The Walking Dead Boss On Glenn's Fake-out Death: We Weren't Playing With People's Emotions

WARNING: [...] that was all by design. Even though Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh) met an untimely end and Morgan (Lennie James) and Carol (Melissa McBride) had a stand-off in the "all life is precious debate," executive producer Greg Nicotero says that the show purposefully wanted to take a breather after the "epic" events of the first half of the season and before the show introduces one of its most iconic villains, Negan. After the controversial fake-out death of Glenn earlier in the season, will the audience continue to follow the show? Read on for Nicotero's take on the big finale moments and why he doesn't think the Glenn story line worked exactly as planned. Greg Nicotero: I think we're setting up for the second half of the season. The first half of the season has been big and epic and sprawling, and I think by ending with the overrun of Alexandria and then leading into the introduction to Negan, we're setting up some of our stakes for the second half of the season. Another big debate of this season was between Rick and Morgan and, last night, between Carol and Morgan. Given what happened with the Wolf, was Carol proven correct in her belief that you have to kill bad people in this world? If I have to kill somebody in order to allow other people to survive, that's what I have to do. Deanna signified strength in Alexandria. By doing her part and shooting the walkers in the hallway, that was her standing up against the threat that overtook her city. Maggie was her protégé, but Deanna chose to hand the plans for the expansion of Alexandria to Michonne because she knows that Michonne is investing in living and invested in the future. [...] that is the current plan and seems to make sense. [...] Glenn has made his way back to Alexandria finally. Why was it necessary to play with the audience's emotions to tell this story? When these people leave Alexandria and go on a run, they never know if they're going