‘The Walking Dead’ Just Managed To Improve On The Comic’s Best Death – Forbes

The Walking Dead

I told you that last nights episode of The Walking Dead would be one to remember, and I like to think I was right. And I need to give a more general I told you so about how it all played out, based on a theory Ive had for months about Negans true mission with the Whisperers, and who gave him that mission.

Spoilers follow.

Last night was a death-filled episode that saw the likes of Gamma and Earl killed off, each in great, tragic sequences that would have led any other episode. But The Walking Dead wasnt done, and saved its best for last.

That would be Negan killing Alpha after making it seem like he was going to offer up Lydia to her. And while this echoes what I would argue is one of the best deaths from the original comic, I would argue that the show dramatically improved it with the changes it made.

Because, of course, it wasnt just Negan deciding on his own. In the comic, Negan hears about how Alpha let Lydia be abused by other Whisperers and that seems to be the last straw. He kills her, then brings her head back to Rick.

The show changed that.

Instead, we learn that this has been a long-term plan set in motion by Carol. I started talking about this idea back in October when it was introduced as a mystery that we didnt know who had freed Negan from prison. Why keep that a secret unless the answer was important? And even back then, I speculated that it was Carol who let him out, and she essentially gave him this message infiltrate the Whisperers, bring me Alphas head, and earn your place with us for good.

This is a brilliant bit of writing because it completes multiple arcs.

1. Carol gets her revenge on Alpha not directly, but indirectly through Negan. This satisfies both her need for vengeance for Henry, but also letting Negan have his hugely important moment from the comics.

2. This is a culmination of a years-long arc for Negan himself, as its the moment we learn that yes, hes actually reformed and not simply back to his old tricks. When you think back, Negan did very little to actually help the Whisperers (we see him killing a dying Alexandrian instead of turning him this episode). The worst thing he did was finger Gamma as the traitor, but I guess the way he saw it, she wasnt one of them. And now, while he may not be fully embraced by Alexandria, the days of Prisoner Negan are certainly likely to be over.

The Walking Dead

I do think Carols final question was a good one: What took you so long?

Im not 100% convinced that Negan was always on board with Carols plan, and may have toyed with the idea of sticking it out with the Whisperers in order to stay on the winning side. Otherwise, why wouldnt Negan have killed Alpha during other moments of isolation (ie. having sex in the woods?). It seems like he could have easily had more than one opportunity, so perhaps he wasnt fully sold on the concept. But in the end, this was the only way this was going to go, and even if I called it almost six months ago when Negan was first released, I am glad I was right, because this was a perfect way to merge comic and show storylines.

What happens now?

There are only four episodes left in the season and presumably, the entire Whisperer War. Leadership now clearly falls to Beta, but the show has additional concerns to deal with like the departure of Michonne (who hasnt shown up once in 10B yet) and the arrival of Maggie.So theres a lot still to come, including more potential deaths past what we saw tonight, if again, we follow the comics.

But even past the Negan/Alpha moment, yesterdays episode was simply stellar, and one of the best in series history. The Angela Kang era strikes again, and at this rate, I am perfectly fine with the show continuing on forever like AMC seems to want.

Follow meon Twitter,FacebookandInstagram. Pick up my new sci-fi novelHerokiller, and read my first series,The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also onaudiobook.

Link:
'The Walking Dead' Just Managed To Improve On The Comic's Best Death - Forbes