The Walking Dead spoilers: First look at aftermath of Negan’s devastating attack

RICK Grimes is in for a world of pain as the first look at the next episode of The Walking Dead shows.

After Negan's brutal assault and power play saw Glenn and Abraham savagely murdered just so the bat-wielding bully could make a point, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) has utterly given up the fight.

In the first look spoiler preview of the episode, a broken Rick tells his followers: "I'm not in charge anymore, Negan is."

After a long, long, long wait, the AMC zombie drama finally revealed the fate of the gang and who Negan's first - and second - victims are, and fans were left shocked.

While fans of the comics have always known Negan was going to be the worst threat Rick and the gang have ever faced, some fans were just not prepared for the gruesome slaughter that followed his arrival - or the vicious cruelty he inflicted on the gang.

One wrote: "Totally devastated. I'm in an emotional wreck. I can't cope. Might have to take tomorrow off to deal."

Another added: "TWD has never left me more devastated than it has tonight. I am heartbroken. Never cried so hard."

A third said: "When Negan just smacked Glenn that was it I stopped breathing and broke down crying so hard."

After seeing Abraham's skull bashed in by Negan with his bat after he tried to fight back, viewers thought the others were safe but they were wrong.

In a brutal and horrifying scene that viewers found pushed the boundaries of taste and decency for the show, Negan took a swing at Glenn and caved his skull in with his barbed-wired bat Lucille.
In an extreme close-up of the awful scene, the full extent of what Negan did to him was laid bare - with his eye popping out of his head.

Glenn's dented head and his bulging eye was shown in gory detail before his still twitching body was shown as his head was made pulp.

The violent scenes look set to haunt viewers' nightmares for a long time - and some fans of the show aren't happy with the extent the violent got to.

One wrote: "Just watched The Walking Dead and that was by far the most heartbreaking, disgusting episode ever. I never want to watch it again, my heart"

Another added: "OMG the Walking Dead was so intense/disgusting - nearly vommed"

But it was the scene where Negan forced Rick into cutting his son Carl's arm off that really brought the emotional nightmares.

Even though the brutal bat-wielder stopped an utterly broken Rick at the last second, the emotional onslaught of the episode had viewers in tears.

"Michonne speaking up and trying to convince Negan not to make Rick cut Carl's arm off will haunt me for the rest of my life," tweeted one.

"I saw Negan wrap his belt around Carl's arm and I started sobbing #TWD," said another.

In the US, the Parents Television Council has condemned the episode for its "graphic violence" and called for it to be removed from the air.

Tim Winter, the council's president, said: "Last night's season premiere of The Walking Dead was one of the most graphically violent shows we’ve ever seen on television.

“It’s not enough to ‘change the channel,’ as some people like to advocate, because cable subscribers – regardless of whether they want AMC or watch its programming – are still forced to subsidise violent content."

• The Walking Dead airs on FoxTV in the UK

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