Jeffrey Dean Morgan ‘Fought’ Against A Brutal Callback To Glenn’s Death In ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 11 Premiere

It’s the rare breakup that worked out for both partners: The Walking Dead is one of the biggest shows on cable, and Steve Yeun is an Oscar nominee. But the Minari star’s character, Glenn (who was murdered by Negan in season seven), hasn’t been forgotten.

In Sunday’s season 11 premiere, “Acheron: Part I,” Maggie (Lauren Cohan) takes her group on an underground “death march,” and “you are the goddamned pied piper,” as Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) calls her. Tensions have always been high between the two — the whole “killing her husband” thing didn’t help matters — but they boil over when he makes a reference to Glenn. “Look, you all want to put your lives in her hands? Her head isn’t even in the game, because I’m in her head, living rent-free,” Negan says. “So, Maggie, me dying on your terms, it ain’t happening. So, whaddaya say? Let’s just get her done. Right here and right now. Because I am not going to let you drag me through the mud, filth, and slime to put me down like a dog. Like Glenn was.” Dang.

The only reason that Maggie doesn’t punch him in the face is because Daryl beats her to it (she would have done much worse if she knew what Negan would do to her later).

The line is a gut-punch callback to Glenn’s death, one that Dean Morgan fought against.

“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*cking bring up Glenn’s name here.’ 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,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I didn’t think it was necessary. And I thought, for sure, they would let me change it.” The scene was filmed “three or four different ways,” but “then, of course, when I saw the cut, I was like, ‘Oh, f*ckers!’ They had to put it in,” Dean Morgan added.

The final episode of The Walking Dead still has 23 episodes to go. There’s plenty of time for Maggie to get her revenge.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)