Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes with zombie horde behind The Walking Dead delivered some brutal blows to the characters of Robert Kirkman’s creation, but none could compare with that of Glenn at the hands of Negan. While the death scene for the popular character was inevitable in the TV adaptation considering its pivotal inclusion in Kirkman’s comics, when it arrived, it caused a whole new wave of controversy. For star Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes in the zombie horror franchise, it was perhaps the point that the series pushed things a little bit too far.

Recent gore-fest movies such as Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Terrifier 2 contain sustained moments of violence that make Negan look like a prime candidate to be Daddy Daycare. At the time, and by network TV standards, the opening episode of The Walking Dead’s seventh season led to the point when the creators started to pull back on some of its more traumatic moments.

Speaking to Empire Magazine, Lincoln shared his thoughts on the moment Glenn had his head beaten to a pulp by Negan’s barbed-wire baseball bat, Lucille, and how there was perhaps too much lingering on the intense moment’s aftermath. He said:

“I do still think [Glenn’s death] might have been when we over-egged the omelette. Maybe it was lingering too much.”

The build up to Negan’s arrival on the show at the end of Season 6 was one that could not be beaten; an intense, night-set game of cat and mouse as Rick and his group attempted to escape The Saviors and their infamous leader. Lincoln noted that filming the scenes were almost as intense as watching them, especially when Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Negan, was thrown straight into the deep end on his first day on set. Lincoln explained:

“[It was] the most intense nights of shooting I’ve ever been part of. [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.”

The Walking Dead Continues to Live on with Several Spin-Offs

Maggie and Negan in The Walking Dead_ Dead City Carol and Daryl in The Walking Dead Rick and Michonne in The Walking Dead Maggie and Negan in The Walking Dead_ Dead City Carol and Daryl in The Walking Dead Rick and Michonne in The Walking Dead

Although The Walking Dead reached its conclusion in Season 11, the franchise has once again found its rotting feet with three spin-off shows following some of the series’ most iconic characters. These new shows have proven that sometimes a change is as good as a rest, and have provided some of the best reviews and viewer volumes of the last several years of the franchise.

Dead City follows Negan and Maggie as they take a perilous trip to New York City, bringing a new setting and new dangers to the unlikely team-up. Daryl Dixon similarly shifts location, which time sending the crossbow-wielding bike-rider off to Europe, and once again bringing a new story to the franchise with a familiar and immensely popular character at its heart. Finally, Lincoln himself made his triumphant return as Rick Grimes, along with Danai Gurira’s Michonne, in The Ones Who Live. After several years of being teased, Rick’s story became the jewel in the crown, gaining almost unanimous praise and ratings to boot.

The future of The Walking Dead now seems set to continue on indefinitely, with Dead City and Daryl Dixon returning for second seasons, and more shows planned for the future. However, as Lincoln suggests, delivering a blow that matches the sheer horror of Glenn’s death looks to be something that the show won’t be doing anytime soon.