'The Walking Dead': What Will the World Be Like When Negan Is Gone?

After tonight's season finale kicked off the "All Out War" event on The Walking Dead, we got to see many of the events from the comics depicted on screen. Among them — an unexpected death, the attack on Alexandria, and the first step to getting rid of Negan — seeing Negan chased away from Alexandria with his tail between his legs.

For some, Negan is the character they love to hate, but most fans want to see Negan die. After Negan brutally killed Glenn and Abraham, quite a few fans resent him. However, Negan probably won't die anytime soon if his arc parallels his comic counterpart. And considering how many comic events were depicted in tonight's season finale, it's safe to say the comics will likely influence what happens to Negan in the future, as well as what happens to everyone else without Negan in the picture.

What will happen when Negan is no longer a threat?

With it seeming highly plausible for the comics to influence the following events of #TheWalkingDead, Negan will probably become a prisoner in Alexandria. In the comics, Negan becomes a prisoner in Alexandria's jail after the "All Out War" event concluded.

When he's imprisoned on The Walking Dead television series, the Alexandrians and the rest of the survivors will be free to live their lives again, the lives they intended to build back in Season 5.

If you recall back in Season 5, the Alexandrians made plans to expand their community. Before Deanna died, she drew up plans for the Alexandria safe zone to be expanded, and Michonne saw to it that they be utilized. That's when Negan showed up and put those plans on hold.

Fortunately, the Alexandrians appear close to getting rid of Negan, so they should be able to pursue that goal soon enough. In the comics, after the "All Out War" event, there's a two-year span of time where the Alexandrians, Hilltop, and Kingdom lived peacefully.

During that time, the Alexandrians expanded their safe zone with crops, new buildings and rebuilt homes. Their relations with Hilltop and Kingdom improved as well, which lead to the separate communities establishing a network of trades between them. That said, the events of Season 8 will probably depict the survivors from Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom on a similar path once Negan is no longer a threat.

What will happen to the Saviors when Negan is gone?

Apart from the Alexandrians, we can't fail to acknowledge the numerous outposts of Saviors who (technically) still serve Negan, and the countless followers who reside therein. We saw in tonight's season finale that Dwight came up with a plan to recruit members of the Savior outposts to eliminate the Savior factions, but he doesn't intend to kill everyone. Yes, some of them will have to die, but Dwight sees the potential in recruiting members of the Saviors, so it'll be interesting to see what they will do when Negan is gone. Will they forge their own paths or will they join one of the allying communities?

Either choice sounds feasible at the moment, but if we want to look for insight from the comics, when Negan is captured by the Alexandrians, the remaining Saviors stand under Dwight's command, which seems the most probable outcome on the television series as well.

Regardless of theories, the similarities in the Season 7 finale and the comics themselves hint at a continued influence from the comics in Season 8. We've already seen the beginnings of "All Out War" and Negan is close to being imprisoned in Alexandria's jail, so we should be ready for the Alexandrians, the Saviors, and the rest of the survivors on #TheWalkingDead to refocus their efforts on rebuilding society — after Negan is taken care of, that is.

The Walking Dead returned for Season 8 in October, 2017.