The Walking Dead season 8 finale: What happens to Negan in the comics? Does he die in episode 16?

*Major finale spoilers follow*

(AMC Studios)

The eighth season of The Walking Dead has drawn to a close in earth-shattering fashion as All Out War - an arc which has shaped the show for the past two years - comes to an end.

Rick has battled Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) for two agonising seasons after he mercilessly bludgeoned both Abraham and Glenn to death in the traumatic season 7 premiere.

*Spoilers follow*

Negan is alive and well in the comic books, even earning Rick's trust years on from events depicted in the TV series. As we just witnessed in the season 8 finale, the leader of his fallen faction The Saviours finds himself locked away as Rick's prisoner following the culmination of All Out War. He remains there for an unknown number of years, living proof that the Alexandrians were always in better stead to rebuild the world in a way that doesn't involve constant blood-spill.

Later, Negan becomes a crucial part of the battle with an even more dangerous faction than The Saviours ever were, named The Whisperers (who may or may not have been teased in the season 8 finale).

*Huge comic book spoilers follow*

The former leader of The Saviours is the one who eventually murders their leader, the fearsome Alpha, in a bid to earn Rick's trust. In fact, Negan is so eager to assimilate into the new world that, in a recent issue of the comic book series, he saves his former adversary's life during a particularly close brush with a horde of walkers.

“Holy shit, Rick," he exclaims, "Can you believe it? We're working together!” If these events are depicted in the series at a later stage, it will prove once and for all that Carl's parting wisdom was correct.

The Walking Dead season 8 finale airs tomorrow evening on FOX and will be available to stream on NOW TV. It will return to AMC for season 9 later this year.

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