At the end of the episode I was thinking Daryl.

It seems to fit his character, given he let Dwight go, and if his focus is on Lydia, having Negan no longer there would be good for a few reasons. He knows Lydia mixing it up with Negan isn't helping her acceptance. He also knows if they decide to kill Negan, it could drive Lydia away.

So to me Daryl makes the most sense. Plus it would be the more shocking reveal I think.

 

My first thought was Carol, but then I saw the sneak peek, and figured it was Brandon. But now you’ve got me questioning if my first thought is the correct one.


The truth is out there

 

You've convinced me. I now think it was Daryl too. And I like that a lot. Quite a few birds with one stone, smart move! I just wish we could have seen it, what was said.

 

In an earlier post had picked carol as an outside possiblility

 

First impression was Darryl, but now you've convinced me that Carol would be a far more interesting option.

 

If it was Carol, that would have meant taking a lot of liberties with letting go someone she had no direct conflict with. They've never even talked to each other once on screen (and I believe in this case it really means they've never talked). And I know she knows everything, and TF's loss is her loss, and all that, but I just feel Negan was not her prisoner to let go. Truly, only Daryl or Michonne could have made this decision, and for different reasons. So if Carol did it, it was done in a similar vein how she killed the two infected people back in the prison.
Even if the reasoning was good. If we get to see in flashbacks what Carol said to Negan before she let him go, now that could be interesting. If she just unlocked his cell, I'd be disppointed. Whereas if Daryl let him go silently, that would still be meaningful, given their history. I really hope we will get to see it, or at least find out about the circumstances, not just the person.

 

Carol is also off in her own world now, still trying to get her mind together. I don't see any reason for her to let Negan go. If it's not Brandon then it's Daryl. He knows Negan saved Lydia and isn't going to let him be executed for that.

 

I hope so, it would really suck it if were Brandon. First because it would suck to end the episode on a cliffhanger just to give the answer away in a sneak peek/trailer the day after. What's the point of the cliffhanger at that point? Second, because it needs to be one of the main characters. Random dude releasing Negan doesn't have the same effect as Daryl or Carol doing it.

I wonder if Negan knows who released him? They could have done it while he was sleeping.

 

I never thought it would be someone other than Brandon. Interesting. My money is on Carol. She was up late wasn’t she? Didn’t like how the Negan drama was becoming a distraction from the true focus - the war against the Whisperers.