# The Day Will Come When You Won't Be
"The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" is the first episode of the seventh season of AMC's television series *The Walking Dead*, and the 84th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 9:00 PM ET/PT, was written by Scott Gimple, and was directed by Greg Nicotero.[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) • [2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be) The episode resolves the cliffhanger of the season 6 finale, in which Rick's group knelt helplessly before the villain Negan, and it runs 46 minutes with a TV-MA rating.[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series and position | Season 7 premiere, episode #701, 84th overall, of AMC's *The Walking Dead*[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) • [2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be) |
| First air date | Sunday, October 23, 2016, 9:00 PM–10:06 PM ET/PT on AMC[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) |
| Credits | Written by Scott Gimple; directed by Greg Nicotero[2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be) |
| Runtime and rating | 46 minutes; TV-MA[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) |
| Title origin | Dr. Jenner's line "The day will come when you won't be" from the season 1 finale "TS-19" (2010)[4](https://comicbook.com/the-walking-dead/news/where-the-walking-dead-season-7-premiere-got-its-name/) |
| Critical score | 67% on Rotten Tomatoes[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead/s07/e01) |
| Audience rating | 9.2/10 on IMDb from about 45,000 votes[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) |
## Title and meaning
The title is a direct callback to the season 1 finale, "TS-19", which aired on December 5, 2010. In that episode, CDC scientist Dr. Edwin Jenner ([Noah Emmerich](https://www.edgepedia.org/noah-emmerich)) traps Rick and the group in the control room of the CDC; after Rick tells Jenner "I'm grateful," Jenner replies, "The day will come when you won't be."[4](https://comicbook.com/the-walking-dead/news/where-the-walking-dead-season-7-premiere-got-its-name/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) The episode's title frames the brutal events of the premiere as the fulfillment of that warning spoken six years earlier in the series.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/)
## Plot
The episode picks up at the moment the sixth season ended: Rick's group kneeling before Negan, who wields a baseball bat named Lucille. AMC's synopsis stated that Negan's actions "will haunt those who survive forever," and that he brutally convinces the survivors to live under his rules with a deadly example of what happens if they refuse.[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/)
Negan plays a game of "eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to choose a victim, selecting [Abraham Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/abraham-ford), whom he beats to death with Lucille after a final defiant line. When Daryl attacks Negan, Negan kills Glenn as punishment.[2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be) Rick is then forced toward submission, including being ordered to cut off Carl's arm before Negan stops him, and is taken on a drive with Negan.[2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be)
According to the fan-maintained Walking Dead Wiki, this was the first season premiere of the series to feature the death of a main character.[2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be)
## Reception
The episode holds a 67% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critics' consensus reads that the flashback-laden episode "is slow to deliver the payoff from last season's finale -- but ultimately delivers with sadistic acts of gut-wrenching violence that will push Walking Dead fans to their limit."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead/s07/e01)
Critics singled out Greg Nicotero and his effects team's work on the deaths, especially the drawn-out beating of Glenn. NPR's Eric Deggans called the episode "torture porn (and Totinos commercials) followed by grief porn, but I'm not going to lie and say it wasn't effective."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead/s07/e01) IMDb users rated the episode 9.2/10 from about 45,000 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/)
## By the numbers
The quantitative record for the episode is compact. It runs 46 minutes and is rated TV-MA.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) Its Rotten Tomatoes critics score is 67%, and its IMDb user rating is 9.2/10 from roughly 45,000 votes.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead/s07/e01) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) Going into the broadcast, AMC billed *The Walking Dead* as the #1 show in all of television among adults 18-49 and television's most watched drama for that demographic.[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/)
## Music and production notes
The episode's soundtrack includes the uncredited song "Take It All," performed by Ruelle.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/) The episode title and synopsis were released by AMC ahead of the premiere.[4](https://comicbook.com/the-walking-dead/news/where-the-walking-dead-season-7-premiere-got-its-name/)
## Context in the series
The series is based on the comic book written by [Robert Kirkman](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-kirkman) and published by [Image Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/image-comics), and at the time of the premiere starred [Andrew Lincoln](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-lincoln) (Rick), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Norman Reedus (Daryl), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Danai Gurira (Michonne), Chandler Riggs (Carl), Melissa McBride (Carol), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha), and Lennie James (Morgan).[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) The premiere's deaths of Abraham and Glenn, both main characters, set the terms of the seventh season, in which the group lives fractured under Negan's rules.[1](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/) • [2](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be)
## References
1. [AMC press release, The Walking Dead season 7 premiere listings, TheFutonCritic.com](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20161014amc01/)
2. [The Day Will Come When You Won't Be, Walking Dead Wiki](https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Day_Will_Come_When_You_Won't_Be)
3. ["The Walking Dead" The Day Will Come When You Won't Be (TV Episode 2016), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164772/)
4. [Where The Walking Dead Season 7 Premiere Got Its Name, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/the-walking-dead/news/where-the-walking-dead-season-7-premiere-got-its-name/)
5. [The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead/s07/e01)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Fictional worlds and series reference apparatus › Episode lists, seasons, and broadcast lifecycle › Series premieres and finales*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license