Share

The Walking Dead season 8 finale: is there a future for Negan?

There is an upside: at least this Savior business, which has taken the best part of three seasons of story, is finally over and the future of the show is one of hope going into its ninth season.

Advertisement

Now that The Walking Dead season eight is officially in the books, it’s time to look forward… to season nine. Daryl bears Negan a grudge for imprisoning him in the Sanctuary but he and Rick are practically brothers.

Instead, the show plays out in similar fashion to the comics, with Rick instructing Siddiq to save Negan’s life, which he does despite the improbability of survival after losing so much blood.

On Sunday night, Rick Grimes’s war with the Saviors finally came to an end. Will Rick fight Maggie in order to keep Negan alive and in misery? Will Daryl actually turn against his “brother” Rick? After all, the episode did end with Rick and Carl walking off into the sunset together at the farm they visited pre-apocalypse.

That’s when Rick whipped out a knife and slashed Negan across the throat with one swift stroke. “As far as the other stuff with Lauren, we’re talking about that and we’ll be talking about it soon, but that is in the episode so we plan to tell that story”.

Rick and Michonne tell an injured Negan in “Wrath” that he will be evidence of civilization. And anyone who can’t live with that will pay the price, I promise you that. “They’re coming for us, unless we stand together”, he said.

Furious, she later broke the news to Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Jesus (Tom Payne).

Anyway, Rick eventually has Negan saved (still not sure how that’s possible, but okay) and everyone moves on with their lives.

After he spared Negan, Maggie had a breakdown.

As Jesus nods in agreement to Maggie’s plan Daryl emerges from the shadows of the room and agrees to strengthen The Hilltop first and wait for the right moment. But Rick and Michonne, Rick was wrong to do what he did.

Though it was clear to everyone that Dwight didn’t voluntarily lead the survivors into Negan’s trap, not all of them were ready to fully forgive him for past transgressions. While Tara might not have forgiven Dwight for killing Denise, she’s let go.

The decision to allow Negan to live was arguably a smart choice for the series for a number of reasons, but mainly because the death of Carl served as a massive adjustment from the comic books and killing Negan instead of putting him in a cell would have been another huge shift away from the original source material. He went back to their old meeting spot where he found another letter from her with with the word “Honeymoon” on it and an infinity symbol. That Georgie bartered for music suggests the new Walking Dead may not only be calmer and more expansive in its view of the world, but also more strategic and more cultured. In a season fraught with wheeling and dealing, it only seems appropriate that this episode should focus on the final decisions of the characters, which are met with different reactions and ominous foreshadowing.

The Walking Dead ” s season opened with an Islamic hadith, with calls for mercy. If Rick can be bumped off, then so could anyone else, at any time.

Morgan went to see Jadis and invite her to go live with Rick, which she happily agreed to. “Carl didn’t know a damn thing”.

“It was there simply because it has everything to do with Morgan’s story, and those exchanges he has in that scene really do affect him deeply and play out into the entire season of the show”, said Gimple.

There’s something nearly universally true about how the anticipation for a big payoff will inevitably leave one disappointed. For my money, season 4’s The Grove featuring Carol, Tyreese and those two extremely creepy children who (spoiler) end up dead is about as good as the show gets.

Advertisement

But despite his best efforts, James says, “although Morgan is determined to continue his life of solitude, you can see that he’s still conflicted”.

The Walking Dead maggie rick grimes