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This post contains spoilers for The Watch The Hills Have Thighs (2010) full movieWalking Dead Season 7, episode 7, titled "Sing Me a Song." If you missed the episode or need a refresher, check out our recap.

Okay, so I think a lot of us can admit it now – Negan is the damn worst.

Sure, he's handsome. And yes, he's charismatic. But he sucks, and now we all know just how much. The intimidation of his "wives," the bullying banter, the gas-lighting after people get upset over the bullying – it's all freaking terrible.

Whether you see that or not, the producers of the show are trying to make us have that conversation. They're trying to make him likable, while also framing him as evil incarnate. Is Negan charming, or is he the most sadistic person ever?

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Some may not be cool with that strategy because it seems non-committal, and that's totally understandable. But I'd say that it's valid. Our views of people are always shifting, and one action does not a person make. (Of course, abusers are abusers, and there's no justification for that.)

SEE ALSO: Sorry, 'Walking Dead' fans, Negan's not going anywhere

I think the producers want the viewers to be as divided in our opinions about how to handle Negan as the characters are. Once again, they want us to experience what these characters feel. (Remember when they faked us out with Glenn's almost-death?)

Whether you like this approach or not, there is one thing that fans of the comics can agree on after seeing "Sing Me a Song" – this episode was ripped directly from the pages of Robert Kirkman's graphic novels.

If you found no other joy in last night's episode aside from Father Gabriel's tremendous jab at Spencer (which was the highlight of his arc so far), you can at least admit it payed worthy homage to the comics.

The Walking Dead has differed from its namesake book in a lot of ways, so it wasn't out of the question that writers could leave certain things out of this story. I honestly wasn't sure that the showrunners would even explore Negan's forced, abusive polygamy because it was just so abhorrent to me. And I definitely didn't think I'd be rooting for a scene in which a guy takes a hot iron to the face, but there I was, begging the television to show me that.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The dialogue was very familiar to comic-readers, with a few subtle, but notable, changes. For example, after Negan defiles poor Mark's pretty face, he points out that he "pissed himself." This happens in the book, too, but the big departure was Negan commanding Daryl to clean it up.

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This brings Daryl down to a new low for the audience, and for Carl. (I think this was also significant because I believe Daryl might be on the receiving end of that iron at some point, but that's just a hunch.)

The title of the episode was a clue to just how much of the book's dialogue and plot were going to be used. Carl singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Negan is a memorable comics scene, and it played out similarly in the TV adaptation.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In the comic, however, Carl is significantly younger than actor Chandler Riggs, so all of this is more creepy and troubling. But seeing a teenager forced to sing the song his late mother used to sing to him is pretty rough.

The most impactful and ruthless way Negan abuses Carl in this particular scene of the comic is when he makes him remove the bandages covering his empty eye socket, and then mocks him for how it looks.

This played out almost verbatim in episode 707.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

There's a reason that this episode in particular needed these callbacks to the books. It wasn't to give readers that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you seen something you love adapted faithfully. And it wasn't to give us that sense of pride that we're in-the-know.

This was a device to freak us all out when Negan finally comes in contact with Judith.

Since Judith is dead in the books – and she doesn't really have any screen-time on the show aside from moments when the writers want to remind us of her existence for narrative purposes – I don't think anyone was totally prepared for that. It was uncomfortable, and it was a lot.

That's why this episode worked for me, and why I trust the greater strategy behind it. Everything the people who make The Walking Deaddo is for a purpose and for a payoff. The premiere of Season 7 was worth that painful cliffhanger, and faking Glenn's death back in Season 6 successfully gave us a glimpse into the uncertainty of living in this world.

SEE ALSO: Can we take a minute to talk about female friendships in 'The Walking Dead?'

The choice to lift dialogue from the pages of the book lulled us into a false sense of security before we saw that cringe-inducing image of Negan holding Judith on the porch, bouncing her like she was his own daughter.

Should we love to hate Negan, or hate to love him? It seems like the showrunners are trying to have it both ways, and I think it will somehow pay off in the end.

The Walking Deadairs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC

Topics The Walking Dead