Patience is not the internet’s strong suit, hence why social media blew up both when Glenn’s fate was left up in the air and Negan’s victim wasn’t revealed during The Walking Dead‘s sixth season. While that sort of storytelling may be frustrating for fans, what about the members of the cast?
In a new interview, Jeffrey Dean Morgan – who plays Negan – reveals that despite not being told who the villain killed when the finale was shot, he actually didn’t realize that the episode would end with a cliffhanger. In fact, the actor didn’t even find out the victim’s identity until he read the script for The Walking Dead‘s season seven premiere.
“It surprised me how upset people were. I think it kind of shocked all of us, frankly, that people were so upset. Look, it’s storytelling at its best, and from the beginning of time there’s been cliffhangers. And by the way, I didn’t even know it was going to end in a cliffhanger. I didn’t know that, you know? The way that we shot it last year, my feeling was they just didn’t want to see us actors see the crushing blows of who was at the end of Lucille, so they were going to shoot that separately, and we would see it at the finale. It turns out exactly what I shot is exactly how it ended.”
As for how Morgan feels about the decision to leave fans of The Walking Dead waiting for an entire summer to learn who met Lucille at Negan’s hands, he added:
“I liked it. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly understand the audience being pissed for a day or two, but to dwell on it as much as they have, I think it’s good for one. I think by the time October rolls around all those people who are like, “I’m never watching Walking Dead again. I feel cheated,” they’re going to be the first ones lined up in front of their television. And I’ll say this, you have to be careful what you wish for, audience, because you’re going to get those answers answered and more, and you’re probably not going to be happy with it.”
It’s hard to argue with the actor’s points here, as it really is tough to imagine anyone who watched that finale not wanting to tune in out of sheer curiosity regardless of how mad the final scene made them. Throw in the fact that Negan may very well be The Walking Dead‘s most exciting villain to date, and fans really should be able to forgive the series for that ending.
