What will happen on 'The Walking Dead' season 7, episode 7?

Culture

As exciting as it was to follow Tara around for a 70-minute episode, we'd sure like The Walking Dead to return to some semblance of a plot with two episodes remaining before season seven's midseason hiatus. There's more than a few storylines the show needs to revisit, but the one we're most concerned about is Carl and Jesus hitching a ride to Negan's community, the Sanctuary. 

In the comics, that's actually the first time we get to see the Sanctuary — though the show deviated a bit since Daryl, a non-comic book character, is a prisoner at the community. But it still looks like The Walking Dead TV series will touch on Negan and Carl's twisted mentor-mentee relationship from the comics, which blossoms during Carl's trip to the Sanctuary. In other words, it's something we can't wait to see on-screen. 

Thankfully, it looks like the seventh episode of season seven, "Sing Me a Song," will return to the Sanctuary. The delightfully vague synopsis AMC provided for the episode says as much: "A further peak into the Sanctuary" — great. 

Unlike the other episodes in season seven, however, "Sing Me a Song" may take place in more than one setting. The teaser trailer for the next episode also gives us a glimpse of Rick and Aaron — presumably, out on the road somewhere. While Rick hasn't explicitly stated on screen that he plans to rebel against Negan and the Saviors, it feels like a foregone conclusion that they will ultimately come to blows. 

We also get a look at Michonne in a sneak peak for the new episode, casually whistling on a road as two zombies are attracted to the sound. It brought flashes of Michonne using walkers as her own personal bodyguards dating back to her entrance in the series — and perhaps that's what she plans on doing here. But no; she makes quick work of them with her katana, making the scene somewhat pointless in and of itself. 

Entertainment Weekly has dubbed it as a subtle homage to Omar from The Wire, and we'd like to accept that theory. It's better than Michonne pointlessly attracting the attention of zombies just to cut their heads off, though in any case, it's a pretty vague preview for next week's episode. 

Instead — fingers crossed — perhaps it's because "Sing Me a Song" is such a compelling episode that AMC doesn't want to give anything away. OK, this season (and the past few seasons of the show, frankly) hasn't given us much hope, but if fans are still watching the series that treats them like crap, we have to look forward to the coming weeks with some manner of enthusiasm. 

The Walking Dead season seven, episode seven airs on AMC on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 9 p.m. Eastern.