The most menacing villain in the history of “The Walking Dead” is making the leap from the pages of the comic book to your television. Negan – leader of a brutal group known as The Saviors – has long been speculated to join the cast and now AMC has found their man in Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Which is probably bad news for Glenn (Steven Yeun).
THR reports Morgan will first appear as a guest star before being promoted to series regular for Season Seven. Morgan snagged the role from other contender including Matt Dillon, Garret Dillahunt, and Timothy Olyphant. But the arrival of Negan could show which way the wind is blowing for Glenn, who is currently stuck in a Schrödinger's Cat scenario.
WARNING: “THE WALKING DEAD” SPOILERS AND SPECULATION BEYOND THIS POINT!
In the comic, Negan first appeared in the 100th issue and wasted no time proving he was a vicious dictator. Within moments of apprehending Rick”s group, The Saviors had declared that everything in the Alexandria Safe-Zone now belonged to them. To get the point across, Negan chose one of Rick”s group to beat to death with Lucille, a baseball bat covered in barbed wire. That victim? Glenn. It was a defining moment in the comic, but one fans thought would never come to pass now that Nicholas had screwed everything up. But perhaps not…
The last we saw of Glenn, the zombie horde was taking a chunk out of him. But intestines don”t normally come out of one”s chest cavity, leaving ambiguity about exactly who the walkers are snacking on. We know The Saviors are heavily armed and able to handle themselves in a fight. What if Glenn didn”t have to miraculously crawl under the dumpster and/or develop adamantium skin? What if Negan”s men saved him?
AMC has played it fast and loose with “The Walking Dead” plot lines. As of this writing, Rick still has his arm and Carl still has his eye. What if instead of Carl sneaking into The Saviors camp after Glenn”s untimely demise, it was GLENN who found himself in Negan”s tender care? Audiences would still get a tour of The Saviors/Wolves living arrangements and be introduced to Negan”s strange brand of merciless honor, but it would streamline the story for television.
We know Glenn will be back in one form or another on the show. They didn”t write Maggie saying “I just want to see his face one more time” for no reason. But will Negan take Lucille to Glenn because the Alexandrians won”t play ball when it comes to paying protection fees? Or! Perhaps Glenn will live another day if Negan takes to him the way his comic book counterpart took to Carl.
If so, that could lead to a juicy and complex relationship. Despite wanting to kill Negan, comic book Carl is also his “friend,” sharing gossip and life developments with the villain. Instead of hearing about burgeoning teen sexuality, Glenn could tell his tormentor about the baby”s firsts…steps, words, etc. Come on AMC, you don”t have to kill Glenn Rhee!
As “The Walking Dead” is currently filming the Season Six finale, hopefully we won”t have to wait much longer to get some kind of resolution to Schrödinger's Glenn.