The Walking Dead | Who Did Negan Kill?

Fan reaction to the season six finale typically fell into one of two categories; hatred or extreme hatred. Seriously, I talk with a lot of fans and read plenty of review sites and I can’t name a single person that didn’t hate what they did. For reasons I can’t describe, it felt like a betrayal. We knew Negan was at the conclusion of this season and we were pumped. The biggest baddie in The Walking Dead universe would be revealed, and arguably the most heart-wrenching moment of the source material would get its screen time. We got the baddie, but then the proverbial carpet was ripped from underneath us.

Now, I get it. As a showrunner you need to find intriguing ways to keep people coming back. But is TWD really scrounging around for an audience? Not hardly. There was no need to make this a cliff-hanger. Audiences would return no matter what. In fact, depending on who was killed, perhaps more people become interested if they see the show isn’t scared to kill of major characters. Be that as it may, they left us hanging. I have my own resentment-driven theories about why they did that. Who’s to say they even knew who they were going to kill? Suppose that cliffhanger was to gauge audience reaction and THEN decide who they would kill! But I digress. It was the talk of the summer, so with just a couple days now until the season seven premiere, let’s talk about it some more.

My Original Theory

In my review of the season six finale I laid out my initial guess on who ate Lucille. When Negan finally picks he says, “Anybody moves anybody says anything cut the boys other eye out and feed it to his father.” So from that it’s not Carl or (obviously) Rick. But watch his body language closely. Facing the victim, he motions to his right when he says “the boy”, and then it seems he barely motions to his left when he says “his father”. So as he’s facing them, the victim would appear to be between Rick and Carl. Only Sasha and Aaron were between them. I immediately dismissed Aaron because he’s perhaps the least interesting or beloved character in that lineup, and if it were him I would be hate-watching for quite a while at the weakness of that choice. Sasha was my original guess. I also said that this murder would cause Abraham to go nuts. My hypothesis includes two deaths in this scene; Sasha, followed by a rage-induced Abraham attacking Negan, at which point Negan kills Abraham as well.

That was my theory, until this trailer dropped a week ago. Sasha was to Rick’s immediate left, and there isn’t a splat of blood on his left side. The heavy splatter on his right cheek makes it pretty clear that my original theory is debunked. Which stinks, because two deaths there would’ve been the last thing anyone was expecting. So, back to the drawing board

It’s Glenn Because…

Without question the most popular pick all summer has been Glenn. The primary reason is because Glenn is who is killed at this moment in the comics. Having just recently read the comics myself, I will also add that Negan’s dialogue in this scene is nearly word for word pulled from the comics. Minus the massive amounts of cursing. Glenn also had two close-calls in season six, so this is almost like a “third times a charm” kind of thing. And, parts of the season six finale were what appears to be shots from Glenn’s perspective, and the shots of Negan bringing down Lucille were from the victims perspective. However, Glenn is all the way at the end of the line. That blood-splatter on Rick’s face looked like it was from someone much closer. This, and the huge predictability are the primary reasons I don’t think it’s Glenn.

It’s Maggie Because…

Season six might have been the most comic-loyal season thus far on the show. Aside from the large attack from the wolves, and Morgan and Carol’s philosophical disputes, most other events were pulled directly from the comics or had only slight revisions. Maggie is a pick for the opposite reasons that Glenn is a pick. With everything so true to form, it could be a major twist to kill Maggie as opposed to Glenn. She’s also immediately to Rick’s right, so the blood-splatter makes sense. But, this wouldn’t be just a twist. It would be a major deviation in character for Negan to kill a woman like this. A pregnant woman, at that. Plus, they’re clearly setting Maggie up to hold some authority in the future, which would be true to the comics. I don’t think it’s Maggie. But, here’s a pretty darn good theory arguing for her.

It’s Abraham Because…

This was the second most popular pick over the summer and has really gained some steam with the latest trailers for season seven. Abraham has clearly come into that, “I’m comfortable now” zone we see so many characters experience before they’re quickly offed. He is one of Rick’s most reliable survivors. You might say he’s Rick’s “right hand man”. He is close enough to Rick for the blood-splatter to make sense. It was around this time in the comics that he was killed. From Negan’s perspective it makes sense to kill the most threatening member of the group, and Abraham certainly fits that bill with having puffed up his chest when Negan came to him, and with Daryl very injured. Abraham is my current pick. Which, if true, means I would’ve been half correct in my prediction J

It’s Daryl Because…

For the last three or four seasons the mantra among fans has been, “If Daryl dies, we riot.” Cut the jokes. If Daryl dies, you’ll bawl your eyes out. Maybe more than for any other character. But you’ll tune in the following week. Shoot, the show might gain more viewers that it has lost along the way if people see they will actually kill a much beloved, major character. In the sneak peak linked above, we also see Daryl’s shawl on the ground near the blood. That’s an argument for Daryl, but it’s completely clean. That thing would be a mess. Daryl is already injured, so from Negan’s view that may not be an intimidating kill. Daryl is also a bit far from Rick for that blood-splatter to show so heavily on his cheek. I don’t think it’s Daryl, but here’s an interesting video arguing for him.

It’s Rosita Because…

Nope. It’s not Rosita. Lamest pick. Ever. Makes no sense from Negan’s view, it would anger fans because it’s somewhat meaningless. Nope.

It’s Michonne because…

Actually, I have heard almost zero arguments for it being Michonne. Maybe that means a successful misdirection campaign, but I don’t think so. I know her and Rick are a brand new item, but there hasn’t been much other closure or progression with her character to make me think they’re done with her. It just wouldn’t make much sense aside from being a big loss for Rick. Almost anyone else makes more sense in the story and given what we know from the scene itself. I mean, just type in “Negan kills “ into YouTube and Michonne is not even listed. But, here is just about the only argument I’ve seen for her.

The Big Secret

What I’m about to describe is a theory, or what many have called the description of the leaked script, on what happened. Given all the information from trailers and the season six finale, it would make sense. So, read on at your own risk. Potential spoilers here…

The big rumor going around spoiler threads and theory discussions is that Negan kills two people. And also forces Rick to cut Carl’s arm off. The first to get the bat is Abraham. He is the one who was “taking it like a champ”. Afterward he taunts the group while Daryl is steaming inside. He makes a move toward Negan. Dwight grabs him and puts him back in line. Negan, having already threatened to “put that s%*^ down”, followed through on that threat and takes the bat to Glenn. It is after this when Rick makes the threat on the trailer to kill him one day. Seeing he hasn’t yet neutered Rick, Negan takes him away to try and accomplish that. He doesn’t, and brings him back to the group. Negan takes Carl and draws a dashed line on his arm. He tells the saviors to place a gun to the heads of everyone else in his group, then commands Rick to chop of Carl’s arm off. After a count to three, Rick begins his swing, but Negan stops him. Rick has now been humiliated and neutered.

Like I said, this is the primary theory that everyone is giving the most credence to, and it’s one that has only surfaced in the last few weeks. Some are even saying they have gotten these details from the script itself. I feel like it’s a pretty solid theory. It’s a mix of comic material with the show’s own twist. It makes sense with everything we’ve been shown so far.

We’ll all find out very soon. Until then, I’d love to hear your own theories, or tell me what I’m missing from these above!