Fans of The Walking Dead comic books expected Glenn to meet his maker in the show’s season 7 premiere, especially as that’s exactly how things played out in the source material. The death of Abraham, however, came totally out of the blue, despite the fact he was killed off a full three issues before Glenn’s demise.
While the decision to kill Abraham must have been made during season 6, The Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero has now revealed that a conversation he had with Michael Cudlitz led to the actor believing he’d be around in the series for much longer.
“Michael was sitting in my office and he was saying, ‘Man, I love working on this f—ing show, it’s the greatest job I’ve ever had!’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re great, you’re not going anywhere!'”
Well, that’s got to hurt. It’s obviously worth noting that Cudlitz would have been given a fair bit of notice about his character’s death, but this just highlights the unpredictable nature of The Walking Dead and the fact that pretty much not a single member of the cast can expect any sort of real job security.
While Abraham has definitely been missed since Negan introduced him to Lucille, his death was a smart move as it made fans think Glenn was safe and ensured that his brutal murder was as shocking and harrowing as possible. Abraham dying has also left Rosita in a vastly more interesting place as she seeks revenge.
Season 7 of The Walking Dead is still ongoing and with Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors gearing up for war against Negan’s Saviors, chances are that more casualties are on the way over the next few weeks. And if what we’ve seen so far has taught us anything, it’s that no one on this show is safe.
