Could Negan's death in The Walking Dead be inspired by Rick's demise from the comic books? When Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan arrived in The Walking Dead, he was by far the most despicable villain the zombie apocalypse had produced. Ruling over his Saviors like a tyrant and demanding tribute from local communities, Negan was a brutal murderer who kept "wives," burned faces, and did it all with a sick, sadistic smile. Nowadays, in The Walking Dead season 10, Negan couldn't be more different. Humbled by his defeat, Negan is a team player who recognizes right from wrong, and acts accordingly. Negan has gained the trust of Alexandria, and season 10's remaining episodes will dive into his backstory, introducing Hilarie Burton as Lucille, Negan's late wife.

In recent seasons, The Walking Dead has deviated from the original Robert Kirkman comics more than ever, especially where Rick Grimes is concerned. In Kirkman's story, Rick prevents full-scale war breaking out in the Commonwealth, but brokering peace requires the settlement's current leader, Pamela Milton, to go to jail. Sebastian, Pamela's bratty son, is less-than pleased about this, and in revenge for destroying his family's luxurious lifestyle, the annoying youngster sneaks into Rick's bedroom and shoots the protagonist dead. With Andrew Lincoln's character involved in the Civic Republic storyline and set to star in his own spin-off movie, The Walking Dead doesn't seem to be following that comic story. However, the trailer for season 10's supplementary episodes does suggest that Negan could adopt elements of the Rick and Sebastian story.

Related: Why Glenn Had To Die On The Walking Dead

In The Walking Dead's new trailer, Maggie Rhee describes telling her son, Hershel, how Negan killed his father, and Hershel apparently wanted to know whether Negan got what he deserved. While Alexandria has mostly forgiven Negan's sins, Maggie simply cannot overlook Glenn's death - and neither can Hershel, it seems. Since Hershel is roughly the same age as Carl was when The Walking Dead began, he's old enough to understand concepts of life, death and murder, and mature enough to start building a grudge against this mysterious "Negan" who deprived him of a father. Maggie is effectively conditioning her son to hate Negan, and those emotions will eventually erupt, with Hershel hell-bent on avenging his father at all costs.

negan smiling as he holds a bat

Hershel's hatred could cause Negan to die in a way that mirrors Rick from the Walking Dead comics. Just as Sebastian resents Rick for swooping in and sending his mother to jail, the sight of Negan and the lingering tale of Glenn's death could drive Hershel to creep into the ex-Savior's room and shoot Negan in the middle of the night. There are differences between the two, obviously. Rick was merely trying to foster peace, whereas Negan battered Glenn to death with a bat, but despite having a more justifiable motive, The Walking Dead's Hershel could be an antagonistic presence. Comic book Hershel is a self-centered brat who believes his mother's authority gives him the right to break rules. This description applies almost too perfectly to the villainous Sebastian as well, so if Hershel enters Negan's room, gun in hand, the audience won't necessarily be cheering the boy on.

A low-key, pathetic death arguably suits Negan far more than it does Rick. Given everything Rick Grimes survives in The Walking Dead, being offed by a single whiny dweeb isn't a heroic way to bow out. For Negan, however, being confronted by a gun-toting Hershel feels like retribution finally catching up. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character probably wouldn't even fight back - merely accepting that his time has come and that Hershel is rightly avenging his father. It was the death of Glenn that first announced Negan's arrival in The Walking Dead - dying alone at the hands of Hershel, similar to Rick in the comics, would bring the villain's story full circle.

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