Norman Reedus “Hated” The Walking Dead Making Negan New Alpha of the Whisperers

The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan says buddy Norman Reedus “hated” a scene from Sunday’s “Look at the Flowers,” where Negan was gleefully installed as new pack leader of the Whisperers after killing Alpha (Samantha Morton). Negan found himself facing down Daryl’s crossbow when Carol (Melissa McBride) reneged on her end of a deal after conspiring with Negan to infiltrate the Whisperers and bring her Alpha’s head, which went missing when it was retrieved by Beta (Ryan Hurst). The tables turned on Daryl when he was taken captive by a small pack of Whisperers identifying Negan as their new Alpha, returning the former Savior leader to a position of power.

“I loved it, Norman hated it, which made me like it more,” Morgan admitted with a smile on Talking Dead. “It was great. It just kind of pivoted that whole scene, and I think when Negan realizes what’s going on, he absolutely becomes gleeful, which was fun because I had a crossbow pointed at my face the whole episode. So to have that whole moment of tables turning was great.”

But Alpha Negan was short-lived: Negan gunned down one of his followers before teaming up with Daryl to dispatch the remaining two. Despite silencing Alpha and saving Daryl’s life, Negan still hasn’t gained Daryl’s trust — and he hasn’t been forgiven for murdering Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun).

“I think there’s a little bit of a thaw, but I don’t think he really loves this guy yet. I don’t know that he totally trusts him,” showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly. “He was very aware that Negan was having maybe a bit too much fun once he got the gun back from the Whisperers, and Negan is complicated, and Negan killed people that mattered a lot to Daryl. For Daryl, the loss of Glenn and Abraham was huge for him, and all these people that died in that war, and I don’t think that that’s something that’s easily left behind.”

“For viewers who’ll remember back to Season 9, he was the one that was really all in with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) on executing this plan of maybe taking him out,” Kang continued. “And so, for Daryl, all of it is a complicated relationship, but Daryl’s a pretty pragmatic guy and he sees this guy — he did do some stuff that was good, and so I don’t think that that’s lost on Daryl. But at the same time, is he ready to call this guy his best friend? I don’t think so.”

The Walking Dead Season 10 next airs episode 15, “The Tower,” Sunday, April 5 at 9/8c on AMC. For all things The Walking Dead, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.