Leading up to The Walking Dead premiere and the sure to be traumatic reveal of who Negan bludgeons with a baseball bat, I've been trying to focus my speculation on any non-Negan aspect of Season 7 possible. Whatever it takes to not stress about Lucille and her victim. That includes stuff like what Carol and Morgan will be up to, if that tiger is real or CGI, and whether or not Rick will lose his hand on The Walking Dead — because that happened in the comics a long time ago and there have been some major hints. Carl lost his eye, and Rick's hand could be next.
In the comics, the Governor chopped off Rick's hand, but he is long gone on the AMC series. Why does it seem like this might happen now? In a recent sneak peek that showed Rick threatening Negan after at least one Lucille killing, Negan mentioned not only a hatchet and an ax, but the concept of having a right hand man. No, Negan isn't making a Hamilton reference. The characters on The Walking Dead unfortunately live in a world without Lin-Manuel Miranda's Pulitzer prize-winning musical.
He's referring to Rick's group — and you can scrutinize the sheriff's reaction to determine whether or not said "right-hand man" (Daryl? Michonne? Glenn?) is already dead. Victim-guessing aside, this could also be foreshadowing the loss of Rick's literal right hand. Trust Negan to throw a little amputation into his murder spree. If anyone is dramatic enough to pull that off, it's him.
The Walking Dead has a lot of fun with how it incorporates storylines, characters, and elements from the original comic series. Some things go exactly as planned, like the herd attack on the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Some things, like Denise's death, were originally meant for other characters. Heck, Daryl was never in the comics to begin with, and other things are drawn out over time or teased. That happened with Glenn's alleged death, and it's happening again with Rick's hand. Remember, his hand was injured last season too. The signs could be pointing to Rick Grimes going full Captain Hook on The Walking Dead — but I would worry more about the crocodile known as Negan.
Image: Gene Page/AMC
