Summary
- Andrew Lincoln reflects on Glenn's death in the season 7 premiere, admitting it may have been over-the-top.
- The Walking Dead actor also remembers filming the major death sequence, revealing the night shoot was intense.
- Despite the audience's divisiveness, Glenn's death helped establish Negan as a ruthless villain, impacting Maggie's arc.
The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln reflects on the death of Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun). Glenn's brutal and gruesome death at the hands of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in the season 7 premiere is one of The Walking Dead's most divisive moments. While the series frequently killed beloved characters, Glenn was one of the few original survivors left from season 1, and the nature of The Walking Dead character's death elicited a strong and largely negative reaction when it occurred.
While speaking with Empire, Lincoln shared his honest reaction to Glenn's death. He discussed the impact it had on The Walking Dead's fanbase, acknowledging that "I do still think [Glenn’s death] might have been when we over-egged the omelet,” and “maybe it was lingering too much.” He provided insight into filming the heartbreaking scene in which Negan had Glenn and the other members of Rick Grimes' group on their knees, which was one of "the most intense nights of shooting I’ve ever been part of.” Read the rest of Lincoln's comments below:
“[Morgan] had to do this extraordinary monologue on his first day at work, and everybody was on their knees and weeping when they weren’t on camera. He came over and went, ‘Is this normal?’ I went, ‘Yeah, everybody just keeps going.’ It was an extraordinary night.”
Was Glenn's Death A Mistake?
It Both Helped & Hurt The Franchise.
Without Glenn's The Walking Dead death, the arcs of Negan and Maggie, which continue to be vital to the franchise, would be completely different and perhaps not be as compelling, but that doesn't negate the mistakes in how Glenn's fate was handled.
Unlike many of The Walking Dead's deaths that clearly helped or hurt the story's trajectory, Glenn's death positively and negatively impacted the future of the original series and the overall franchise. It was an effective introduction to Negan, cementing him as the most ruthless human villain yet in the series, with a disturbing penchant for showmanship while inflicting pain and suffering on his enemies. Between Negan's killing of Glenn and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and making the rest of Rick's group watch in terror, there was no question of Negan being a genuine threat.
In later seasons, when Negan went through a redemption arc, no matter what he did, it was difficult to see him as fully redeemed because of what he did to Abraham and Glenn. This is most apparent in his relationship with Glenn's wife, Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), who understandably struggled to forgive Negan. Maggie and Negan's complex relationship became the basis for their own spinoff series, The Walking Dead: Dead City, in which Maggie and Glenn's son, Hershel Rhee (Logan Kim), needs to be saved.
As for the original Glenn, seeing him killed in such a grisly fashion was arguably excessive. The series seemed to delight in brutally showing the fan-favorite character being killed, making his death more about the pure shock value than about the narrative weight of losing such an important character. Without Glenn's The Walking Dead death, the arcs of Negan and Maggie, which continue to be vital to the franchise, would be completely different and perhaps not be as compelling, but that doesn't negate the mistakes in how Glenn's fate was handled.
