Norman Reedus Hated The Walking Dead Making Negan The New Alpha

Alpha is dead, long live Alpha? Well, kind of. Negan killed off the Whisperer queen on The Walking Dead season 10 a couple of weeks ago, as part of his secret deal with Carol. However, thanks to his deep undercover work before that, the former Savior was chosen by a batch of the skin-mask-wearing villains as their new leader, with Negan enjoying having power once again for a hot minute there.

Reflecting on this development in the Talking Dead episode that aired after season 10×14 “Look at the Flowers,” star Jeffrey Dean Morgan revealed that he loved playing at being Alpha, though co-star and scene partner Norman Reedus definitely did not, which only increased his fun.

“I loved it, Norman hated it, which made me like it more,” Morgan admitted. “It was great. It just kind of pivoted that whole scene, and I think when Negan realizes what’s going on, he absolutely becomes gleeful, which was fun because I had a crossbow pointed at my face the whole episode. So to have that whole moment of tables turning was great.”

Like Morgan says, things didn’t initially look good for Negan as Carol went back on their agreement, leaving him at the mercy of Daryl’s crossbow. However, when a trio of Whisperers came by, the situation flipped and suddenly he was the one in charge, with Daryl’s fate looking sketchy. It’s unclear exactly why Reedus hated the sequence, but it seems he was finely tuned with his character’s opinions.

Of course, Negan becoming the next Alpha was ultimately unveiled as a ruse, as Negan and Daryl soon flipped the script and caught the Whisperers by surprise, with the ex-villain seemingly proving his loyalty once and for all. The duo then went on to have what was almost a heart-to-heart. Reedus might’ve disliked parts of their partnership, but fans loved everything about the Negan/Daryl team-up.

The Walking Dead season 10 concludes for now this Sunday on AMC with episode 10×15 “The Tower.” The penultimate installment acts as an impromptu finale, before the actual conclusion airs sometime later this year.