The end is near for the Walking Dead

[TellerMorrow34]

I like the Daryl character but it's not either a deep enough or worldly enough character to lead the show.

You want one character who could lead the show?

Negan.

Okay let me ramble a bit on this subject.

1) I was surprised to hear that Lincoln is leaving the show. Surprised and saddened. They're just getting to the part of the comics that I enjoyed the most which was after the time skip and the dynamic of how Negan changes and what appeared to be a very real trust being built, to some degree, between Rick and Negan. I hate that this is going to pull the rug out from that.

2) From what I read both Lincoln and Cohen only signed on for 6 episodes. Maggie I believe is for sure gone during the first half but could they be removing Rick during the first half as well? I feel that is most likely because I don't see them dragging his 6 episodes out through out the entire show. 3 per half? I doubt it.

3) I am torn as to what I believe they will do. To me killing Rick off seems like the most likely, and the only way for people to truly let the character go if they're in fact wanting to try and take the show in a totally different direction. But I can easily see a situation where they have Rick basically take on the role of Michionne (From the comic) where he leaves the group and goes off on his own out in the world. I can see this because it's an easy way to write him out temporarily and then if he ever wants back in, or they can talk him back in, they can easily write him right back into the show. If you kill him off that's done.

4) I think this means that Negan will NOT play a large role going forward like he did/has in the comics. In fact I am pretty well set that I believe this means they will actually wind up killing Negan off.

5) I read that they've signed Norman (Darryl) to a 20 million dollar contract to take over as the shows lead going forward after Lincoln departs. So it's clear the show would like to center the show around Darryl. Rather that will work, long term, or not I don't know. Which bring me to my last thought, and goes with #3 a bit still.

6) Rick leaves/is killed in the first half of the season because the show runners are going to test and see how bad the ratings get after he's gone. If the ratings plummet for the next episode or two after he leaves I believe they will announce that the finale for season 9 will be the series finale. It's all going to come down to how bad the ratings fall at that point.

7) My final thought is that the show simply will not be able to continue. The losses of Lincoln and Cohen in one half season is just going to be too much for the show to sustain. They're the two most influential figures for the group at this point and they're 2 of the most important characters to the stories going forward. The show is going to have to completely turn left from the comic arcs at this point, probably going completely away from it. I do not believe the show is going to be able to sustain the hit to the viewership that it's going to take because of this.

It's been falling for a while now anyway and this is going to completely kill off the comic fans for the show. The ratings hit is going to be far to great to over come with these losses.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I like the Daryl character but it's not either a deep enough or worldly enough character to lead the show.

You want one character who could lead the show?

Negan.

Also I would love to see them try and do a story where Negan has to lead them instead but I don't see how they could do it, in such short time, to get the fans that are left to stay and watch as Negan takes over the lead role from Rick. This is incredibly bad timing for the show for Lincoln (Whatever his reasons may be) to decide he no longer wants to be on the show.

 

[DallasEast]

I like the Daryl character but it's not either a deep enough or worldly enough character to lead the show.

You want one character who could lead the show?

Negan.

Whoa. I did not consider Negan as a Rick substitute. Wonder how Jeffrey Dean Morgan would feel about a permanent role--for as long as it might last, that is.

 

[Roadtrip635]

I like the Daryl character but it's not either a deep enough or worldly enough character to lead the show.

You want one character who could lead the show?

Negan.

Nah, the Neagan character crossed a line for most of the audience that he couldn't have convincingly come back from to lead the show. I think the Daryl character has grown quite a bit and has learned a lot from Rick. Rick showed him he had worth and could become a better person. I think that could be good, Daryl struggling with decisions from his base nature versus what's he has learned from Rick and the others. Carol would be a good second for Daryl too.

Daryl would be quicker to kill versus Rick, which would be a good thing for the group sometimes, since they end up killing anyway . Rick always had to wait until one of the group died first.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Whoa. I did not consider Negan as a Rick substitute. Wonder how Jeffrey Dean Morgan would feel about a permanent role--for as long as it might last, that is.

I just think at this stage of the game Negan's character is far more interesting than Daryl's. Daryl is as Daryl is... A "think-first, emotional brute who doesn't think long term". Negan's character has more depth and is far more strategic.

COMIC SPOILER ALERT!

The current big foe in the comic's is a large community (think tens of thousands rather than a few hundred) that is well organized and has rebuilt society to a certain extent but there are some cracks in the foundation due in that it has become an caste system that is far more visible than what we see in today's USA. And the way to fight this system isn't through bullets, bombs & fisticuffs like Daryl would fall back on. It's going to take wits and the ability to plan long-term which in my view the only character left on the show that can do that is Negan... Provided Rick is no longer part of the TV show.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Nah, the Neagan character crossed a line for most of the audience that he couldn't have convincingly come back from to lead the show. I think the Daryl character has grown quite a bit and has learned a lot from Rick. Rick showed him he had worth and could become a better person. I think that could be good, Daryl struggling with decisions from his base nature versus what's he has learned from Rick and the others. Carol would be a good second for Daryl too.

