Over the years, The Walking Dead has aired numerous brutal, gut-wrenching moments. But there’s one in particular that was too much for some fans to swallow. Yes, we’re talking about when Negan brutally killed Glenn in the season 7 premiere.
When people talk about the most heartbreaking, violent and disturbing deaths in The Walking Dead history, there’s so many that come to mind. From Sophia walking out of the barn, to Beth’s tragic demise, to the untimely death of Carl. Perhaps the most deeply shocking came in the season 7 premiere, The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be, when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) brutally beat beloved survivor Glenn (Steven Yeun) to death with his barbed-wire baseball bat. And what’s more, he killed Glenn right in front of his pregnant wife, Maggie.
The moment isn’t just regarded as one of the most shocking in The Walking Dead history, but also television history. Over the years, numerous cast members have been vocal about the raw brutality of the episode. For instance, Rick Grimes himself, Andrew Lincoln, has admitted that the show may have “over-egged the omelet.”
Most recently, Ross Marquand (Aaron) weighed in on the infamous moment. “I will say that was the episode that we lost a lot of fans, I think, just from the sheer gore,” the actor told Screen Rant.
“It’s a real credit to those craftsmen for making it so believable, but truly it wasn’t as effective for us as actors until we watched it on the screen. We’re like, “Oh, my God…” I think all of us, audience members and cast alike, were just blown away by how sad it was.”
“It was so visceral and so intense that I think a lot of people were like, ‘I’m out. I can’t do it anymore.'” he added.
Marquand’s comments about viewership are very true. The season 7 premiere peaked at an enormous 17 million viewers. Subsequent instalments failed to draw in close to that number. Granted, given the enormous cliffhanger left by season 6, it was always obvious that the season 7 premiere would garner immense viewership.
Funnily enough, both Steven Yeun and Jeffrey Dean Morgan crossed paths again in Invincible, where Yeun was able to get a taste of revenge.
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