If 'The Walking Dead' director had his way in Season 8, Alpha's Season 10 death may never have happened
Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is one of the most polarizing characters on 'The Walking Dead'. He's been a villain, a hero, and everything in between but love him or hate him, you know the show wouldn't be the same without him.
In 'The Walking Dead' Season 10, Negan scored a huge win for The Coalition by infiltrating the Whisperers and taking out their leader Alpha (Samantha Morton). But if 'TWD' director and executive producer Greg Nicotero had his way, Negan might not have survived the Season 8 finale.
"I said to Scott Gimple, the showrunner, 'I think Maggie should shoot him. I think Maggie should either kill Negan or shoot Negan or do something because she's right there,'" Nicotero told Collider's The Witching Hour. "I said, 'It's really a hard moment to shoot knowing that Maggie collapses to her knees because Rick spares Negan's life.' I sort of pitched this idea to Gimple, 'Why doesn't Maggie shoot him? Why doesn’t Maggie kill him?' And obviously, Negan's character had more of a journey, there was a lot more going on."
While there are quite a few fans who do think Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) ought to have killed Negan long back, it's undeniable that without Negan, Alpha might never have been killed. In the comics, Negan is one of the few characters who survive to the very end and we have to admit that the show is probably better with him than it would be without Negan throwing a wrench into everyone's plans.
During the interview, Nicotero also addressed criticism aimed at the Season 8 premiere episode 'Mercy', where Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Maggie and Kingdom leader King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), launched a joint attack on the Sanctuary, Negan's base. "I kept saying, 'Can Negan get shot in the leg? Can he get shot in the arm?' You have a hundred people there, and none of them actually shot anybody," Nicotero said.
"Even Jeffrey was like, 'Come on, man! Give me a bullet hole in the shoulder or in the leg, or something!' I was like, 'I would love to shoot you.' Andy was like, 'Can I just shoot him?' I'm like, 'Yeah, we should!"
He continued, "When we were shooting that episode, I went, 'I know I'm gonna hear about it [online]. I'm gonna hear about a hundred people outside the Sanctuary, not one of them actually hit anybody.' And we did."
Do you think Negan should have been killed in the Season 8 finale? What other major changes do you think would have happened if Negan was killed off early on? Let us know in the comments.
Maggie and Negan will meet again in 'The Walking Dead' Season 10 finale that will be arriving on AMC sometime in the fall of 2020.