When The Walking Dead was still in its promotional kick for Season 7, it was hard to find something bigger to get excited about than the introduction of Ezekiel and his surprisingly non-feral feline companion Shiva. (That whole "Who's Negan victim?" thing was a bit too downtrodden to properly label as exciting.) We've only seen Shiva on a handful of occasions since she was first introduced, but the sneak peek at the Season 7 finale below seems to indicate that viewers could soon see the tiger getting more action.
The clip above sadly doesn't feature Ezekiel fitting boxing gloves onto Shiva's paws while he gives her ringside advice, but it does kick off with a tense one-sided conversation between the King and Morgan, who is apparently still feeling the mental woes of having killed Richard most brutally a few episodes ago. Even though Morgan's got the face of someone who won't listen to sound advice, Ezekiel attempts to bring him back down from his self-loathing mountain, though whether it really worked or not is anyone's guess. (Assuming the guess is "nope.") But regardless of what Morgan does, there are several others here who are primed and ready to head out into battle, and it always helps one's confidence when a big gnarly tiger is on the same side.
No guarantees here, but if this video is showing us Shiva sauntering off to a fight to avenge the fallen, then we definitely have to see Shiva in a fight avenging the fallen, right? Isn't that Chekov's Tiger or the eighth and final rule of Tiger Club or something? Shiva getting buck on some walkers and/or human antagonists is one of the comic book moments we want the most from the live-action universe, especially given how gorgeous the tiger's CGI and animatronic blend is. The Walking Dead has had some CGI blip and blunders in the past, but Shiva is gorgeous, and I'd have to assume that the producers put the right amount of budget funds into making her first big action moment equally beautiful.
What could that moment be, though? The Kingdom soldiers are likely heading to meet up with Rick and/or Maggie, but we're not sure if they're heading to Alexandria, Hilltop or some other middle ground for some pre-attack recon. If the finale plays out with the most likely comic sequence intact, Ezekiel's squad might be hitting to road to save Team Family from some explosive havoc. And Shiva would easily come in handy there, both in taking out walkers on the way and in taking out Saviors once they've arrived. Any way it goes, the sky is the limit once The Walking Dead meets When Animals Attack.
Keep your throats nice and roar-ready for next Sunday night, when The Walking Dead's Season 7 finale hits AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET. And head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see what other new and returning shows will show their stripes in the near future.
