The Walking Dead Theory: Negan will betray Alpha

If you saw the latest episode of The Walking Dead, and are afraid Negan’s joined The Whisperers, don’t worry. I don’t think he’ll be with them all that long

Warning: Spoilers for The Walking Dead comics contained within this article.

At the end of this past week’s episode of The Walking Dead, we saw Negan swear allegiance to Alpha. This is something of a frightening prospect: Negan, joining the Whisperers?! Negan alone is bad, but, with the Whisperers backing him up, and, by the looks of things, having Alpha’s full support? It spells curtains for the communities.

…Except, I don’t think it does.

Theory: Negan WILL betray Alpha

First things first: I know that, in the comics, Negan does betray Alpha, in fact, he decapitates her. HOWEVER, let’s all remember that Carl lives in the comics, and Rick never disappears, so, simply because a major event happened or didn’t happen in the comics does NOT guarantee that it’ll happen in the show. So, Negan betraying Alpha is not a foregone conclusion.

We all on the same page, then? Good.

Now, let me begin this properly by asking…am I the only one who finds the idea of Negan being a subordinate to anybody a little out of character for him? I mean, in all the time we’ve seen Negan on the show, when has he taken a back seat to anyone?

He hasn’t. Honestly…I don’t think it’s in his nature to do that.

And, yet, here he is, taking a knee and swearing loyalty to the queen of a group of people who he, one day earlier, called “skin freaks”.

Hmm, sounds weird to me.

Next, while Negan is no stranger to brutality, I’m not so sure the Whisperers’ particular brand of it is up his alley.

Let’s think about this for a second: Negan is the guy who strangled Simon to death because he killed the Scavengers, despite the fact that they were considering betraying the Saviors. Negan is the guy who always, always, always says “People are a resource”. Hell, he bludgeoned Brandon to death for failing to grasp that very same lesson, and yet, we’re expected to believe that Negan is now going to team up with the Whisperers, who are trying to wipe out all of the communities?

I’m sorry, but…that just doesn’t add up.

“But, Negan has a grudge against the communities for destroying his empire!” I can already hear someone saying.

And, yes, he does have a reason to have beef with Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside, but, do you honestly think that, after years of having a policy of killing people who wantonly kill other survivors, he’s suddenly going to turn around and do the opposite?

While we’re on the subject, why would he kill Brandon  — Who, if Negan ever planned on taking over the Whisperers, would have blindly followed him and been an asset for him — for killing a pair of people that, had he gotten to take them to Hilltop, he would have ended up killing (Either directly or indirectly as a member of the Whisperers) anyways?! It doesn’t make sense!

Furthermore, do think that A) The Whisperers wouldn’t kill any of the children in the communities or that B) Negan would tolerate that if they did?

If there’s one thing we can say for certain about Negan, it’s that he despises violence against kids. From the moment we first met him, he’s shown a soft spot for kids, and a sore spot for anyone who kills them, just look at Brandon.

The Whisperers (Or, at least, Alpha) on the other hand? Seem to be the almost the exact opposite.

For example, let’s look back at Frances’ attack on Alpha in this season’s second episode, “We Are The End Of The World”. Just before she did it, she flashed back to when she gave up her son, but, do you remember what else she flashed back to? It was a memory of Alpha, instructing her to bring her child to Hilltop in the first place.

Initially, I thought Frances’ attack was the result of unresolved anger about giving up her son, but now, as I think about it, I think she realized that Alpha always intended to force her to give him up. Her son seemed fine at the Whisperers’ camp, there was no need to bring him, yet, Alpha insisted. I think she just wanted to make Frances abandon him.

What does this have to do with violence against kids? Well, if you recall, Alpha didn’t simply arrange for Frances’s son to be abandoned, she arranged for him to be abandoned and eaten by walkers!

If she’s willing to do that to a baby…do you think she’d be any better to any other kid she comes across?

I sure don’t. And, I also don’t think Negan would stand for that.

But, let’s not sleep on this potential grudge Negan might have with the communities. With all that Negan lost because of Rick, and the communities he led, Negan has plenty to have beef about.

That said, I think he’s past that. We’ve seen how he’s changed from before Rick’s disappearance to now, he’s gotten past the despair that prompted him to try to provoke Michonne and Maggie to kill him and is, now, in a much better place, and, I think that’s down to one person: Judith.

I believe Negan cares deeply about that little girl. We’ve seen the lengths he’s been willing to go for her. We’ve seen the relationship between them. Where Judith has, largely, been forced to grow up without her dad, I think Negan is trying to fill that void. Even if I’m wrong about that last part, I don’t believe for one second that Negan would let the Whisperers do anything that would harm her.

“So…why the ruse, then?”

I think Negan figures that, the only way to stop the Whisperers is to cut the head off the snake, and, I think that he thinks he’s the only person properly qualified to do it. Daryl could, had he not made his disdain for the Whisperers clear when Alpha laid down her rules, and so, with the only other viable person to infiltrate the Whisperers no longer an option, I think Negan took it upon himself to both get rid of the brains of the Whisperers, and also, to prove to the rest of the communities that he really is one of them, now.

I don’t doubt that he’s certainly going to don the mask (Literally and figuratively) of a loyal Whisperer, but, I expect that, just when Alpha either thinks things are well in hand, or, when it looks like everything is crumbling around her, I think she’ll turn to Negan only to find that she’s let in…a Trojan Horse.

But, what do you think? Do you think Negan will betray Alpha? Or, do you think the writers will throw us a major curve, and have Negan actually become loyal to her? Let me know in the comments!

And, if you want, hear my theories on how to survive a zombie apocalypse in the real world, why not pick up a copy of my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can also find it on Kindle here, and on iTunes here!