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The Walking Dead season 8 finale: Rick made heroic move saving Negan

By Charles Rahrig V

Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier - The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 16 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier - The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 16 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC /
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The Walking Dead season 8 finale saw Rick Grimes save Negan’s life after slashing his throat. Was it the right decision?

The war between Rick and Negan finally came to an end on The Walking Dead on Sunday night. The Saviors have been defeated once and for all after a huge assist from Eugene and Rick defeating Negan.

However, Rick had to make a huge decision at the end of the war. After slashing Negan’s throat, it looked as if the man who had been tortured by him for two seasons would let him die. Instead, he chose to let his “mercy prevail” and he ended up having him saved instead.

It immediately angered Maggie and she had to be restrained by Michonne. After Negan killed off several favorite characters over the previous two seasons, with Glenn and Abraham being the most notable, it’s easy to see why many would be upset that Rick didn’t kill him.

However, it was the right decision to keep the leader of the Saviors alive. Rather than letting his wrath get the best of him, Rick made sure that Carl’s death ended up serving an even bigger purpose after all.

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He chose to follow the vision that his son had for the future and now Negan will serve as a reminder to everyone stuck in their old ways. One of the last scenes saw Maggie talking with Jesus and Daryl about finishing Negan off when the time is right.

This is clearly setting up for a future conflict within. Still, Rick believes that if he can keep Negan alive, then everyone will see the way working together can build something far greater.

It was a controversial decision, but one that the show has built too for quite some time. If Rick had simply let Negan die, the letter written to him would have meant nothing and his character arc would not have progressed the way that it did.

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