The Walking Dead season 7 episode 2 review: A necessary breather

At one stage in the follow-up to last week's distressing opener of The Walking Dead season 7, a choir can be heard singing Bob Dylan song "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright." It's a tune primarily focused on the act of saying goodbye but an altogether different one to the farewell we were forced to unceremoniously bid poor Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) last week.

This, courtesy of Melissa McBride's character Carol, was one of the themes present in the series' latest episode, titled 'The Well.' Another, refreshingly, was of hope. In doing so, this episode - perhaps divisively - reneges somewhat on the intent it stated via the scenes deemed too violent for TV in the first; 'The Well' doesn't so much put the brakes on as grind the vehicle to a complete halt.

As far as pit stops go, however, this was a mandatory one. Step forward, King Ezekiel. Much has been teased about the dreadlocked monarch of new faction The Kingdom, two members of whom we saw Morgan (Lennie Hames) and an injured Carol (Melissa McBride) encounter in the season 6 finale - and yet he lives up to every expectation placed upon him.

We meet the larger-than-life creation in the episode's pre-credit sequence and, having spent all week shellshocked from Negan's skull-bashing antics, these early scenes will place a firm grin on your face. That's if you're not already marveling at the skillful use of CGI and animatronics used by the show's crew to bring his pet tiger to life.

In these scene The Walking Dead has never felt more of a comic book come to life, the show's established popularity clearly freeing up the writing team to basically have a hard-earned relax. As Morgan - now one cloak away from being a Jedi master - wheels Carol towards Ezekiel's throne, you'll be forgiven for feeling as if you've happened upon a medieval adventure, Bear McCreary's adventurous score providing the final puzzle piece. "I don't know what's going in the most wonderful way," Carol exclaims as Ezekiel brands her a "fair maiden" and spouts sentences such as: "Your words leave me pitch-kettled." We may have lost a fan favourite in Glenn, but we've sure gained one in The Kingdom's ruler.

McBride is relishing the emotional reprieve - well, for the most part anyway. Taking a break from displaying anguish, sadness and all round negativity, it's a joy to sit back and watch her stare in awe at not simply Ezekiel's theatricality, but just how readily Morgan buys into what she believes is nothing more than a circus act. Despite her smiles, Carol remains a pessimist and refuses to buy into the fairytale the King's feeding his people - which is just as well; Ezekiel doesn't buy Carol's sweet and innocent act either. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter," he tells her in a candid moment whereby - in an extended sequence between the two - he reveals his backstory (unsurprisingly, he had a stint as a community theatre actor pre-apocalypse) and seems to earn Carol's respect in the process. And who knows, maybe even a little more. He could just be her saviour.

Speaking of which, members of Negan's clan rear their head having established a deal with the Kingdommers. Just like the Hilltop Colony - and now our group led by Rick (Andrew Lincoln) - they're at Negan's beck-and-call, managing to stay on his good side by their weekly providing of eight skinned pigs.

Ezekiel, knowing better than to wage war with these folk, instead opts for civil disobedience. Before handing the slaughtered animals over, his minions fatten them up with dead walkers. It'lll be intriguing to see how this subtle reveal plays out over the coming weeks but we're expecting many moments of Negan almost eating infected pig. Let's just pray Daryl stays as far away from the Saviour's dinner table as he possibly can.

The Walking Dead has established itself as a show content to drop plots from episode to episode in a bid to both embrace the world-expanding story and flesh out characters; it's this reason why deaths hit as hard as they do. Carol may not be a character to everyone's tastes - and true enough, her inability to sit back and see The Kingdom as a solid prospect does grate at times; it's a good job then that McBride, easily one of the series' biggest talents, remains a beguiling screen presence.

While not the riveting watch many expected, this episode was a welcome and mandatory breather, especially ahead of whatever awful acts we'll see Negan commit in future outings. As the Ezekiel phrase goes: "Drink from the well. Replenish the well." Who are we to ignore words spoken by a character capable of taming a tiger?

You can read our review of the season 7 premiere - 'The Day Will Come When You Won't Be' - here. The Walking Dead continues in the UK every Monday at 9pm on FOX.