Spoilers below for fans who have not yet watched The Walking Dead's midseason finale.
The Walking Dead hasn't shied away from showing audiences just how ruthless Negan is in the first half of Season 7, and tonight's midseason finale gave the villain a laundry list of dirty deeds to accomplish. Not only did he put an end to the lives of two regular Alexandrians, but he also ruined Spaghetti Tuesdays. Oh, and he took a new hostage in "Hearts Still Beating," as Eugene was kidnapped for the role he played in Lucille's big injury.
Following Negan's arrival in the world of our core survivors, Eugene has been teetering on the edge of...something. He's not doing well in this new society, as seen in his ever-furrowed brow, but Rosita was trying to pull him back around to the confident and headstrong man he'd become before his BFF Abraham got his head bashed. She tasked him with carving his notch in the anti-Negan agenda by creating ammunition, and it was the bullet he provided that she used to try and kill the vicious villain. And it was that one bullet that landed him in his biggest mess yet.
For one, Negan looked like he was very close to killing Rosita for her impulsive move, but that ended up resulting in Olivia's death. (R.I.P.) With all that guilt weighing him down, Eugene confessed his part in making the bullet, even willing to give Negan the specifics of how it was done, though the antagonist wasn't interested in any of that, considering he has (most of) the guns. Negan was interested in making Eugene repentant for his actions, though, and that will all start with a trip back to the Sanctuary.
Negan is in for a surprise when he returns to the Sanctuary, since Daryl is no longer there, having escaped (after crushing Fat Joseph's face in). As well, he'll be missing one of his other Saviors thanks to Michonne, although it's hard to know how long it'll take him to figure that out. In any case, Eugene hopefully won't be expecting to find any friendly faces behind enemy lines. And he'll hopefully be comfortable sleeping in the buff with dog food on his breath. If he lives that long, that is.
With the combined knowledge of Carl, Jesus and Daryl, The Sanctuary's location is no longer anything resembling a mystery, and that will come in handy for everything that's coming in this narrative. (Take a look at some of it in the newly released trailer for the back half of Season 7.) But will everyone be able to get there before Eugene goes insane as a prisoner?
The Walking Dead has now reached its midseason hiatus, so we won't be getting anymore post-apocalyptic survival stories on AMC until next year. Check out our midseason premiere schedule to see what's hitting the small screen in the meantime.
