During a recent appearance at Pennsylvania's Steel City Con, actor Ryan Hurst revealed that The Walking Dead writers' room originally scripted more of a fight between Beta and allies Daryl and Negan. Actor Ryan Hurst, who played the role of Whisperer Beta in the popular AMC series, spoke about the "would-have-been" fight scene between the three characters that just didn't make the cut. After the turning point in The Whisperer War, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) had lured Beta into a trap, and is nearly killed for beheading Alpha. Before Beta was able to end Negan and avenge Alpha, Daryl (Norman Reedus) saves Negan by slashing at Beta and stabbing two knives into his eyes. This particular scene took place during the season 10 "A Certain Doom" episode.

"I was hoping that Daryl and I would have got to fight a little more or that Beta would have been able to go at it with Negan a little bit more, which was supposed to be on the books there. It was written that way for a little while, which I was excited about," Hurst said. "Then, at the last minute, they decided that they just wanted this sort of surprise to happen where Daryl kind of swoops in and saves the day. I was like, [blows raspberry]."

With Beta having grudges against both Daryl and Negan, The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang had wanted to end The Whisperer War by "crashing those three characters together at the very end." While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Angela Kang spoke highly about the beloved three actors and their characters in the series. She stated that each of the three are "an alpha in their own right," and each of their roles were a great fit in Beta's final battle. The Walking Dead showrunner also mentioned that Beta's surreal exit by dying in a herd of zombies was something that Ryan Hurst most likely enjoyed himself.

"Those three guys, they bonded in very particular ways, but they're also each like an alpha in their own right. So all three of them had to be cool and have a cool part of the thing, and I think they were all great. Negan had his role to play as bait, because he knew he could be great bait, Daryl coming in with the knives, and Beta just the tough guy, but also just in some ways, he always knew he would die in the herd. So he got to have this weird, surreal exit, which I think Ryan enjoyed."

Ryan Hurst Reflects Back on His Experience and Being Part of The Walking Dead Universe

It's now been more than a year after Beta's death in The Walking Dead series, which took place towards the end of its tenth season. During the same Q&A panel at the Steel City Con, Ryan Hurst reflected on his 20-episode appearance on the show, stating that it was "a beautiful experience." He goes on to say, "There were so many people there that had been working on that show for so long. It really operated like a city or a town or a village, it mirrored the show a little bit how proficient they were as a community filming the show together. The family atmosphere of making this long-running hit show was unique to that show."

In the comic book series, Beta's death was actually quite different from what was revealed in the AMC series. In the comics, Negan battles Beta with his iconic baseball bat, Lucille, within the pages of The Walking Dead #159. Beta is eventually shot and killed during a scuffle with Aaron and Jesus during issue #173. Season 11 of The Walking Dead returns for its Part II finale on February 20 on AMC. The release for the third and final part of the series finale has not been revealed at this time.