Why Negan needs to die in tonight’s Walking Dead finale

As season 8 of The Walking Dead limps to a close, the question is not if someone is going to die but how many and who.

Arguably the biggest question mark for tonight’s finale will be the fate of Negan.

Given the character’s popularity, things could go either way for him.  That being said keeping him alive would be a very bad idea.

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The Walking Dead already tried this once with another beloved villain in The Governor.  Thanks to that stroke of brilliance, not only was he kept on the show for too long but the writer’s insistence on keeping him alive led to a massively disappointing finale and arguably the show’s worst episode “Welcome to the Tombs.”

The writers eventually rectified this somewhat by having Rick’s showdown with The Governor take place in the mid-season 4 finale instead.  Unfortunately, as a result of shoehorning him in for another year (among other things), the quality of season 4 varies greatly.

Keep in mind all this happened with The Governor only being around for a season and a half.  Negan has already been on the show for over two.

There’s also just no narrative reason to justify keeping Negan alive.

Negan and the Saviors have been making life a living hell (even by post-apocalyptic standards) for Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom for over two seasons now.  While Rick has never been one to kill lightly, any mercy he has goes out the window once he thinks someone is a threat to his group, a point Negan passed a long time ago.

Some folks will understandably point out that Negan was kept alive after the war ended in The Walking Dead comics.

One of the great things about the show initially was that, while it clearly respects the comics, they didn’t limit themselves by treating it like holy scripture.  Some of The Walking Dead‘s most memorable and shocking moments have come from the show not being afraid to deviate from the source material.  Heck without that, Daryl wouldn’t even exist.

For all the pacing problems The Walking Dead season 2 had, the surprisingly early deaths of Sophia and Dale were two dramatic high points in an otherwise forgettable season.

Next: What we want to see in Fear the Walking Dead S4

Ironically, The Walking Dead‘s big jumping the shark moment at the beginning of season 7 could’ve been easily avoided had they not decided to follow an iconic moment from the comics.

Do you think Negan will survive tonight’s The Walking Dead finale?  Should he?  GIve us your thoughts in the comment section.