The Walking Dead Giving Negan More Scenes With Carol and Other Big Characters After Major Death

The death of Alpha (Samantha Morton), orchestrated by Carol (Melissa McBride) and carried out by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), will have a ripple effect throughout the remainder of The Walking Dead Season 10, including putting Negan in the position to appear opposite other big characters. Sunday’s “Walk With Us” ended with Negan luring Alpha intro a trap and slashing her throat before she could close in on her prey, daughter Lydia (Cassady McClincy), who picked life with Daryl (Norman Reedus) and the survivors over the Whisperers. Negan then presented Alpha’s decapitated and zombified head to Carol, revealing she was responsible for breaking him out of the Alexandria jail.

“Negan clearly has a deal with Carol, and we’ll explore the nature of that deal and what happens after it,” showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter. “There are some very cool scenes coming up for Negan with our big characters, which I’m really excited for people to see. And now Carol has gotten her revenge — but revenge is complicated. It’s obviously going to be something that plays out for her. Did it satisfy that itch, or is there something else at the end of this road?”

Also seeking revenge is Beta (Ryan Hurst), Alpha’s most ferocious follower. In the comic books, Beta became de facto leader of the Whisperers, but was adamant there was only one Alpha.

With Alpha gone, Beta will carry out his own vendetta that could mark certain doom for a major character.

“He’s the beta because he likes Alpha as the one who leads. He was good at being the big, strong number two. Now he has to figure out what this all means for him,” Kang said. “Emotionally, he was co-dependent with Alpha. That’s a big part of the story in the coming episodes.”

The community once led by Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is burned to the ground, leaving co-leaders Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) and King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) facing an uncertain future for their people.

“This is a huge loss for the Whisperers in this, but also, our people have lost their home,” Kang added. “It sets both groups back in a different part of the war. When we were setting this up, we were talking about a cold war. Our people even sometimes use that language: the horde is a nuclear weapon. We wanted to tell a story about mutual destruction. That’s where they’re at. They both have had huge wins and huge losses.”

“As we get into the episodes to come, we’ll see both sides reeling from it, and how they’re pulling together,” Kang said. “Clearly, they both have axes to grind and things to finish. It’s all ramping up toward the end of the season.”

New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays on AMC. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.