The Walking Dead has always been known for taking brutality to the next level. But when Glenn (Steven Yeun) was horrifically murdered by Negan after getting his skull bashed in with a barbed-wire covered baseball bat, many viewers turned away from the series. Even star Andrew Lincoln (Rick) thinks the scene "might have over-egged the omelette."
From "Look at the Flowers" to the Governor's slaughter of Hershel, every season of The Walking Dead is packed with shocking scenes. However, it's possible for a scene to go too far. For The Walking Dead, this scene was undoubtedly the murder of Gleen and Abraham in the season 7 premiere, "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be."
This scene was so much heavier than the other deaths of the show. For one, viewers had to endure a huge cliffhanger from the season prior before learning who Negan had killed. And then, when the episode aired, it was revealed that he killed two characters, including fan-favorite Glenn. The manner in which Glenn was killed — beaten to death in front of his pregant wife — was simply too much for some viewers to handle. It was also significantly more gory than other deaths.
"I do still think might have been when we over-egged the omelette," Andrew Lincoln said in a recent interview with Empire. "Maybe it was lingering too much."
As for filming the traumatic episode, Lincoln recalls the shoot as one of "the most intense nights of shooting l've ever been part of." The shoot saw Jeffrey Dean Morgan enter the set as Negan for the first time, instantly shaking things up. "He had to do this extraordinary monologue on his first day at work, and everybody was on their knees and weeping when they weren't on camera," Lincoln explained.
Lincoln has nothing but respect for Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who he says is “one of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet, playing one of the most unpleasant characters.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan is now among the most popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe. While he's never really been forgiven, Negan lives as a free man now. He's even got his own spinoff, Dead City, where he and unlikely ally Maggie (Lauren Cohan) traverse a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. Dead City is returning for a second season.
Meanwhile, Rick's future in the series is uncertain after finally getting a happy ending in The Ones Who Live. Will all of the spinoffs converge at some point? Let's wait and see!
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