The Walking Dead Fans Seem To Be Split On Who They Think The Series' Cruelest Villain Is
No matter the case, surviving in the world of "The Walking Dead" wouldn't be easy for anyone. Food is running out, supplies are scarce, and, of course, there are flesh-hungry reanimated corpses around every corner that will attack without rhyme or reason. To make matters worse, not all living humans are so eager to band together in hopes of keeping humanity around. Rather, some are out to exploit the situation for their own gain. They swiftly become tyrants of communities they've built almost exclusively on fear, intimidation, and punishment of those they've forced beneath them.
Throughout the show's run, the heroes of "The Walking Dead" have had to contend with some dangerous human threats — each with their own goals and lengths they're willing to go to achieve them. Among the most well-remembered and ironically beloved by fans of the AMC hit are the Governor (David Morrissey), Alpha (Samantha Morton), and one of the few who had the chance to somewhat redeem himself, Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Still, just because they've built up fanbases all their own doesn't mean that these and other "TWD" villains are completely absolved of their heinous actions.
According to some "Walking Dead" fans, this antagonist is undoubtedly the cruelest of them all. Meanwhile, others believe it's this one.
Alpha and Negan are in a vile league of their own
Redditor u/Commercial-Conflict6 ran a poll that asked members of the "Walking Dead" community who their pick for the cruelest villain is. Jocelyn (Rutina Wesley) came in last with a mere 87 votes, then came Beta (Ryan Hurst) with 208, and Simon (Steven Ogg) with 293. The Governor came in third with around 1,100, leaving Negan and Alpha close with approximately 1,400 and 1,500, respectively. Considering all of the pain and misery Negan as the leader of the Saviors and Alpha as the leader of the Whisperers caused, this narrow vote difference between them makes a lot of sense.
During their time on "The Walking Dead," both Negan and Alpha did some genuinely awful things. Although, in the former's case, the episode "Here's Negan" at least gave us a clear picture of how and why he came to live such a cruel life. As it turns out, though, Alpha won't have to go without such treatment. The character and the actress behind her, Samantha Morton, will return in the "Tales of the Walking Dead" anthology series to explore Alpha's origins more thoroughly. As Morton explained at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, the previous flashbacks on "TWD" could've had some bias baked into them, so the new show could potentially depict her old life a bit differently.
Alpha and Negan will go down as two of the vilest villains to appear on "The Walking Dead" for more reasons than one. Bearing in mind their backstories and what led to them taking such a dark path, fans will likely remember them as two of the most fascinating, too.