If you’re all caught up on The Walking Dead (don’t read on unless you are!), you know what has happened in the most recent episodes as the group battles their latest sinister enemy, The Whisperers. Negan has broken out of his prison cell and seemingly joined the Whisperers. As a loud, obnoxious fish-out-of-water with the group, he has puzzlingly bent his knee to Alpha and tormented Beta. He’s proven his worth and begged to join their cause and way of life.
What’s really going on, and where will his story go from here? There are lots of fan theories, some of which might actually turn out to be true. Here are 10 of them.
Negan Turns On The Whisperers
The most likely theory is that this is all an act and Negan is secretly infiltrating the Whisperers from the inside so he can take them down and prove that he’s changed once and for all to the group at Alexandria and Hilltop.
Negan refused to put on his old leather jacket and carry his rebadged Lucille when presented with these gifts from a young fanatic who urged him to re-start the Saviors. He really has changed, fans think, so now he’s simply using his leadership and manipulation skills for the good of the group. If this happened, it would be the most epic mic drop moment ever when he returned to Alexandria.
Negan Kills Alpha
Another fan theory, taking the idea that Negan is acting as an undercover agent to another level, is that his ultimate goal is to take out Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers. It might take some time before he shows his true colors, but this is what he’s working towards.
The question is whether Negan will take out Alpha to bring down the group itself, or to take over the leadership post and appoint himself leader of the Whisperers. We’ll have to wait and see, but either scenario could happen.
Negan Reveals To The Whisperers That Lydia Is Still Alive
Alpha’s biggest crutch right now is the fact that, despite what she preaches to her followers, she still clearly loves her daughter Lydia and spared her life. She refused to kill her and is still clearly torn up about Lydia leaving. Meanwhile, the Whisperers believe that Alpha practices what she preaches and killed Lydia.
Negan, of course, knows the truth and could use this as leverage against Alpha, or simply wait for the perfect time to reveal it to the group and watch them kill her for being a hypocrite.
Negan Actually Joins The Whisperers
While we don’t want to consider the fact that Negan never really changed, despite years in solitary confinement in a basement cell to reflect on his ways, it is a possibility and one theory fans have.
Maybe Negan will be happy serving as number-two to Alpha, kicking Beta and Gamma to the curb or down a few notches on the leadership pole. Or maybe he will take them all out, Alpha too, and assume the leadership role himself. Let’s hope this one isn’t true.
Alpha Kills Negan
On the flip side, maybe Alpha ends up being the one to kill Negan. She discovers that he is holding Lydia’s fully alive status over her head and takes him out before he can reveal the truth to the group.
This is arguably the least likely scenario, especially since, in the comics, Negan kills Alpha so we fully expect the series to follow the same storyline. Nonetheless, if the series wanted to literally flip the script and switch things up, this would be an interesting way to do it.
Negan Sparks A Revolt And Starts His Own Community
Maybe Negan doesn’t have to kill Alpha, Beta, or Gamma. Maybe, from the inside, he chips away at each member of the Whisperers, little by little, and begins forming his own group among them. Slowly but surely, he convinces them to follow his lead and break away from the Whisperers.
Realistically, many of the group members are just tired, scared, and afraid individuals who had no choice for survival other than to join Alpha, even if they don’t agree with her ways. She offers them protection, and if Negan can do the same with a roof over their heads and without having to live like savages, wearing rotting flesh masks and walking amongst the dead, who wouldn’t consider the option?
Negan and Beta Team Up
It’s unlikely but possible that Negan could get into Beta’s head and convince him to turn against Alpha. Beta seems like someone who could be easily manipulated, and Negan, as we know, is a master manipulator. So it’s totally possible that, despite how the two don’t get along now, they could become closer as Negan finds a way in.
Beta, after all, just needs an Alpha to follow orders from, and to serve as his partner. So Negan could very well fill that role just as well as Alpha does today. And we already see cracks in the Alpha/Beta relationship, so it’s a definite possibility.
Negan Becomes The New Beta
Maybe Negan takes out Beta, or Beta is taken out somehow (Daryl, perhaps?) and Negan by this time has proven himself worthy of Alpha’s trust, perhaps by not spilling the beans to the group about Lydia.
Could Negan be content as a second-in-command? Probably not. But he has changed. Has he changed enough to step back, but not enough to want to join the group that took him down in the first place, especially when they clearly still don’t trust him? We can’t see Negan being satisfied as number-two. But who knows what has gone through his mind over the past few years.
Carol And Negan Have A Plan
With many hoping that Carol will play a role in Alpha’s inevitable death, this theory makes total sense. She’s crafty, so is it possible that Carol is the one who released Negan from his prison cell and concocted a plan with him. They are working together to have him infiltrate the Whisperers and have a bigger plan in place to eventually take them down.
We can totally see Carol doing this, and totally see Negan being game for the plan. So it’s a really viable theory that would lead to both a redemption for Negan and vengeance for Carol.
Negan Brings Lydia Back As Bait
Negan seems to have a soft spot for kids, and saved Lydia’s life once. He also claims he would never hurt a woman. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Could he capture Lydia, or even have her come willingly with him, as part of a plot to turn the Whisperers against Alpha?
Maybe he secretly shows them that Lydia is alive or threatens to kill her in front of Alpha to see what she’ll do. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if Lydia, Alpha’s only apparent weakness, plays any role in what happens with this plotline.