The Cell (The Walking Dead)
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"The Cell" is the third episode of the seventh season of the
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
horror
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
'' The Walking Dead'', which aired on
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on November 6, 2016. The episode was written by
Angela Kang Angela Kang (born March 23, 1976) is an American television writer known for serving as showrunner on the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' for the final three seasons. Early life Kang was born and raised in Irvine, California, the ...
and directed by
Alrick Riley Alrick Riley (born 1964) is a BAFTA award-winning English television director and writer, and former child actor. He is well known for his work on the British series '' Spooks'' (known as ''MI-5'' in some countries) and '' Hustle''; along with ...
. The episode focuses on the Saviors living in an impressive community, the Sanctuary, that seems to have it all. Concurrently,
Daryl Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...
(
Norman Reedus Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1969) is an American actor best known for starring as Daryl Dixon in the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror drama series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022). He also starred as Murphy Mac ...
) is held prisoner and psychologically tortured by Dwight ( Austin Amelio), a ruthless but reluctant member of the Saviors and one of
Negan Negan, later revealed as Negan Smith in the television series, is a fictional character in the comic book series '' The Walking Dead'' and in the television series of the same name. He was the leader of the Saviors, a group of survivors in the S ...
's (
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor of television and film, best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022), for which he has received critical acclaim. He ...
) top lieutenants, who forms a hostile rivalry with Daryl.


Plot

Under
Negan Negan, later revealed as Negan Smith in the television series, is a fictional character in the comic book series '' The Walking Dead'' and in the television series of the same name. He was the leader of the Saviors, a group of survivors in the S ...
's orders,
Daryl Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...
is taken to the Saviors' home, the Sanctuary, and locked in a dark cell, to be converted to join the Saviors by Dwight. Dwight feeds Daryl only
dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...
sandwiches and forces him to listen to the song "Easy Street" played through the walls. Dwight shows that if Daryl refuses to join the Saviors, he could end up like other prisoners, who have become walkers wandering in a fenced off area. Daryl attempts an escape one day when he finds his cell unlocked, but this is revealed to be a test by Negan of his loyalty. Negan threatens to smash Daryl's head with "Lucille", his bat, but Daryl doesn't flinch. Negan is impressed and leaves him be, though the other Saviors beat him up and return him to his cell. Earlier, Negan had taunted Dwight about his relationship with Sherry and his loyalty, so to try to get into good favor with Negan, Dwight sets off to capture a Savior who has decided to leave. He finds the man, Gordon (Michael Scialabba), who begs to be killed rather than returned to Sanctuary. Dwight, after some thought, kills Gordon, and returns to Sanctuary to spend time with Sherry. He later visits Daryl and tapes a gruesome
Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...
photo of Glenn's mutilated body on the wall, blaming Daryl for his friend's death. Daryl breaks down into tears. Dwight believes he has broken Daryl's spirit and takes him to meet Negan. Negan explains to Daryl how Dwight became one of his top men. Dwight, Sherry, and her sister Tina used to be part of the Sanctuary workforce, earning "points" for goods. However, Tina suffered from
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
and fell behind on points. Tina agreed to marry Negan to keep her supply of medicine, but she, Dwight, and Sherry stole the medicine and ran away. Following Tina's death, Dwight and Sherry returned, asking Negan for forgiveness and sparing their lives, with Sherry offering herself in marriage to Negan. Negan agreed, but only after using a hot iron to burn half of Dwight's face in punishment. Negan then explains to Daryl that he too can become one of his men if he answers one question: "Who are you?" Daryl refuses to answer with "Negan" and instead provides his own name, defying Negan. Negan orders Dwight to return him to his cell. Dwight yells at Daryl for jeopardizing his life, but Daryl responds that, like Dwight, he was thinking of someone else at the time that he decided whether or not to obey Negan.


Reception


Critical reception

"The Cell" received generally positive reviews from critics. On
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, it holds a 74% with an
average rating In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
of 7.04 out of 10, based on 34 reviews. The site's consensus reads: ''The Walking Dead'' delivers another character-driven episode in "The Cell," which successfully delves deeper into the world of Negan and his cronies, even if its attempts to humanize a villain achieve somewhat mixed results. Critic Ed Power of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' praised the episode: "along comes an episode such as The Cell and you are reminded that at its finest the Walking Dead is one of the most quietly dazzling things on television." Kelly Lawler of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' reviewed the episode negatively, saying, "''The Walking Dead'' spent its third episode physically and psychologically torturing yet another of its best and most beloved characters. And why did they do it? Because they had nothing else to do to push this tired and pointless Negan storyline along."


Ratings

The episode received a 5.7 rating in the key 18-49 demographic with 11.72 million total viewers. It is at the time the lowest rating the show has had since " Dead Weight" from season four.


Music

The song featured on the episode "Easy Street" by The Collapsable Hearts Club charted at number 92 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
a week after the episode aired. In the U.S., the song charted at number 50 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...
chart, selling 21,000 copies as of November 22, 2016.


References


External links


"The Cell"
at
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cell (The Walking Dead, The 2016 American television episodes The Walking Dead (season 7) episodes