Daryl would be quicker to kill versus Rick, which would be a good thing for the group sometimes, since they end up killing anyway . Rick always had to wait until one of the group died first.

COMIC SPOILER ALERT

In the comics the next group that challenges Rick & company does a great job at bringing the group to its collective knees and the one person that saves the day is!

Negan.

So if the world looks to be falling apart around our group during season 9, Negan, like a great professional wrestling story, could continue his face-turn, save the day and become the next leader.

My feelings are that the show is probably going to be greatly damaged by the loss of Rick's character and simply turning it over to Daryl isn't going to fix it.

Anti-hero's are killing it in the movies and it may end up happening with this TV show.

 

[Roadtrip635]

I just think at this stage of the game Negan's character is far more interesting than Daryl's. Daryl is as Daryl is... A "think-first, emotional brute who doesn't think long term". Negan's character has more depth and is far more strategic.

COMIC SPOILER ALERT!

The current big foe in the comic's is a large community (think tens of thousands rather than a few hundred) that is well organized and has rebuilt society to a certain extent but there are some cracks in the foundation due in that it has become an caste system that is far more visible than what we see in today's USA. And the way to fight this system isn't through bullets, bombs & fisticuffs like Daryl would fall back on. It's going to take wits and the ability to plan long-term which in my view the only character left on the show that can do that is Negan... Provided Rick is no longer part of the TV show.

Neagan is a villian and villians can be the more interesting, but he couldn't convincingly lead the group. There is no way that the group would let him be a part of their group much less lead them after what he did. You can't bash a friends head in with his hands bound, a person that was there with them from the beginning and has been through what they have and think that they would somehow want to have any part of him. He found the light and somehow write off his actions just isn't believable regardless of what he does to try to redeem himself. There really isn't a good way to explain why they let him live, much less trust him to turn him loose or follow him. The only plausible way for Neagan to lead the show is if all the current members were gone or have his own spinoff.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I just think at this stage of the game Negan's character is far more interesting than Daryl's. Daryl is as Daryl is... A "think-first, emotional brute who doesn't think long term". Negan's character has more depth and is far more strategic.

COMIC SPOILER ALERT!

The current big foe in the comic's is a large community (think tens of thousands rather than a few hundred) that is well organized and has rebuilt society to a certain extent but there are some cracks in the foundation due in that it has become an caste system that is far more visible than what we see in today's USA. And the way to fight this system isn't through bullets, bombs & fisticuffs like Daryl would fall back on. It's going to take wits and the ability to plan long-term which in my view the only character left on the show that can do that is Negan... Provided Rick is no longer part of the TV show.

Absolutely what I was thinking about when thinking how interesting it could be with Negan if they in fact have to write Rick out of the show for good.

That community is going to prove to be a very big issue for them because they are led by truly terrible people who clearly think way to highly of themselves, and their positions as heads of society.

No way they can defeat them in a straight up battle of brawn. They'll be heavily out gunned, out manned, and out trained. The only way to defeat the new threat that is coming is with strategy, brains, and patience.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

COMIC SPOILER ALERT

In the comics the next group that challenges Rick & company does a great job at bringing the group to its collective knees and the one person that saves the day is!

Negan.

So if the world looks to be falling apart around our group during season 9, Negan, like a great professional wrestling story, could continue his face-turn, save the day and become the next leader.

My feelings are that the show is probably going to be greatly damaged by the loss of Rick's character and simply turning it over to Daryl isn't going to fix it.

Anti-hero's are killing it in the movies and it may end up happening with this TV show.

My big thing is that with Rick and Carl gone there is no actual catalyst characters to create the beginning of the war with the next group that you're talking about here. That all started because of Carl going to save that girl, and then Rick having to go to save Carl, and that groups leader deciding she needed to make sure Rick got the message with violence.

Right now, as it stands, I don't see where they're going to go in order to create that introduction and therefor war. Unless they just randomly plug someone else into the role Carl played in and Darryl going after that person. But as everyone pointed out Darryl is way to emotional, hot headed, for situations like that. He can't be the thinker in that situation to keep them from just killing him and whoever. I have a feeling they might wind up completely eliminating that story from the TV show all together.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Neagan is a villian and villians can be the more interesting, but he couldn't convincingly lead the group. There is no way that the group would let him be a part of their group much less lead them after what he did. You can't bash a friends head in with his hands bound, a person that was there with them from the beginning and has been through what they have and think that they would somehow want to have any part of him. He found the light and somehow write off his actions just isn't believable regardless of what he does to try to redeem himself. There really isn't a good way to explain why they let him live, much less trust him to turn him loose or follow him. The only plausible way for Neagan to lead the show is if all the current members were gone or have his own spinoff.

Saving peoples lives tends to have them look at people in a different light. At least that's the vibe I got from the way things are written in the comic. No granted you are 100% right there are still people who want nothing to do with him, and do not trust him, in the comic. But many didn't have nearly as much of a problem with him after he helped to save their lives and helped them to win their next war.

