The Walking Dead’s Weird Sex Scene Explained by Showrunner

The Walking Dead carried out a sex scene on Sunday night which has fans shocked. The midseason 10 premiere was loaded with surprised but about three-quarters of the way through its broadcast, some characters decided to get it on in the woods and go fully nude for it. Of course, the moment was as censored as it could be for cable and did not go too far into the details of what happened next but there was definitely some unexpected post-apocalyptic loving brought into the mix, something showrunner Angela Kang pulled off with some inspiration from The Walking Dead comics.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 10×09 (Squeeze) follow!

Negan and Alpha trotted out into the woods, stripped down, embraced each other, and straight up deviated from the comics. Where Negan cut off Alpha’s head in Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic book source material, he instead hooked up with the leader of the Whisperers. The twist on the well known moment from the books was intentional, according to showrunner Angela Kang.

“We always felt like we needed some of the story of Alpha, Negan and their strange relationship,” Kang told THR. Kang specifically asked the writer of Squeeze, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, to use the comics for inspiration for such a moment. “And he was like, ‘Okay! Not quite sure how to get there! Let me work on it!’” Kang recalls. “He came back with this whole storyline where Negan thinks he’s about to be killed, but it turns out to be this other thing that sits within Alpha’s animalistic philosophy. It’s the way she sees exactly who Negan is. She’s not wrong about him being a crass man. Negan being Negan thinks, ‘Well, it’s an opportunity for me!’ It came together in this organic and fun way where the writer had a great take on the relationship from the comic book. We had a fun time coming up with a way to show this to our audience in a way that’s safe for basic cable but also still surprising.”

When ComicBook.com talked with Jeffrey Dean Morgan ahead of the Season 7 premiere, just as the comic where Negan killed Alpha in the equivalent sequence was published, Morgan said “F— yeah,” to carrying out the sequence on television. Back then, he likely had no idea it would be carried out with this twist.

“There are comic book nods, as well as some things that are unique to the show,” Kang says. “But I think the comedy of it is very true to Negan. He has a very funny point of view. I love how he handles it.”

What did you think of Negan and Alpha’s sequence on the TV series? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram or Twitter!

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC.