It's Time For The Negan & Beta Buddy Comedy That 'Walking Dead' Fans Deserve

Try as he might, Negan's attempt at redeeming himself has not been going well thus far. By the end of last week's episode "What It Always Is," he even went back to donning his leather jacket and carrying around Lucille 2.0. Now he's come face-to-face with a group of Whisperers, including Beta, leaving fans to theorize about Negan's future on The Walking Dead. Where can this character go from here? Has he reverted back to his old ways? What is he hoping to gain by stepping into the Whisperers' territory? It's been years since this character had a taste of freedom, so it's understandable to worry about what he plans to do with it moving forward.

Initially, Negan left Alexandria in the hope of starting fresh and walking down a more righteous path than his prior bat-bashing days. However, a former Savior's actions forced Negan's worst instincts to resurface, which could very well impact his next course of action. "There’s all kinds of thoughts swirling through his head, and we’ll learn more about it as it goes on," showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly during a recent interview. "Certainly, we’re seeing him embrace a certain side of himself that perhaps he was forced to leave behind, but it opens up that question of, is the old Negan completely back? Was he never really gone? And those are all things that we’ll be dealing with this season."

Indeed, Negan appears to be at an important crossroad in his life, but as for what path he chooses to take, here are a few possible options...

Negan Teams Up With The Whisperers

It seems highly unlikely that getting caught by the Whisperers wasn't part of Negan's plan. He was being very loud while killing those zombies and knew full well that he had stepped over territory lines. Perhaps he's fed up with his nice guy efforts constantly getting punished and wants to align himself with the latest big bads in town. Though, considering his rather loud personality, joining a group like the Whisperers may prove to be more difficult than he realizes.

He Plans To Kill Alpha

Then again, it's just as possible that Negan will only pretend to befriend the Whisperers while infilrating the group from the inside. And what better way to get back into everyone's good graces in Alexandria than by putting an end to their biggest threat? Negan kills Alpha in the comics, so this outcome feels not just plausible, but highly probable. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time The Walking Dead decided to part ways with its source material, so who knows.

He Starts His Own Community

Negan formed the Saviors, after all, so his newfound freedom may inspire him to start from scratch once again and create his own community, far away from Alexandria, Hilltop, Oceanside, and the Kingdom. Maybe part of his plan is to recruit people from the Whisperers as a starting off point, though juding from the look on Beta's face (well, as much as viewers can see of it with that zombie mask on), he'd be a hard no on that front. (Though, honestly, who wouldn't love to see a Negan and Beta spinoff at some point?)

Negan has always played things pretty close to the vest, so it may still be a while until fans fully understand what his game plan is — but if you don't think this won't ultimately end in gore and bloodshed, then clearly you haven't been paying attention these last 10 seasons.