*Warning: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk*

Season seven of AMC’s The Walking Dead was often criticized for a number of things — too much graphic violence in the premiere, lack of action, too many filler episodes, etc. However, most of this was necessary in setting up what has the potential to be the best story arc in the show’s history. Let’s take a look back at the season.

Season seven started out by addressing arguably the show’s biggest cliffhanger coming off of season six — who did Negan, the new big bad, kill? He ultimately ended up picking Abraham, but Daryl retaliating led to Glenn following his comic book counterpart and getting his head bashed in as well. The death of two of his most trusted allies enraged Rick enough to threaten to kill Negan eventually (“not today, not tomorrow…”), but that started the grueling process of Negan breaking Rick. This included Negan almost forcing Rick to cut off his own son’s hand and taking Daryl as collateral to potentially flip him to the Saviors’ side.

While the premiere was sad and utterly heartbreaking, it was necessary in setting the tone for the first half of the season. While Rick and the gang faced groups like Woodbury and Terminus in the past, they don’t remotely compare to what the Saviors are capable of.

Meanwhile, the majority of the first half of the season stayed in a single setting each episode, giving off a vibe that moved slowly, much to many fans’ displeasure. While I get that some of this was necessary to set the tone at each settlement, it wouldn’t have hurt to have a secondary plot going on to keep the audience’s attention and have something else developing in the background.

So many new groups were introduced in this season, including the Kingdom, Oceanside and the Scavengers (AKA the Trash People), as well as the need to further develop the Hilltop and Saviors, who were each introduced toward the end of season six. Don’t get me wrong, King Ezekiel is a great character ripped straight out of the comics and, paired with his tiger, Shiva, is a dynamic we have never seen before. However, Oceanside and the Scavengers were both groups that weren’t present in the comics, and you could make an argument that they really weren’t necessary.

The death of two more Alexandrians came midseason. Although they were far less important characters, that, along with the Saviors attacking Aaron and kidnapping Eugene, was enough to push Rick to his boiling point and start the plan to fight. Add in that Daryl escaped the Sanctuary and the clutches of “Easy Street” with the help of Sherry and Jesus and there was more than enough reason to fight.

Overall, the first half of season seven did not move fast and was home to what is arguably the worst episode of the series, “Swear,” where Tara wound up in Oceanside after not seeing her for 10 episodes. However, this was necessary for building up tension and putting into perspective how much was at stake and why no one could live under the Saviors’ rule. With as slow as the first half of the season was, the second half was bound to be more eventful, right?

Well, yes and no. The second half started with Rick and the gang visiting both the Hilltop and the Kingdom, and while each community had members that wanted to fight, the leaders, Gregory and King Ezekiel, ultimately decided against it. This eventually led Rick to trust the Scavengers, who were introduced by kidnapping Father Gabriel and not only holding Rick, Michonne, Rosita, Tara and Aaron at gunpoint in a junkyard, but throwing Rick down a trash mountain and forcing him into a gladiator match with a spiked walker named Winslow.

Add in that these people were shady, spoke in incomplete sentences and had a leader aptly named Jadis (you know, similar to Judas, the biggest traitor in biblical history), and nothing about them remotely screamed that they were trustworthy. Yet, Rick not only trusted them to be allies, but gathered over 50 guns and gave them to the Scavengers, and even more after they raided Oceanside and took all their guns. Obviously, this would come back to bite them.

Despite what you would think, the second half often followed the first half and continuing character development and was less action-heavy. Rick and Michonne continued to build their relationship, Daryl and Maggie bonded over discussing who was at fault for Glenn’s death, Rosita and Sasha made up en route to attempting to raid the Sanctuary and kill Negan and Morgan lost his mind and started killing again after a boy whom he was a father figure to was killed.

All of this was even more build up to what was an incredible season finale, which finally delivered as the groups acted on their tension and fought each other. It opened with Sasha dying, then explaining her decision to take the death pill Eugene gave her. This was done through a series of flashbacks with not only Negan and Eugene, but with Abraham, on what was their last day together.

For whatever reason, though, they put Sasha in a coffin, and unsurprisingly, she came out as a walker and attacked Negan. Still, she went out fighting and started a barrage of more fighting for the most action-packed part of the whole season, so kudos to her for that.

What else wasn’t surprising was that Jadis and the rest of the Scavengers were revealed to be traitors and had revealed to Negan that Rick planned to fight back against the Saviors. Numbers aren’t good if they end up turning on you, and the Scavengers never gave Rick a single reason to trust them, but he chose to anyway.

Despite the Alexandrians fighting back, it was too much to overcome, as Negan and his crew took Carl with the intent to kill him right in front of Rick. Instead of Rick begging him not to, he once again threatened to kill Negan (“not today, not tomorrow…”). Then, the best part of the episode, and perhaps the whole season, came when the tiger showed up and started attacking the Saviors while Negan was winding back to use Lucille.

Shiva’s appearance startled everyone, as the Kingdom and Hilltop warriors rode into Alexandria just in time to save Carl and everyone else to force the Saviors and Scavengers out. My one complaint is, how did Shiva, a tiger, know who to attack?

Anyway, Maggie’s speech at the end of the episode was a very touching tribute to Glenn. She acknowledged that this whole story wouldn’t have been possible without Glenn rescuing Rick from the tank following the pilot episode and that ultimately kicked off a set of events that brought everyone together and gave them the strength to gear up for this fight against the Saviors. It was a good reminder of their journey so far and why they need to fight for each other and everything they have.

However, there are still plenty of unanswered questions that need to be addressed in the upcoming season. Where do the Scavengers go from here? Are they on Negan’s side or will they flip again? Is Negan onto Eugene about Sasha’s death and if so, how will he retaliate? The biggest, though, is how long “All Out War” will take place and who else will die in the process. Don’t forget about Oceanside as well. While they are almost completely irrelevant, they are still a group led by a psychopath who no longer has guns to protect her group.

Also, don’t forget about Dwight and Gregory. Both characters are hard to trust, but with his ex-wife now missing, the former has no reason to stay loyal to Negan. He proved his loyalty at the end of the finale, leaving behind a wooden figure that communicated to Daryl that he was unaware of the Scavengers’ betrayal. Gregory, on the other hand, is a cowardice snake who was absent from the finale presumably because he was on his way to inform Simon and the Saviors about Maggie and Daryl. However, that wasn’t proven, but it will be interesting to see what develops along those fronts with Maggie likely soon to strip Gregory of his leadership at the Hilltop.

While season seven moved slowly and lost the show many of its viewers in the process, it set up what could end up being the best story arc in The Walking Dead’s history in “All Out War.” The pressure will now be on the show to deliver in season eight and build off the momentum from the season seven finale.