Is The Walking Dead Setting Up Comic Showdown Between Negan and [SPOILER]?

The Whisperers better watch their back, because Negan's about to set up shop in their territory -- and he brought Lucille with him.

On tonight's episode of "The Walking Dead," viewers learned how Negan was able to escape from his jail cell in Alexandria and saw how much he has truly changed while behind bars.

The hour began with Negan already in the woods with a young man named Brandon, a kid who used to live at the Sanctuary back when he was in charge. He was clearly never a fan of Rick or living in Alexandria with the other kids whose parents died during the All Out War arc. In Brandon's mind, Negan was and always will be his leader, proudly proclaiming, "We are Negan."

Yeah, he fully drank the Kool-Aid and never looked back. Negan had apparently become the thing of legend for Brandon, believing it was him who killed Carl. Negan, however, was adamant that never happened -- telling him, "I would never kill a kid."

Hoping to restore his idol to his former glory, Brandon presented him with Lucille and his leather jacket and even showed him a location that could be their new Sanctuary. While there, the two came across a mother-son duo in peril, with Negan stepping in to heroically save them. While Negan and the pair bonded, Brandon was only hoping to rip them off. Upon hearing this plan, Negan told the guy to scram -- saying he never wanted to see his "pasty creepy ass face" again.

Unfortunately, that didn't take and Brandon thought it was just a "test." Hoping to pass, he killed the mother and son in cold blood. Negan didn't like that too much -- especially after a sweet moment with the son before he was killed -- and ended Brandon's life too.

Lucille in hand and his jacket back on, Negan made his way across the Whisperer border, looking for trouble. He found it. The episode ended with him coming face to face with Beta, telling him, "Alright you big ass freak, let's do this."

Much of tonight's story came directly from the comics, where he was also freed from his cell by an acolyte named Brandon before eventually meeting up with the Whisperers.

COMIC SPOILER ALERT HERE -- IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING, SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

In the comics, Negan joins the Whisperers for a while, earns Alpha's trust, before slitting her throat. This show, however, is known for switching things up. We wouldn't be surprised if this storyline leads to Beta or Gamma's deaths instead.

END OF SPOILERS.

In another storyline this week, Kelly became lost and disoriented in the woods as her hearing problems continued to worsen. Connie, Daryl and Magna were sent on a mission to find her and, eventually, they did. They also, however, found her near a stash of goods stolen from Hilltop -- something she and Magna had secretly been storing, seemingly in case they needed to run for their lives.

Daryl and Connie continued their flirtation as well, with the episode ending with Connie calling the bad boy her "family." On the flip side, Magna -- exposed for stealing -- got into a fight with Yumiko that seemed to put an end to their relationship. Also, viewers learned Magna killed a man who did something bad to her cousin, before the zombie apocalypse.

Over in Ezekiel's neck of the woods, the King was coughing up a storm -- and eventually told Siddiq he believes he has thyroid cancer. Though he said others in his family had it and beat it, he didn't think that would be the case now, without modern medicine. Viewers saw him get ready to tell Carol over the radio, but he cut the connection right before she got on the mic.

Last, but certainly not least, there's the Alpha of it all.

Tonight, we learned it was definitely her and the Whisperers who have been causing havoc on our favorite survivors. It was them who sent wave after wave of walkers to Alexandra and made the tree fall on the walls of Hilltop -- and now, they're trying to cut off their water supply by building a dam of bodies on the river.

All this time, Aaron had been keeping a close eye on them all and came across Gamma after she cut her hand doing some dirty work. He offered her a bandage, she accepted but refused to make smalltalk and later told Alpha about the run-in. Alpha's new plan: to use Aaron to further their cause. "You might just have to wear a new mask," Alpa told Gamma.

"The Walking Dead" airs Sundays on AMC.