The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz Reveals Only Regret About Abraham’s Death

Michael Cudlitz reveals his "only regret" on The Walking Dead was exiting the show before his character, Abraham Ford, could wage all out war against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviors alongside partner Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green). The short-lived relationship — formed after Abraham abruptly severed his romance with Rosita (Christian Serratos) — ended when Sasha was forced to watch Negan beat Abraham to death with barbwire-wrapped baseball bat Lucille as retribution for assaults made against the Saviors. Following her failed assassination attempt on Negan's life to avenge Abe and end the war with the Saviors, Sasha committed suicide when she refused to let Negan use her to harm the Alexandria community led by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

"The only regret I have is that we didn't get to see them sort of be soldiers together, actual soldiers," Cudlitz told the Dead Talk Live podcast. "That would have been fun to kind of spend a little bit of time with them going on missions during 'All Out War.'"

Leaving Rosita for Sasha was "just the character's growth," Cudlitz said later. "He loved Rosita, but he was not in love with her. Early on, I think for both of them, it was a relationship of convenience. That was all they had."

Upon reaching Alexandria, Abraham found new hope for the future when couple Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) revealed they were expecting their first child. Abraham hoped to start a family with Sasha, starting over after his wife and two children were killed in the earliest days of the apocalypse.

In his final moments, Abraham stared down Negan's bat before gesturing goodbye to Sasha by flashing her the peace sign. Despite his brutal murder, Abraham wouldn't have "done anything different at all."

"I think by the end of it he sort of saw a new world, a new world order, and he saw a future. I think he was a very changed person," Cudlitz said. "You go back to the graphic novels, there's a part where Abraham talks about not being a good father. He talks about himself not being a good father and not being a good husband when he was married, so I feel like he has sort of seen the possibility of a new future and a possibility to rewrite history. So I don't think he would have changed anything at that point, because he, again, saw a future for himself and other people, and he wanted to make sure that everybody else was protected."

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