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‘The Walking Dead’ just foreshadowed a big moment we may see play out later this season

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AMC

Warning: If you're not caught up with "The Walking Dead," there are spoilers ahead.

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Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead" not only brought Rick and the gang to a new community, The Hilltop, but it also continued to lay groundwork for the introduction of the show's next big villain.

Near the end of the episode, Rick, Daryl, and the other survivors hear about a man named Negan, the leader of a group of survivors known as The Saviors, who demands food and supplies from other communities. In return, the Saviors leave the other groups alive (how nice!).

It marks the second time some of Rick's group have heard Negan's name — Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham first heard it from the ragtag motorcycle gang in the mid-season premiere.

After a group of Hilltop members return from a supply drop gone awry with Negan, Jesus tells Rick's people a story about their first encounter with Negan's men. He says the Saviors first appeared after the walls for their colony went up. They met with the Hilltop leader Gregory on behalf of Negan and made their presence known immediately. 

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the walking dead jesus
Jesus, telling it like it is to Rick and company. AMC

"He made a lot of demands," explains Jesus. "Even more threats. And he killed one of us. Rory. He was 16 years old. He beat him to death right in front of us ... said we needed to understand right off the bat."

Now, if you're only watching "The Walking Dead" show, that story from Jesus may not seem like much. Okay. We get it. You probably shouldn't pick a fight with this Negan guy. But if you're a fan of the comic series, you may have freaked out since Jesus' story sounds like more of a cautionary tale, foreshadowing a big event which will most likely play out in the near future.

Warning: Head back now if you don't want to read any potential spoilers for the rest of season 6!

Naturally, Rick and his crew don't seem rattled by this Negan guy. He sounds no different from other huge threats — the cannibals, the Governor — which Rick has swiftly taken down. Plus, Daryl easily took out several of his men with an RPG.

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daryl the walking dead rpg season 6
"Hold up. They show up, they kill a kid, and you give 'em half of everything? These d---s just have a good story. Boogieman. [Negan] ain't shit." Daryl may eat those words later. AMC
walking dead daryl
Gene Page/AMC

"Confrontation's never been something we've had trouble with," Rick tells Jesus assuredly as they vow to take care of this guy for the Hilltop, too, in exchange for some food for the Alexandrians.

But they probably shouldn't underestimate Negan.

In the comics, Rick's first encounter with the Savior leader is in issue #100 and it is a roller coaster of emotions.

You'll want to look back at Jesus' little story to Rick and the gang because it may start to sound like dejavu. 

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It goes something like this:

Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Carl, and a few others head to Negan's camp. They make a pit stop on the way there though and get captured by Negan's men and end up meeting the man himself much sooner than expected.

At this point in the comic, Rick's men have killed a lot of Negan's men so you can bet he's none too happy about that. As a result, he lines them all up and introduces them to his pride and joy — a baseball bat covered in barbed wire by the name of Lucille.

negan
Image/Skybound

Negan chooses one of the lot and brutally beats them to death in front of the rest of the group. I won't tell you who he winds up choosing. You can find that out for yourself. 

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I'm sure "The Walking Dead" script writers chose their words carefully when they had Jesus say the line, "We needed to understand right off the bat." That line from Jesus nearly echoes the line the one Savior uttered to Abraham and Sasha at the start of the mid-season premiere when he says, "You see, usually, we introduce ourselves by just popping one of you right off the bat, but you seem like reasonable people." 

the walking dead saviors season 6
Gene Page/AMC

It sounds like we'll see Negan come swinging (literally) into the show by the end of the season.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Grey's Anatomy," "Watchmen") was cast in the role back in November and fans are very eager for his introduction which should come during the season finale.

jeffrey dean morgan negan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play Negan. Getty Images/Skybound composite by Kirsten Acuna/Tech Insider

The Hollywood Reporter first reported Negan will be seen in the season 6 finale. Images and video leaked online last fall suggesting the big scene with Lucille was being filmed, and, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Scott Gimple and executive producer and finale director Greg Nicotero suggested they filmed two versions of Negan's entry onto the series (most likely one of which is full of cursing).

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Back in November, Andrew Lincoln (Rick) described the finale as the "darkest" one they've attempted, ending "with a very big bang" to the Wrap.

Recently, Lincoln told Entertainment Weekly the finale made him nauseous.

"I felt sick to my stomach when I read the script. It was the first day in the whole six years of working on 'The Walking Dead' that I was late for work because I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get back to sleep," said Lincoln. "I was so angry and frustrated and I felt sick. And that was just after reading it."

the walking dead rick
Andrew Lincoln's Rick may think he's an unstoppable force, but he's never met anyone like Negan before. Gene Page/AMC

"I never even imagined that as an actor you could have that experience," said costar Lauren Cohan (Maggie) of her experience filming the finale. "It’s one of the most raw experiences that I think any of us have ever had."

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Right now, Rick and his crew are gearing up to take a visit down to old Negan and the Saviors. They don't realize it yet, but they may be in over their heads.

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