The Walking Dead Season 7, episode 3: Most shocking moments

1. Negan gives Daryl an ultimatum, and he makes his choice

Despite his defiance, Negan has taken an apparent shine to Daryl. He sees a lot of potential in him as one of his men. He just knows that Daryl is extremely resilient. All of this torture would have broken any other man so long ago. But that resistance is something Negan respects.

He explains to Daryl what happened with Dwight. After Dwight, his wife, and his sister-in-law escaped the compound, they needed to be punished. Negan was going to kill Dwight, until his wife Sherry volunteered to be his wife. Saying how “hot” Sherry is, Negan takes the offer and spares Dwight. But to really make things square, he pressed a hot iron onto Dwight’s face, explaining the disfigurement.

After all of that, however, Dwight is now one of Negan’s top men. The same can happen to Daryl, Negan says, if he only gets in line. He can finally be taken out of that dirty cell and live in his own comfortable quarters instead. It just comes down to if he is now forever loyal to Negan.

All of Negan’s henchmen refer to themselves as “Negan”. This apparently reminds everyone who the head honcho is. To prove his loyalty, Negan asks Daryl who he is, with “Negan” being the right answer. But guess what Daryl says? He stays true to himself and responds, “Daryl”.

Negan’s disappointed and sends Daryl back to his cell. Daryl tells Dwight that he understands why he’s working for Negan— he’s thinking of someone else. For that same reason, that’s why Daryl can’t follow Negan. After what this guy has done to the people he loves, there’s just no way Daryl is willing to respect him.