Warning: spoilers ahead for the latest episode of The Walking Dead.
Viewers got a break from Negan and the Saviors last week when Tara discovered the Oceanside settlement, but this week's "Sing Me a Song" took us right back into the action at the Sanctuary. In case any of us forgot what horrors Negan is capable of when his rules are broken, we got an extremely vivid reminder of his depravity. As a penalty for one of his men for sleeping with one of his wives, Negan took a hot iron and pressed it to the unfortunate Mark's face until he passed out from sheer agony and pissed himself where he sat. Eesh.
After Negan got wind of his wife Amber's tryst with Mark while he and Lucille were away from the Sanctuary, it was only a matter of time before at least one of the two ill-advised lovebirds felt the burn of his punishment. Even Sherry couldn't talk Negan down from ironing Mark's face, and the resulting scene was one that is undoubtedly seared into the memories of viewers everywhere. I know I won't be forgetting those bits of Mark's flesh sticking to the hot iron as Negan was slowly peeling it off of his face.
Of course, I can't put all the blame on Negan for his latest show of brutality. Sure, nobody made him iron Mark's face until it no longer resembled a face, but Mark (and Amber) had to know the risks before they hooked up behind Negan's back. His penchant for punishments is no secret, with Dwight a walking and talking reminder of what Negan might do when it comes to his women. Did Mark deserve more wrinkles ironed into his face in front of a crowd of Saviors? No. Still, he (and Amber) probably should have known better than to cross a crazy man who wields an iron as a tool of punishment.
Fans of The Walking Dead comics undoubtedly knew what was happening as soon Negan heard the names "Mark" and "Amber" in the same sentence. The scene of Negan ironing Mark's face happened on screen almost exactly the way it happened on the page. The Walking Dead has been honoring scenes straight from the comics regularly over the years, and they tend to be some of the scariest and most disgusting scenes of the series so far. Mark's ironing might not go down as the most horrifying Negan comic scene brought to life for TV, but it'll probably be one of the most memorable. As it turns out, Negan doesn't need Lucille in his hand to be truly brutal.
"Sing Me a Song" was basically an episode-long refresher course on why Negan is the most nefarious Walking Dead villain to date. The man oozed sleaze and menace in every one of his scenes, whether he was creeping on his harem of wives or forcing Carl to sing or speechifying to his kneeling Saviors. The breaks to check in with Gabriel and Spencer or Rosita and Eugene really saved the episode from overwhelming doom and gloom. At least we got Father Gabriel telling Spencer that he's kind of a shitty person to break the tension.
The Walking Dead will burn itself into your eyeballs with its midseason finale next Sunday night on AMC. Check out our fall premiere schedule and our midseason TV schedule for everything coming after the show goes on hiatus.
