"Sing Me a Song" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the ninetieth episode of the series overall. It premiered on December 4, 2016. It was written by Angela Kang & Corey Reed and directed by Rosemary Rodriguez.
Plot[]
A further peak into the Sanctuary.
Synopsis[]
Michonne walks down a single-lane road, whistling to attract walkers. She kills two walkers she's lured and drags their bodies away.
Rick and Aaron emerge from a box truck. "We didn't see that last night," Aaron says, looking at something on the road.
Two Saviors sit in the back of a cargo truck as they wait for a nearby walker herd to thin out. After the herd is gone, they get in the cab and continue on to Negan's compound.
Carl and Jesus emerge from their hiding spots in the back of the cargo truck. Jesus pours syrup on the ground behind the truck, leaving a trail. He proposes they jump out of the moving truck and follow on foot. Carl is hesitant and asks Jesus to show him how it's done. Jesus leaps out; he sees Carl waving goodbye, from the truck, and realizes he's been played.
Carl picks up a machine gun as the cargo truck slows to a stop. He hears voices outside, immediately recognizing Negan's. Carl emerges from his hiding spot as Saviors unload the truck; he opens fire and takes one down, demanding to see Negan. He aims the gun at Negan when he appears, who calmly says with a grin "You look adorable," as he uses a nearby Savior as a shield.
Carl shoots another Savior when he tries to approach, but Dwight tackles him before he can do any further damage. Daryl watches helplessly from the other side of the walker-encrusted fence.
Negan tells Dwight to back off and offers to show Carl around the compound, impressed by his lack of fear. Carl refuses but complies after Negan threatens to chop off Daryl's arm.
From a catwalk, Negan addresses the crowd kneeling on the factory floor. He announces that the Saviors secured a big load of goods and everyone will get fresh vegetables at dinner, regardless of how many points they have. Everyone cheers. He whispers to Carl, "You see that? Respect."
In Alexandria, Eugene joins Rosita for a supply run only to learn that she has no intention of scavenging for Negan. Spencer warns Rosita that they must produce for the Saviors as part of their new "tax". Rosita ignores him and leaves with Eugene.
Negan takes Carl to a nicely appointed room and introduces him to his "harem". Negan pulls Sherry aside; she reluctantly concedes that Mark, a Savior, shirked his work duties to be with Amber, one of Negan's wives. Sherry asks Negan to go easy on Amber.
Negan admonishes Amber for cheating on him; she tears up and assures Negan that she loves him. Negan boasts to Sherry that he went easy on Amber, and then kisses her; Dwight arrives with Daryl in tow, and witnesses the kiss. Daryl carries a snack platter for Negan. As Dwight leaves with Daryl, Dwight and Sherry exchange a glance at each other, possibly signifying something in the future.
Rick and Aaron approach a gate with a sign: "Keep going, only thing here for you is trouble." Feeling the pressure of only having one day left to find supplies, they hop the gate.
Out scavenging, Spencer and Gabriel drive down an empty road. Spencer asks him if hating someone is a sin. Gabriel says it's actions not thoughts that are sinful. Spencer complains that Rick is a bad leader. Gabriel argues that meeting Rick made him a better man. Spencer admits that he hopes Rick doesn't make it back from his supply run. Gabriel angrily forces him to stop the car, reaffirms his belief in Rick, calls Spencer a "tremendous shit", however he says that it doesn't have to be permanent and walks back to Alexandria.
Spencer gets out of the car, hears a walker nearby, and runs into the woods. He finds a walker stuck in a hunter's tree stand.
Negan takes Carl to his apartment; he orders Carl to sit across from him and remove his hat and eye bandage. Carl is reluctant but Negan reminds him that he killed two Saviors and must repay him. When Carl removes the bandage, Negan remarks on the injury with relish "That is disgusting," seeing Carl's scarred eye socket. He carries on with his mockery of Carl's injury until Carl starts crying through humiliation. Negan in a rare act apologizes for hurting his feelings and tells him that he forgot he was a kid.
Fat Joseph stops by Negan's apartment to give him Lucille, which Negan left by the cargo truck. After laughing along with Negan's jokes on how he treated Lucille, he dismisses Joey harshly. Negan tells Carl that his eye is "rad as hell" and advises Carl to leave the bandage off so nobody will mess with him. He orders Carl to sing him a song. Carl's resistance is thwarted, and he starts to sing. Negan asks about Carl's mother. Carl explains that he shot her to prevent her from turning. Negan remarks that no wonder he is a future serial killer in the making. Negan and Carl leave the room, with Negan claiming that the iron is ready.
