The Walking Dead Season 7: Most Memorable Moments

After seeing Negan's management style in action — he disciplined disobedient minion Mark by taking an iron to his face in "Sing Me a Song" — we suddenly had a whole new appreciation for the strongly-worded reprimands that we've occasionally been sent by the powers that be.

How could "Go Getters" not have resulted in a kiss for Carl and Enid? First, he rolled up on her in a sweet ride, then his discovery of two pairs of skates allowed them to enjoy a little heaven on wheels, and finally, she admitted the reason she didn't want him to go on his suicide mission to kill Negan. (She cares!)

Grief-stricken and pregnant, Maggie already had put up with a lot from her reluctant Hilltop "host" Gregory when he started blathering on in "Go Getters" about how "reasonable" the Saviors could be. Finally, she decked the weasel, ensuring that he'd called her Marsha/honey/dear for the last time.

In "The Cell," all Daryl had to do to get out of solitary — and away from that damn "Easy Street" song! — was answer "Negan" to the question "Who are you?" But, since doing so would have meant betraying Glenn's memory, our hero made what his tormentor called the "dumbass choice" and remained true to himself.

Carl spends so much time pretending to be a stone-cold badass that it's easy to forget that he's actually just a kid. Or it was, at least, until Negan reduced the youngster to tears in "Sing Me a Song" by forcing him to remove his bandages and reveal the hole where his eye used to be. (Damn you, Negan! And you, too, Ron!)

After weeks and weeks with most of our shell-shocked protagonists scattered across different communities, the show at last brought (at least a bunch of) them together again at the tail end of the midseason finale. And, based on the number of tissues we blew through, it meant as much to us as it did them.

Neither Olivia nor we saw it coming. But, when Rosita refused to reveal who'd made the bullet with which she'd tried to assassinate Negan in "Hearts Still Beating," he ordered Arat to kill someone, and the Savior swung around and shot poor Olivia so quickly, we scarcely had a chance to gasp, "Nooo!"

As if Rick hadn't already had a rough enough time, having watched two comrades in arms get beaten to death in Season 7's premiere, Negan concluded "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" by threatening him right to the verge of hacking off the hand of his own son, Carl.

Who could blame Carol for being at a loss for words when, in "The Well," Morgan introduced her — and, by extension, all of us — to over-the-top King Ezekiel and his pet tiger, Sheba. Sorry — Shiva! As the runaway from Alexandria eventually drolly noted, "No one told me I'd be meeting royalty."

However slim, there was a chance that Rosita could have kept her cool in "Hearts Still Beating," even after witnessing the incident at No. 2. But, as usual, Negan just couldn't keep his mouth shut. So finally Rosita lost it, hauled off and shot... Oh dear. She didn't hit Negan, she only hit Lucille!

Power plays don't go much wronger than the one in which Spencer's attempt to replace Rick got his guts spilled by Negan, who was convinced that the rat fink didn't have any. "How embarrassing," cracked the Savior as his victim's innards poured out. "They were inside you the whole time!"

We're about as likely to forget that Negan and his blood-thirsty "vampire bat" Lucille struck out not only Abraham but Glenn in the Season 7 opener "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" as we are to forgive the Saviors' ruthless leader. Three words for you, pal: Suck. Our. Nuts.