Here’s What Happens If Abraham Survives Negan’s ‘Walking Dead’ Arrival

Had Abraham Ford survived Negan‘s introduction, the character would have certainly been out for revenge on The Walking Dead but might have been surprisingly willing to comply until the right time to strike came.

Abraham outlasted his comic book counterpart on the AMC TV series only to be cut down by Lucille when the curtain was pulled back on Negan’s arrival. Many fans assumed the character was killed to avoid the upcoming conflict between the Saviors and Rick’s Alexandria community in which he wouldn’t sit back and wait to strike as the characters did for nearly 16 episodes.

According to Abraham actor Michael Cudlitz, this wasn’t the case. In fact, Abraham would have been fully willing to comply until the time was right.

“I don’t know that anyone’s necessarily, obviously as we see, fitting into [Negan’s rule],” Cudlitz said. “It’s more about survival and all that. I see a lot of ways he’s very logical and wise so far as war and control and leadership and he sees what this Negan guy is about early on. If he had his way, he would have started killing guys at the first roadblock.”

Cudlitz cites Abrahams ability to survive until the Season 7 premiere, which framed the character in a helpless scenario, to not only Abraham’s soldier-like skill set but his intelligence as a survivor.

“Having gotten this far, he’s a survivor as well and he would have found a way around it,” Cudlitz said. “He was trying to get as many people out of that semicircle as possible. If that meant he had to be the one to take it, then that was it. That would be it. Again, if he had another choice, and they could all leave, that would be the choice that they take. But I would strongly disagree with the idea that he wouldn’t be able to adapt, and by adapt, I mean, lay in wait until his moment came. Because he’s done that many times where he’s put aside what he believes was specifically, quote unquote, right to make sure that the plan stayed on trace. Because sometimes to get what you want, you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

Cudlitz also offers new perspective of his time on The Walking Dead on commentary tracks and featurettes for The Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season which is available on Blu-ray on August 22nd.

The Walking Dead‘s sibling series Fear the Walking Dead returns September 10th. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season on October 22, 2017. The Season Eight premiere will mark 100 episodes overall for the popular AMC series. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.