The Walking Dead Fans Debate Whether Carol Was Right to Sic Negan After Alpha

Did Carol (Melissa McBride) make the right choice freeing Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) from jail with orders to bring her the head of Whisperer leader Alpha (Samantha Morton) on The Walking Dead? The plan, fully revealed in "Look at the Flowers," came together during the events of "Silence the Whisperers," when Negan was awaiting a vote by the Alexandria council determining if he would be executed over the accidental death of Margo (Jerri Tubbs), killed when Negan rescued ex-Whisperer Lydia (Cassady McClincy) from an assault. The fugitive Negan successfully infiltrated the Whisperers and murdered Alpha, a task that took him just three days to accomplish.

"Do you think it was the right choice for Carol to send Negan to kill Alpha?" The Walking Dead asked on YouTube, prompting respondents to weigh in on the decision that was kept secret from even Carol's best friend Daryl (Norman Reedus).

"Absolutely. Negan was definitely capable and has a way with talking to people," replied user Tammy Hillhouse. "Carol tried and failed." Cheryl Carpenter agreed, writing, "Absolutely since she was having trouble killing her herself. Negan was her best bet for getting the job done."

"The job required a person with the ability to be cold, calculating, manipulative, and cruel. Obviously that's Negan," wrote user Johnny Chaos. "He may be trying to turn over a new leaf or whatever but those characteristics will always be in there."

On the contrary, writes Daniel Brochu, Carol triggered the last act of the Whisperer War with Alpha's death: her loyal number two, Beta (Ryan Hurst), has since gathered more walkers that will be unleashed upon Alexandria in episode 15, "The Tower."

"Think of the repercussions.. Beta now has a massive horde of his own that he is about to unleash upon Alexandria and most likely wipe out at least 1/3 or 1/2 of the community," Brochu argues. "Some people are going to see it like this: Carol almost got both Magna and Connie killed, she freed everyone's former enemy, and she got an all out war started. I agree that killing the alpha is smart but they shouldn't have left the head for Beta to find. Imagine all the Whisperers don't know where Alpha is and they get bored and start doing stuff THEY wanted to do, without Alpha's presence. Like possibly join the good side??"