Negan takes Carl to a room where Saviors gather around a furnace on the factory floor, where Mark is tied to a chair. Negan reiterates the importance of rules then brands Mark's face with a red-hot clothes iron as punishment for his infraction. Mark screams in agony and passes out. Negan mocks Mark for urinating himself and passing out then claims to the Saviors that he is forgiven. He orders Dr. Carson to tend to Mark and takes Carl away.
Spencer yanks at the tree stand with a rope. Eventually, he looses the hunter's compound bow followed shortly by the tree stand itself and then the hunter. After the walker falls to the ground, Spencer searches its pockets and finds a note handwritten in Latin.
Rosita takes Eugene to the factory that he had previously recommended for bullet manufacturing. She orders him to make her a bullet using the shell she found in Alexandria. Eugene hesitates and says that a single bullet "Ain't gonna do it," against the Saviors — they have the numbers. Rosita spitefully calls him a coward and that the only reason that he is alive is that he lied and people feel sorry for him. She demands a bullet. Eugene quietly gets to work, deeply upset and hurt.
Dwight and Sherry smoke cigarettes in a stairwell. She recalls that their deal with Negan was only supposed to affect them. Dwight points out that if you're still alive, it's always at someone else's expense.
Back in Negan's apartment, Carl taunts Negan for being unable to kill him, Rick, or Daryl. Negan suggests they take a car ride.
Negan and Carl prepare to leave in the cargo truck. On their way out, Daryl warns Negan against hurting Carl. Negan tells Dwight to put Daryl back in his cell and drives off. Jesus, who'd been hiding on top of the truck, stays behind at the compound.
Daryl hears footsteps outside his cell. Someone slips a note under the door. "Go now," is written on the front, and a key is taped to the back.
As a lone Savior drives down a road; she's forced to stop when she reaches a barricade of walker corpses. As the Savior investigates, Michonne sneaks up on her, katana drawn. "Take me to Negan," Michonne orders. The Savior submits, having fallen into Michonne's trap.
Negan and Carl knock on Rick's door in Alexandria. Olivia answers and nervously tells Negan that Rick is out scavenging and might not return that day. When Olivia claims that the group is practically starving, Negan mocks her weight which drives her to tears. Stunned at what he sees as a lack of humor, he apologizes for his rudeness and crudely proposes to sleep with Olivia while they wait for Rick. Olivia slaps him across the face and surprisingly, he laughs it off.
Negan then takes a tour of Rick's house. He enjoys the feel of the carpet on his bare feet and the various conveniences. Carl tries to keep him away from Judith's bedroom, but Negan opens the door and discovers her nursery. He is delighted by Judith and gently takes her out of her crib.
Rick and Aaron encounter another warning sign; this time, the writer threatens to shoot anyone who comes for his food, supplies, or ammo. They move past the sign and reach a pond filled with walkers. They see a dilapidated houseboat floating in the center of the pond.
As they approach Alexandria, Rosita thanks Eugene for making a bullet and apologizes for what she said earlier, but Eugene rejects the apology, still furious. He knows she meant what she said and wants to go back to "awkward silence". Spencer drives up and reveals a bounty of supplies and weapons. He explains that the note written in Latin described a list of caches. He whistles towards the gate. A Savior opens it. Rosita realizes that Negan is in Alexandria.
Negan and Carl sit on Rick's front porch. Negan rocks Judith in his lap as he contemplates killing Rick and Carl, maybe even settling in the suburbs. Negan smiles and kisses Judith's nose.
Other Cast[]
Co-Stars[]
- Joshua Hoover as Joseph
- Tim Parati as Emmett Carson
- Mike Seal as Gary
- Brian F. Durkin as George
- Ricky Russert as Chris
- Aerli Austen as Isabelle
- David Marshall Silverman as Kent
- Autumn Dial as Amber
- Elyse Nicole DuFour as Frankie
- Chloé Aktas as Tanya
- Griffin Freeman as Mark
Uncredited[]
- Casey Wagner as Larry
- Josh Turner as TKO
- Skylar Felton as Jackson Wallace
- Pete Pitts as Roger Clay
- Noah Benjamin as Red Haired Man
- Chloe & Sophia Garcia-Frizzi as Judith Grimes
- Miya Golden as Huck
- W.F. Bell as Savior
- Jimmy McAfee, Stacey Crowler, Brandon Hardison, Angela Gay, Stacie Bellard, Evan Lopez, Bricine Brown, Nmg Garcia, Indiana Sifuentes and Billy James as Saviors
Deaths[]
Trivia[]
- First appearance of Amber.