Also don't forget that many of the people still around are surviving Saviors who don't all hate him. Some do (Like Dwight) but many didn't have any issues with Negan. So it's not hard for them to view him favorably still.

But that's all more about the way the comic is. I don't think the TV show is going to go this route, personally. I'd love to see them try and make it work, and see how they'd go about it on the show, but I just don't think that's the direction they're going to go.

 

[iceberg]

I like the Daryl character but it's not either a deep enough or worldly enough character to lead the show.

You want one character who could lead the show?

Negan.

they'd have to kill off maggie and perhaps daryl before that would happen. at that point it's simply a reboot and totally off the comic book story line.

could be cool. the current "run, find new paradise, it's bad it's bad run away run away, find new paradise OH IT'S BAD TOO RUN" is getting old. been drifting since they lost the prison.

 

[iceberg]

Saving peoples lives tends to have them look at people in a different light. At least that's the vibe I got from the way things are written in the comic. No granted you are 100% right there are still people who want nothing to do with him, and do not trust him, in the comic. But many didn't have nearly as much of a problem with him after he helped to save their lives and helped them to win their next war.

Also don't forget that many of the people still around are surviving Saviors who don't all hate him. Some do (Like Dwight) but many didn't have any issues with Negan. So it's not hard for them to view him favorably still.

But that's all more about the way the comic is. I don't think the TV show is going to go this route, personally. I'd love to see them try and make it work, and see how they'd go about it on the show, but I just don't think that's the direction they're going to go.

well, now if negan saves the day and maggie/daryls lives - that could turn things and still keep a semi-interesting side story going.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

they'd have to kill off maggie and perhaps daryl before that would happen. at that point it's simply a reboot and totally off the comic book story line.

could be cool. the current "run, find new paradise, it's bad it's bad run away run away, find new paradise OH IT'S BAD TOO RUN" is getting old. been drifting since they lost the prison.

I figured that they were going to continue to follow the comic arc which would mean, to the point that they are in the comic, they have not ever left this area of communities.

Now will that change with Rick and Maggie leaving the show? Possibly. They're going to be completely void of the lead characters that take them into the next arcs. Now the show, which was already straying far from the comic with the death of Carl, is going to likely be straying very far from the comics with Rick and Maggie no longer being in the show, in whatever capacity they choose to take those two out.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Also one other note that I'd like to touch on, that I just really thought about as I was responding to that previous post....Lincoln leaving the show and thus Rick being off the show, really devalues the loss of Carl to a HUGE degree now.

That was a big shock moment for me last year as I had always said, from the very beginning, the two untouchable characters for this show, and story, were Rick and Carl.

Especially being a fan of the comic and knowing where the story is going on that front I just didn't see any way that either of those characters would ever be messed with.

Then they had Carl die last season. Wow. Didn't see it coming. But I had hopes for it really driving Rick into a much darker, much harder, place. I liked the possibilities they could have done with that, even with him still sparing Negan (as he did in the comics).

But now with Lincoln leaving and Rick's character leaving the show either via simply leaving, or dying, this devalues taking Carl out now. There is no real long term aftermath for Rick to now have to deal with. Being in this world that started with his only thought being to find and protect his wife and son and now they're both gone.

Also what does this mean for his/Shane's daughter? Is he simply going to leave her behind, if he just leaves the group, because he no longer cares since he believes shes Shane's anyway? Will Carl's death be so much for him that he decides he doesn't want to raise Judith anymore, even though he's raised her as his own from the beginning without so much as a second thought?

That seems weird.

Of course that's eliminated by simply killing Rick off. Then it's not his choice. But that just seems like AMC driving the final nail into their shows coffin if they kill him off.


Also what of Maggie and Glenn's child? Is she going to die before she has the kid? Will she take the kid and just leave, for whatever reason(s)?

There is some other impact to be thought of outside of those characters themselves and the main cast that simply hasn't really been talked about or addressed. Those answers could be interesting or could simply be nothing more than afterthoughts.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Two things...

It is confirmed that Lauren Cohan is leaving the show after only doing 6 episodes of season 9.

(Speculation) There is a one-year time-jump to start the season.

 

[rynochop]

Interesting..she hasn't really had a big role anyway lately. I don't really see her becoming some big actress

 

[GMO415]

They crapped the bed with the Carl story, but they redeemed themselves just to do it all over again?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

They crapped the bed with the Carl story, but they redeemed themselves just to do it all over again?

Well in all fairness, when an actor chooses to leave it creates some choices for the show runner & writers that many times are not palatable.

 

[John813]

I could see Negan with a bigger role TBH if Maggie goes for good too.

JDM is one of the last bigger names on the list now, and I could see a scenario where he does something heroic saving most of the gang and slowly earns the trust of Daryl.

Who knows. I want to watch the show again, as I love JDM, but man were there a lot of filler episodes. Also, the evilness of human nature can only go on for so long till it gets tough to watch. Zombies are merely just a bump in all the **** the survivors go through.