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There’s a lot of speculation about who let Negan out of his cell on The Walking Dead. Season 10 Episode 5 gives us some more clues, but fans are still left having to come up with theories about the big plot twist on the show. This article has minor spoilers for Season 10 Episode 5 of The Walking Dead.
We learn quickly that Negan’s new friend Brandon is not the person who released Negan from his cell. Quickly in their encounter, Brandon asks Negan who let him out.
Brandon Is Not the One Who Let Negan Out
In case you don’t recall, Brandon was put in charge of watching over Negan while he worked in the community gardens. At one point, Brandon warned Lydia away from Negan when she got too close. But the truth is that Brandon is a big fan of Negan, after hearing lots of stories from his parents when he was growing up about the things Negan did with the Saviors. He’s pretty much obsessed with Negan, but he’s not the one who let Negan out of his cell.
Some fans still think it was Lydia, but other fans think it was Daryl. Negan did save Lydia’s life, and Daryl knows it. Yes, Daryl was tortured by Negan’s group. But he also knows that if it weren’t for Negan, then Lydia would be dead. On top of that, the group looked like they might be heading toward a death sentence for Negan.
But Daryl’s also strategic. He might have let Negan out so Negan could take care of Beta, his main rival, and cross the border without their group being blamed. Negan’s viewed as an outsider, so the Whisperers might decide to recruit him.
Another top theory is that Carol is the one who let Negan out, for similar reasons. Carol is strategic and can put emotion aside for the sake of doing what needs to be done (remember “look at the flower”?) She would be the type of person to see that Negan changed and know he could be relied upon to infiltrate the Whisperers and kill Alpha. Carol can’t cross the land herself, but she would know Negan could. And after Alpha killed her son Henry, Carol would be willing to do whatever it takes to get Alpha killed, even if that meant releasing Negan.
But another surprising theory involves Aaron. We know Aaron hates Negan, but he also observed how Negan had changed during their outing. Aaron also wants the Whisperers destroyed and he may have voted to execute Negan in order to cover his tracks. Remember, Aaron told Negan just a couple episodes ago that if Negan “gave a sh**, you’d leave.” Maybe Aaron made that happen.
Who Let Negan Out in the Comics?
Comic spoilers are below.
In the comics, Negan was released by Brandon Rose, who had a grudge against Rick Grimes. He wanted to release Negan so they could tell the Whisperers that Rick planned to attack them and they could all come back and kill Rick. Obviously that plotline is not what’s happening with Negan now.