- First appearance of Tanya.
- First appearance of Frankie.
- First appearance of Mark.
- First appearance of Isabelle.
- First appearance of Huck.
- Only appearance of George.
- Only appearance of Chris.
- Last appearance of Sherry.
- The title of the episode, "Sing Me a Song", refers to one of Negan's demands to Carl.
- Dwight states that rather than sleeping, he watches TV all night. This is previously seen in the episode "The Cell".
- This episode is 8th episode of the series to be 90 minutes long (with commercials).
- Carl sings to Negan "You Are My Sunshine", by the Pine Ridge Boys, just as he did in Issue 105.
- The song played during Negan's tour of Rick's house is "Bang Bang" by Janis Martin.
- The make-shift paddles, that Rick and Aaron use to get to the houseboat, are from the second warning sign of Leslie William Starton. The writing on paddles (from lowest plank of the sign) say "that I am dead - have at" "it assholes".
- Greg Nicotero appeared in this episode as one of the walkers in front of the Sanctuary, adding to his many cameo appearances as walkers in the series.
- When discussing his knowledge of Latin, Spencer tells Eugene that Deanna used to tell him that "that pain would be useful someday", referring to his extensive Latin lessons. These are the same words Deanna had written (in Latin) on the map of Alexandria in "Now".
- In "Hostiles and Calamities", it is revealed that Sherry slipped the note "Go now" and keys under Daryl's cell because Daryl reminded her of who Dwight used to be.
- After the scene in which Negan insults Olivia over her weight, Jeffrey Dean Morgan felt so bad that he bought Ann Mahoney a bouquet of flowers afterwards.
Comic Parallels[]
- Carl shooting a couple of Saviors after he is discovered in the truck is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 104, where he kills six Saviors instead.
- Dwight tackling Carl to the ground before he can keep shooting is adapted from Issue 104.
- Negan giving Carl a tour of the Sanctuary is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan showing Carl how everyone kneels to his presence as a signal of respect is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan showing Carl his luxurious bedroom and his harem is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan talk with Amber about her affair with Mark and her situation as his "wife" is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan ordering Dwight to get the iron ready is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 105, where he orders this to Carson instead.
- Eugene and Rosita going to the bullet factory so Rosita can use a bullet to kill Negan is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 107, where they go the bullet factory to make bullets for the Saviors as a tribute instead.
- Negan ordering Carl to take his bandage off and making fun of him is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan apologizing to Carl for hurting his feelings and telling him the scar makes him look badass is adapted from Issue 105.
- Fat Joey giving Lucile back to Negan after he forgot it on the truck and him joking about this is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan ordering Carl to sing him a song is adapted from Issue 105.
- Negan's speech about the rules and the ironing of Mark's face is adapted from Issue 105.
- Carl demanding Negan to let him cover his face again making him impressed at his bravery is adapted from Issue 106.
- Carl threatening to kill Negan making him laugh in amusement is adapted from Issue 106.
- Negan making fun of Olivia's weight causing her to cry is adapted from Issue 111.
- Olivia slapping Negan after he offers to have sex with her and him saying he is more interested in her because of this is adapted from Issue 111.
- Negan waiting for Rick's return to Alexandria from a supply run is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 111, where Rick is seeking the Kingdom's help instead.
Episode Highlights[]
TBA
Goofs/Errors[]
- When the Saviors open up the truck, one of them says "Damn, I thought they packed this up tight." However, this line was apparently dubbed in and his lips do not move when he says it.
- In the scene where Negan and Carl enter his apartment, Negan throws his red scarf on the bed. But in the next scene, the scarf teleports back to Negan's hand.
- When the camera zooms out to the Sanctuary, you can barely see Jeffrey and Chandler acting out their next scene (you can see Jeffrey put his hand towards his face when he tells Carl about his one eye).
- The army walker that Michonne decapitates is shown to have taken a few steps back before falling despite not having its brain anymore, something that should not be possible. Furthermore; this walker's fingers are seen twitching, something that should not be possible given that it doesn't have a brain anymore.