A New (Secondary) Antagonist Gets Introduced on The Walking Dead

It's been confirmed that we'll meet Negan at the end of the season, but tonight saw the introduction of another antagonist from the comics. SPOILERS!

SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers from "Knots Untied," tonight's episode of "The Walking Dead," follow. At publication, the episode has yet to air on the west coast.

Before the second half of "The Walking Dead's" current season even began, fans were abuzz about the inevitable appearance of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, arguably the most compelling and vicious villain from the comics.

It's since been confirmed that Negan won't show up in the flesh until the finale, but his introduction on the page was equally as drawn out, something acknowledged by tonight's episode, "Knots Untie". In it, we meet another antagonist, one who's secondary, but also important. That would be Gregory, the leader of another community of survivors called the Hilltop Colony. Don't worry; to say that he's a villain doesn't exactly spoil anything, as he's a different kind of baddie than Negan, more despicable in vibe than physical action: cowardly, misogynist, yet still somewhat effective as an authority figure.

We know not everyone out there has read the Image Comics arcs by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, so we won't spoil how his story plays out. However, if tonight is any indicator, it seems that the show is staying fairly close to the source material, with Gregory and Rick's company agreeing to trade supplies and food in exchange for protection from The Saviors. As played by Xander Berkeley, the character exhibits an appropriate amount of sleaze (he has no bones about hitting on Maggie as soon as he meets her), while still showing the necessary amount of practicality.

Stay tuned for CBR's full recap later tonight.