Season 7, Episode 3
- Dwight works to break Daryl during his confinement at the Sanctuary.
Its just another day at the Sanctuary, Negan's fortress. Dwight prepares himself a sandwich, using his accumulated "points" to cut in line and gather the ingredients for a lavish lunch. He goes outside to eat, and notices several prisoners tangling with some chained up walkers, one of which is impaled on a pole, and keeps moving up and down the pole, unable to escape. Dwight then gives Daryl his lunch, a dog food sandwich. Daryl is barely responsive, as he is beaten, stripped and huddled in a dirty corner of his cell. Dwight continues torturing Daryl with a bouncy song about "easy street", day in, day out. Daryl is later taken to the Saviors' Dr. Carson, where he encounters Dwight's ex-wife Sherry, who tries to reach out to him before being shushed by Dwight.
Negan talks to Dwight, and says that he may choose any woman he pleases to have sex with. Dwight refuses, especially after Negan alludes to Sherry and Eugene's attack on his nether regions. The two receive a call from a Savior lookout, who informs them of an "orange situation" - a Savior has stolen supplies and is making a run for it. Negan tells Dwight he can hand the task of retrieving the runaway to someone else, but Dwight insists on going after him on Daryl's motorcycle.
Dwight is passing a group of walkers under an overpass when he is surprised by a walker falling from the overpass. He is knocked down, and is nearly bitten by a walker or two before fighting them off. He finally finds his quarry, and saves him from a walker and demands he return with him to the Sanctuary. The man refuses, and insists that they don't have to follow Negan. Dwight continues by threatening his loved ones, and the man agrees to come back. He stands and starts walking, only for Dwight to kill him anyway.
Back at the Sanctuary, Fat Joey has seemingly forgotten to lock Daryl's cell after giving him his food. Daryl notices, and exits his cell, and begins sneaking around before being confronted by Sherry, who tells him to go back to his cell or suffer worse punishment. Daryl doesn't listen, and tries to make off with a motorcycle, but is then surrounded by a gang of Saviors. Negan himself appears, and after his men all call themselves Negan, tells Daryl that he failed his test. When Daryl refuses to submit, Negan siccs his men on Daryl.
When Dwight returns, he brings Daryl before Negan again. Negan explains that Dwight's late sister-in-law, Tina, fell short on "points" since she needed insulin, which is hard to come by these days. Negan offered to remove her need for points by way of her marrying him. Dwight responded by gathering the Saviors' insulin supply and fleeing with Sherry and Tina. When Tina died, Dwight and Sherry returned and begged for forgiveness, and Negan ultimately agreed after branding Dwight's face with an iron and after Sherry agreed to marry him. So now Negan asks Daryl to submit to him again, and he can have a place in his command staff. But when Negan asks for Daryl's name, and Daryl responds with his own name, Negan angrily has him thrown back in his cell.
Dwight rants at Daryl that he should've joined Negan, but Daryl refuses on the grounds of honoring his dead friend. Dwight responds by leaving Daryl with the picture of Glenn's remains, and Daryl breaks down and weeps.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Laura, of the Saviors, looks more feminine than her comic book counterpart. Inverted with Emmett Carson, who looks older, leaner, and with less hair than his comic book counterpart.
- Badass Boast: Two from Daryl; "I ain't ever gonna kneel", and finally when Negan asks for his name, he responds "Daryl."
- Being Evil Sucks: Dwight is shown to really hate working for Negan, despite the perks.
- Break the Badass: What Dwight and Negan are trying to do to Daryl, and while Daryl never submits to Negan, he does break down crying when Dwight gives him the picture of Glenn's remains.
- The Bus Came Back: Sherry appears for the first time since "Always Accountable."
- Call-Back: Daryl's shirt is marked with the letter "A" (for Alexandria), a call back to the train car the group was stored in after being captured at Terminus.
- Continuity Nod:
- The events of "Always Accountable" are heavily referenced, as this episode is arguably a sequel to it of sorts.
- Daryl got Glenn killed and was captured in "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be."
- Dwight leaves Daryl with the Polaroid picture of Glenn's remains. "Not Tomorrow Yet" showed that the Saviors collect Polaroid pictures of Lucille's victims.
- Negan jokes about Eugene chomping on Dwight's dick in "Twice as Far."
- A Day in the Limelight: Dwight gets the majority of the episode's spotlight here.
- Fan Disservice: At the beginning of the episode, its revealed that the Saviors have kept Daryl in a cell naked during his incarceration to humiliate him.
- Fat Idiot: Invoked and averted. Dwight keeps Daryl imprisoned for days without incident, but the second "Fat Joey" is put in charge, he forgets to lock the door and Daryl runs off. However, he did this on purpose so Negan could see if Daryl would try to escape or not.
- Food Porn: The opening has Dwight going around Sanctuary to collect ingredients to make a sandwich.
- Kick the Dog: Repeatedly over the course of the episode, but the moment when Dwight leaves Daryl with the picture of Glenn's remains stands out.
- Kneel Before Zod: What Negan demands of Daryl, and has presumably demanded of everyone else he has bent to his will prior.
- Loud of War: Dwight blasting "Easy Street" at Daryl multiple times, usually waking him up each time he does.
- May–December Romance: Its revealed that Negan tried to marry Tina, a woman far younger than he is, which is why she bailed on the Saviors.
- Mr. Exposition: Negan spends about five minutes explaining Dwight's backstory and how he left and rejoined the Saviors.
- Mythology Gag: The scene where Dwight is nearly hit by a walker falling from an overpass is taken straight from the comics, where the culprit was Jesus.
- Paid Harem: Negan has a number of wives, including Sherry. He offers Dwight the chance to sleep with any of them so long as the one he chooses is willing.
- The Place: Much of the episode takes place in Daryl's confinement room.
- Say My Name: Negan tries to get Daryl to join his ranks by saying that he is Negan as his own men do. Daryl refuses.
- Secret Test of Character: It's implied that Joey left Daryl's cell unlocked intentionally, as when he's recaptured, Negan tells Daryl he failed.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: This trope is referred to as an "Orange situation" by the Saviors, when a member tries to bail.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The "Easy Street" song is looped by Dwight to torture Daryl with, to rub it in that Daryl is most certainly not on easy street.
- Villains Out Shopping: Dwight makes himself a sandwich in the opening scene and we sometimes see various Saviors engaged in non-evil, day-to-day activities throughout the episode.
- Visual Pun: A very cruel example. The Saviors play music with lyrics reflecting Daryl's current situation to mock him.
- We Can Rule Together: Negan offers Daryl a chance to join the Saviors since he admires his spirit and resilience. When Daryl refuses the first time, Negan tries to sweeten the deal and strongly implies that he can become one of his top lieutenants if he submits.
