Negan nearly pushes Maggie too far in the talked about scene from The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 1. Spoiler warning for the season premiere, “Acheron: Part 1.” Tension between the two enemies comes to a head in subway tunnels beneath D.C., where Negan guides Alexandrians through the city on a crucial supplies mission to Meridian. But Negan suspects Maggie has ulterior motives, wanting to lure him to his final destination so she can at long last avenge the husband that Negan murdered years earlier. In this extended clip from “Acheron: Part 1,” watch what happens when Negan accuses Maggie of leading him on a death march.
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“She brought me here to die. If we get through this, I’m not coming back,” Negan tells the scavenging survivors when excusing himself from the dead-end undertaking. “She’ll find a way, she’ll find a reason. She’ll do it herself, away from the prying eyes of Alexandria. Here in the jungle.”
A glaring Daryl and accusations of paranoia do nothing to deter him: Maggie can’t lead these people. “Her head isn’t even in the game because I’m in her head, living rent-free,” he snarls, poking and pressing to get it over with right here and right now. “Because I am not gonna let you drag me through the mud, filth, and slime to put me down like a dog. Like Glenn was.”
“I fought it! That’s the one line that I immediately called [showrunner Angela Kang] and I was like, ‘I can’t say it. I can’t f—ing bring up Glenn’s name here,’” Morgan told Entertainment Weekly about the going-too-far reference to Glenn’s death at the end of Negan’s baseball bat. “And I was like, ‘Any goodwill that Negan has gotten on his side is going to go out the window the minute I say Glenn.’ I tried to nix the line completely.”
Morgan argued the line was unnecessary and experimented with different takes, replacing “Glenn” with “your husband” and other substitutions to keep the name out of Negan’s mouth.
“But ultimately, it was like, ‘Well, let’s just try the f—ing Glenn line.’ And then, of course, when I saw the cut, I was like, ‘Oh, f—ers!’ [Laughs] They had to put it in,” Morgan said. “But look, I get it. I know why it was there, to elicit the reaction exactly that you and I felt in seeing it.”
Here’s how Walking Dead viewers reacted to the jaw-dropping exchange:
Crossing a Line
โTo put me down like a dogโฆlike Glenn was.โ
โ The Walking Dead World (@TWalkingDWorld) August 23, 2021
YOU CROSSED A LINE, NEGAN.#TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/SbUA7m69jj
Okay Negan bringing up Glenn like that crossed the line #TheWalkingDead pic.twitter.com/OwV9n8WRg5
โ Sarah Soll (@vintagewritten1) August 23, 2021
You Don’t Speak His Name
Negan mentioned Glenn…
โ Walker Talker (@walkertalker222) August 23, 2021
I felt our whole fandom stand up and say pic.twitter.com/C6bDJozUK1
Why did you say glenn’s name negan? #TheWalkingDead . pic.twitter.com/Zq9OvV3kkA
โ Nicholas_Sye (@NicholasSye1) August 23, 2021
Take a Swing
#twdwatchparty
โ mischief unmanaged. โจ (@_skiptothelou) August 23, 2021
Everyone in #TWD fandom when Negan said Glenn’s name: pic.twitter.com/ompwvW2sr0
My face when negan said Glennโs name: pic.twitter.com/bXHc2GCxaY
โ Buff Black Babe (@BuffBlackBabe) August 23, 2021
I canโt believe Negan had the nerve to even say Glennโs name. Iโm glad Daryl hit him
โ Tahlor ๐งฃ๐ (@EliGoldsworthys) August 23, 2021
Lucille, Give Me Strength
Negan: having a point
โ Tโก (@TGyton) August 23, 2021
Negan throwing Glennโs name into it
Me: #TWD pic.twitter.com/xLxvS2PVJ9
Keep Glennโs name out of your mouth Negan! #TheWalkingDead #twd #TWDWatchParty pic.twitter.com/z62GyC02Rn
โ rachel (@jaaryls) August 23, 2021
“He’s Out of Line, But He’s Right”
negan was making some valid points until he mentioned glennโฆ the audacity
โ sofโท ๐ฆ (@ahsofka) August 23, 2021
Negan you did NOT have to mention Glenn though that crossed a major line! #TheWalkingDead #TWDWatchParty
โ Taylor Quinn (@_taylorquinn) August 23, 2021
you see i didnโt have a big problem with anything negan said until he brought up glenn ๐
โ steevi (@diIfgrimes) August 23, 2021
Keep Pushing Me, Negan
Daryl punches Negan 2.0
โ JDM Fan (@HooliganHeathe1) August 23, 2021
Goddamn….I know that shit hurt.
But he kinda had that coming….dayum. Don’t speak about Glenn Negan.#TWD pic.twitter.com/tNAUopuNcC
Negan: “like Glenn was”
โ Meghan Hounsell (@Redpandameg) August 23, 2021
Me about to cry: pic.twitter.com/NFNSGVxS7W
NEGAN was making a little sense…
โ Ikyhanna Harris (@IkyhannaHarris) August 23, 2021
…then he mentioned GLENN!๐คฆ๐ฝโโ๏ธ#twd #thewalkingdead pic.twitter.com/V4tPmUeqjU
Follow the authorย @CameronBonomolo on Twitterย for all things TWD Universe. The Walking Dead Season 11 airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.