Nothing draws the ire of The Walking Dead fans quicker than episode spoilers being revealed too soon – as any quick browse of social media after an episode premiere will demonstrate. This is understandable – by this point, fans of the show have invested in six seasons of the apocalyptic survival drama and, quite rightly, they want to enjoy the twists and turns in the tale without them first being sullied by loose-lipped viewers.
So, having given people the chance to turn their eyes away if necessary, let’s take a look at some comments actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan made to the press the day after his debut episode – the season six finale, titled Last Day On Earth – finally aired. He addressed his appearance as Negan – the leader of a rival gang of survivors, known as the Saviors – and what he knows about plans for season 7.
“I know that when Season 7 kicks off, it’s gonna kick off directly from where we left it last night; that’s about all I know as a fact at this point. But hopefully we’ll find out more about Negan as we go. I think his backstory’s gonna be pretty fascinating.”
Fascinating is an understatement, given the way in which Negan chose to make his first impression – (spoiler alert!) using a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat named Lucille against a member of the central group of survivors, led by Rick (Andrew Lincoln). The issue is, the episode ended without any indication as to which character met their demise, as the last shots switched to the perspective of Negan’s victim.
For his part, Jeffrey Dean Morgan explained that he had a very limited time before filming the scene to get to grips with the character, and the situation he was creating, but that it is all to the benefit of the evolution of the show, he says.
“I didn’t know it was going to be a cliffhanger until I watched the show – that was how it was done in my world. I don’t know if any of the cast knew how exactly it was going to end, which caused a lot of the uncertainty and emotion to be going on. That being said, in talking to Scott and Robert last night, I think their explanation [was] that that was the end of the story for that season, and that is that Rick has lost control, and there’s Negan, and Negan has all the control and I think that’s where they wanted to end the story — and it’s not about the death of that person… the death of the person is gonna kick off 7, and Season 7 will be a big part of who is on the receiving end of Lucille. I understand the fans’ frustration, I get that. That being said… I have to trust these writers and showrunners, they know what they’re doing. It’s been a show that a lot of people watch for six seasons and I believe they’ll be back to see who met Lucille and as the story continues to grow.”
The Walking Dead will return later this year with its seventh season, at which point all questions will hopefully be answered.
