The Walking Dead’s one peak moment in Season 7 happened nine years ago and fans still talk about that Jeffrey Dean Morgan moment today.

The Walking Dead ran for eleven seasons on AMC, spawning several spinoff shows. It was based on a comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, which made the series a favorite among the comic fandom. Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes played the central protagonist for nine seasons, but other characters also grew on the audience over time.

One of the characters who was introduced late into the show was Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played the antagonist, Negan. He was introduced in the final episode of Season 6, when the season ended on a major cliffhanger. Negan is introduced as the leader of the Saviors, a vast organization of survivors who were the antagonists beginning from the second half of the sixth season.

A still from the episode Last Day on Earth from The Walking Dead | Credits: AMC

The cliffhanger episode of the season is considered one of the best after nine years since it aired. Interestingly, it wasn’t viewed as such at the time of its airing. The cliffhanger received negative criticism, with many calling it manipulative and disappointing.

What was the cliffhanger in The Walking Dead that many hated and then loved?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in the episode Last Day on Earth from The Walking Dead | Credits: AMC

Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s performance as Negan in his first appearance is something fans will never forget. During his appearance in the episode titled Last Day on Earth, he berates Rick for killing many of his men and introduces him to his weapon, a baseball bat, which he calls “Lucille”. He threatened to end Maggie’s life, and an angry Glenn lunged at him to defend her.

Negan then starts a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe, pointing Lucille at the line of survivors leaning before him. These survivors included Andrew Lincoln‘s Rick, Lauren Cohen’s Maggie, Steven Yeun‘s Glenn, Norman Reedus’ Daryl, Danai Gurira’s Michonne, Sonequa Martin-Green’s Sasha, and Michael Cudlitz’s Abraham.

He eventually lands on his target. The camera is shown from the victim’s point of view and shows Negan slamming the bat down onto his victim’s head. He continues to beat the victim over and over again as the camera cuts to black, marking the end of the episode. It was considered a completely botched cliffhanger at the time.

However, the skeptical fans were shut down quickly when Season 7, Episode 1, aired and shocked them with not one but two deaths. Here’s what writer Scott M. Gimple had to say about the backlash that the cliffhanger received (via TVLine):

If you approach it from a place of skepticism or with the idea that there’s some kind of negative or cynical motivation behind it… it’s difficult to convince you otherwise. I do think we’ve done enough on the show and we’ve delivered a story that people have enjoyed [to warrant fans giving] us the benefit of the doubt. I truly hope that people will see [the Season 7 premiere] and feel it justifies the way we’ve decided to tell the story.

The fans and critics jumped to conclusions before the show could explain away the cliffhanger. When the episode titled, The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be, aired on April 3, 2016, it was a peak moment in the history of television.

How did The Walking Dead pay off the cliffhanger brilliantly?

Steven Yeun as Glenn in a still from The Walking Dead | Credits: AMC

Many fans of the comics guessed that Negan’s target from the last season finale was Glenn. He is killed in the same manner in the comic book series, and these fans were ready to bid farewell to Steven Yeun. However, they were only half right. In the episode, it was revealed that Negan’s selected victim was Abraham.

He slammed Lucille into his head multiple times until he completely destroyed the character’s head in front of his friends. When fans believed the brutality to be finally over, Negan went ahead and slammed the bat against Glenn’s head. The scene lingered on Glenn’s half-destructed face, with Negan explaining the situation.

Fans absolutely hated Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character but loved the shock value that paid off the last season’s cliffhanger moment. However, it took them some time to appreciate the brilliance behind it as they needed to recover from the traumatic TV experience.

The Walking Dead is available for streaming on AMC+.