(Spoiler alert: Do not keep reading if you have not seen this week’s episode of “The Walking Dead”)
Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” said that he was all too aware of fan reaction to the possibility that Glenn (Steven Yeun) had been killed off on the show.
“I remember waking up the following morning after Episode 3 and going to my local coffee shop,” Lincoln told TheWrap. “I ordered a coffee and they refused to sell it to me because they said, ‘You killed Glenn.'”
And even though he knew the storyline’s conclusion ahead of time, Lincoln said he was still nervous after finishing the script for episode three.
“Steven even said, ‘It’s a fakeout.’ But then I read the script and in the script it was, verbatim, Glenn gets torn apart by zombies,” he said. “And I called him up and said, ‘Are you sure this is a fake out? Because it looks like you’re dying, man.'”
Lincoln and Yeun go all the way back to episode one of the hit zombie apocalypse drama, making them a part of a small group on set that Lincoln said is referred to as the OGs, or original gangsters.
“I love that they are regenerating the cast and bringing in these wonderful actors to join us, but there is something to be said about six years of time with members of the cast,” Lincoln said “It gives history. We know each other very, very well.”
“The prospect of him leaving this season was awful,” he continued. “It’s not just losing a friend or someone you like playing opposite as an actor. It changes my enthusiasm for coming back to work…Steven’s one of the true leaders on set. He’s the true hero of the story at the moment.”
“In short, I love the guy and I’m very glad he isn’t dead,” Lincoln concluded with a laugh.
'The Walking Dead': The Most Shocking and Disturbing Deaths So Far
"The Walking Dead" has never been shy about gore and death, but some characters' demises hit harder than others. Now that the final season is upon us, let's take a look back at the carnage from past seasons.
Andrea's sister Amy (Emma Bell) was the first sympathetic named character to go, when a random walker bit her at camp.
AMC
The death of Jim (Andrew Rothenberg) in Season 1 showed the characters how to treat a bitten person for the first time.
AMC
Sophia (Madison Lintz) was beloved by all, but Rick did not hesitate when it came time to pull the trigger when she became a walker.
AMC
Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) was the moral compass of the group, so it was upsetting on several levels when a zombie ripped his guts out.
AMC
Shane (Jon Bernthal) was ready to kill Rick over his love triangle with Lori, but Rick acted first.
AMC
T-Dog (IronE Singleton) gave his life to save Carol from walkers when the group tried to take the prison.
AMC
Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) died during childbirth, prompting Carl to shoot her in the head to prevent her reanimation.
AMC
Daryl's brother Merle (Michael Rooker) finally tried to be a good man by defying the Governor -- and it got him a bullet in the heart from the Governor himself and a new life as a zombie.
AMC
Andrea (Laurie Holden) failed to see The Governor for what he was -- a bad guy -- and paid the ultimate price.
AMC
Hershel (Scott Wilson) wanted peace, but The Governor took his head to prove a point to Rick.
AMC
Tyreese (Chad Coleman) let his guard down for a just a moment, but long enough to get bitten by a walker.
AMC
Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) killed her sister Mika (Kyla Kenedy) before Carol shot Lizzie in the back of the head.
AMC
Beth (Emily Kinney) finally had enough of Dawn, the tyrannical overlord of Grady Memorial Hospital, stabbing her with a pair of scissors as a parting gift. But Dawn immediately shot Beth in the head -- prompting Daryl to in turn shoot Dawn.
AMC
Noah (Tyler James Williams) endured one of the most gruesome deaths in "Walking Dead" history thanks to Nicholas.
AMC
Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), Ron (Austin Abrams) and Sam (Major Dodson) all died within seconds of each other. Sam got eaten when the horde invaded Alexandria. Jessie died as she tried to save him. Ron then attempted to kill Rick, but got stabbed by Michonne and was subsequently eaten.
AMC
Abraham (Michael Cuditz) was the one we had to wait six months to see murdered by Negan. He, of course, got his head beaten in with Negan's barbwire-wrapped baseball bat, Lucille.
AMC
But Abraham wasn't Negan's only victim that night. After Daryl punched Negan, Negan decided he had to make another example out of someone in the group -- and he chose Glenn.
AMC
Spencer (Austin Nichols) thought he could use Negan to kill Rick in order to assume control of Alexandria. But Negan had other plans, gutting Spencer in full view of everyone in the community.
Gene Page/AMC
Olivia (Ann Mahoney) suffered plenty of indignities at Negan's hands, and he eventually repaid her by having her shot.
AMC
Ole Dr. Carson (Tim Parati) made a critical error by saying mean things about Sherry to Dwight over and over again. So Dwight framed the good doctor for helping Daryl escape from the Saviors -- and Negan threw him into the furnace for it.
AMC
When King Ezekiel's crew was short one cantaloupe in its tribute for Negan's Saviors, Benjamin was shot in the leg as punishment. Unfortunately, the shot hit an artery, and young Ben bled out.
AMC
It turned out that Richard had tossed one of the cantaloupes because he wanted to start a war between the Kingdom and Saviors -- and he thought they would kill him for being short. They shot Ben instead, but Morgan strangled Richard the next day after Richard confessed.
AMC
Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) used Eugene's suicide pills to kill herself while she was theatrically locked in a casket because of some ridiculous thing Negan was doing. When Negan opened the casket she popped out as a walker and saved Rick and the residents of Alexandria in a clutch moment.
AMC
Morales (Juan Gabriel Pareja) returned in Season 8 after having been gone since Season 1, but that return was short-lived. Now a member of the Saviors, Morales was around again for about 10 minutes before Daryl shot him.
AMC
Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson) got shot during the Alexandrians' battle against the Saviors, and then bled out and turned into a walker after a tearful goodbye scene with his boyfriend Aaron (Ross Marquand).
AMC
Shiva the tiger bit the dust while saving Ezekiel, Carol and Jerry from a bunch of walkers in Season 8. There were just too many and they swarmed and ate her.
AMC
Carl (Chandler Riggs) died in the Season 8 mid-season premiere after suffering a zombie bite in the first half of the season.
AMC
Gregory (Xander Berkeley) got his long-overdue death when he was executed by hanging for trying to murder Maggie in the Season 9 premiere.
AMC
Jesus (Tom Payne) was killed when he tried to decapitate a zombie only to discover that zombie was actually a living man disguised as one -- this was Alexandria and Hilltop's first real contact with the Whisperers.
AMC
Near the end of Season 9, the Whisperers made a big statement by killing 10 named characters at once and putting all their heads on spikes. The most notable among those killed were Tara (Alanna Masterson), Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Henry (Matt Lintz) and Tammy Rose (Brett Butler).
Siddiq (Avi Nash) was killed in Alexandria by Dante, who it turned out was a Whisperer infiltrator, because he discovered that Dante had poisoned the town's water supply.
Earl Sutton (John Finn) was killed during the battle with the Whisperers at Hilltop when he was bitten by one of their zombie horde. Over the course of this conflict, the Whisperers got his wife Tammy Rose and his son Kenneth as well.
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As the final season kicks off, we look back at some of the emotional devastation this show has wreaked over the past decade
"The Walking Dead" has never been shy about gore and death, but some characters' demises hit harder than others. Now that the final season is upon us, let's take a look back at the carnage from past seasons.