Earlier this year, it was announced that Supernatural‘s Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast as The Walking Dead‘s newest big bad Negan and for the past several episodes, we’ve been teased about the character’s appearance. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln called Negan’s introduction “the greatest entrance ever written.” With Negan set to make his appearance in this weekend’s season finale, we thought we’d take a look at what this means for your favorite characters.
Warning this article contains spoilers from both the AMC series and The Walking Dead comic books.
Glenn
As the leader of the Saviors, Negan maintains his control over the group using barbaric violence and a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat named Lucile (Negan calls his bat “the only bitch I’ve ever loved”). When Negan is first introduced in the comics, he warns Rick’s group “I know I HAD to make a pretty fucking strong first impression” and Negan plays a game of Eenie Meenie Miney Mo where Glenn is the unfortunate winner.
Needless to say, Negan’s little game does indeed make a pretty fucking strong first impression, but it’s not clear if the show will follow the same plot as the comics. On an episode of @Midnight, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman dropped a spoiler about Glenn’s fate, but it’s possible Kirkman was either joking or just referencing what happened in the comics.
Maggie
Both Glenn and Maggie have had their share of close calls this season, but their luck might soon run out. A member of Maggie’s family has died in each of the past two seasons, so Maggie’s days could be numbered as well despite her stylish new mom haircut. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, actress Lauren Cohan dropped a hint about the season finale:
It’s the biggest finale I’ve ever seen in television. In any episode of TV, maybe barring the last episode of the Sopranos, but that’s a different kind of fish.”
Daryl
The penultimate episode of the season ended with the words, “You’ll be alright,” which brought fans a tiny sliver of hope. Although fans have hung on to the belief that Daryl survived the gunshot, in an interview with CNN, actor Norman Reedus warned that his character isn’t out of the woods yet:
You should be very worried about Daryl. At the end of the episode, there’s a comment that Dwight makes [“You’ll be alright”] — and we’re really good about throwing you off base. That comment might not even be to Daryl. It could be to Rosita — or to anybody there. Or it could be to something that some scuffle that happens directly afterward. Do you trust that guy? Anyone automatically assuming that’s the obvious play is trusting words that come out of that guy’s mouth and we’re really good at throwing you for a loop. So… food for thought.
Carol
Let’s face it, Rick’s group is in this mess because of Carol. She was the one who got captured, which intensified relations with the Saviors, and she was the one who decided to wander out of camp, endangering the lives of those who went after her (and she had to know someone would come after her). If anyone from the group is going to die, Carol would make the most sense.
