If there is one thing that Walking Dead fans have come to expect from the franchise over the course of watching eleven seasons of the original series and the many spinoffs that have followed, it’s that no character is ever safe and you never know when a character is about to be killed off—often in the most unexpected and tragic of ways.
There have been so many shocking and heartbreaking deaths over the years, and we head into every season of a Walking Dead show knowing that at least a few characters won’t make it out alive. In fact, I don’t know that there has ever been a season of a Walking Dead Universe show that hasn’t killed off at least one primary or secondary character.
So it was no surprise that The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 kept this tradition going right out of the gate and kept adding to the body count right up until the final episode of the season. Deaths are inevitable, as I’ve already said; however, just because the writers choose to write character deaths into the scripts doesn't mean that the actors are fans of the narrative decisions. In fact, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan actually fought as hard as they could to prevent the writers from killing off a key character introduced in season 3—going as far as pitching an alternate ending in an effort to keep the character around.
Warning: Spoilers ahead from the Dead City season 3 finale.
Walking Dead legends fought hard to prevent Dillard’s death in Dead City
Dead City season 3 brought about several shocking deaths and culminated with the death of Mason Dillard in the final episode of the season. It was a tale as old as time, a storyline where two characters start off by building a strong foundation of friendship only to become enemies in the end through a series of unfortunate events.
When we were first introduced to Dillard in the season 3 premiere, we never expected that he would bond with Negan as quickly as he did. The two men couldn’t have been more different, yet they quickly developed a friendship and bonded in a way we haven’t seen Negan connect with someone. That friendship ended, though, when Negan crossed a line that sent Dillard over the edge, killing Dillard’s two walker companions Cockenspiel and Titicaca.
After Negan’s actions, Dillard was set on getting revenge against Negan, which sent him down a dangerous path. Dillard would ultimately kill Renata in his thirst for revenge and nearly killed Negan before Maggie stepped in and saved Negan by cutting Dillard’s arm off. This, of course, sealed his fate and ultimately led to his death and transformation into a walker.
It was a moment that was planned from the beginning, as Dillard was never meant to survive the season, but Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan both hated to lose Jimmi Simpson after only one season in the cast.
“We went so hard pitching ways he doesn’t die,” Cohan revealed in a new behind-the-scenes video from AMC, after Morgan reflected on how much he and Cohan hated to lose Simpson and began pitching alternate options.
The pair were so against Dillard’s death that they actually pitched shooting an alternate ending so they could try to get Simpson back for another season.
“We went hard to shoot an alternate ending in case we can get him back for another year,” Morgan revealed.
Ultimately, their pitches were not heard, and the show proceeded with its plan of killing Dillard, which was a plan put into place from the very beginning as Simpson confirmed. And while he might be leaving the show after just one season, it’s clear that Simpson had an incredible time working on the show alongside Morgan, Cohan, and the full cast and crew.
“[Showrunner] Seth [Hoffman] did tell me that that is his fate, and so I built Dillard the entire season with this deep desire to connect. So to be placed back into the most comfortable place Dillard has been in is romantic and it’s very poetic. The overall experience in Dead City has kind of been, I got to say, one of the most rich acting experiences of my career.”
There’s always the chance we could see the show come up with a way to bring Simpson back, but it seems that his time has truly come to an end. It’s a shame, as we agree with Morgan and Cohan on wishing we could have seen more of Simpson on the show, but it clearly wasn’t meant to be in the end.
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