statement, she's actually directly quoting Glenn Rhee. It comes from Season 5 episode "Strangers", in which we see the group finally assembled after escaping Terminus. While the group was looking for supplies, specifically guns, they ended up finding a few silencers hidden in a refrigerator. Like Glenn says, they just needed to find them.
Glenn's death is sure to be one that continues to affect the characters moving forward. He's been with the series since the very beginning, so he has relationships with just about every character. We've seen Maggie lean on Sasha and Enid for support, but Tara is another family figure connected to the Rhees. It was Glenn who saved Tara after the attack on the prison, and Tara also volunteered to travel to DC with the couple. Between Glenn and Denise, Tara actually is one of the characters who has lost the most recently.
It should be interesting to see how Tara's character progresses now that she has returned to Alexandria. Everyone in the group is grieving and processing things differently, so there's a bunch of possibilities. The final moments of "Swear" saw Rosita and Tara cementing their bond, and it seems like Rosita's plan to get revenge on The Saviors might now have another follower. Will Rosita's grief give her the resolve to rise up the ranks in Alexandria and mount a counter offense? Perhaps Tara's shaky alliance with Oceanside will assist the other communities in revolting against Negan. With their collective knowledge and skills of the The Saviors, they may just be able to win the day.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC.
