Spencer Monroe (TV Series)

"I get what you're trying to do here... what you're trying to build. I'm not saying I agree with your methods, but I get it. You're building a network, and you're making people contribute to the greater good. Makes sense. But you should know that Rick Grimes has a history of not working well with others. (...) Rick wasn't the original leader here.... My mom was. She was doing a really good job of it. And then she died, not long after Rick showed up. Same with my brother, same with my dad. (...) His ego is out of control. He'll find a way to screw things up, trying to do things his way. Trying to take over. That's what he did with my mom, that's what he'll do again. (...) I am my mother's son. I can be the leader she was... That's what this place needs... That's what you need."

- Spencer to Negan about Rick Grimes

Spencer Monroe is a main character and later an antagonist, as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a resident of the Alexandria Safe-Zone who serves as one of the lookouts in the Alexandria tower. He is the son of Deanna and Reg and the brother of Aiden. He is shown to be afraid of what the world has become but does whatever it takes to protect himself and his family. He is shown to have a strong dislike towards Rick Grimes due to how he has handled their situation with the Saviors, as well as his usurpation of power from Spencer's mother and the correlation between Rick's arrival and the deaths of Spencer's family. Due to his actions, he is the tertiary antagonist of the first half of Season 7.

Ohio
Nothing is known about Spencer's life before or after the outbreak started except he had been with his family in Ohio during the start of the outbreak.

"Forget"
Spencer is mentioned by his mother Deanna as the one who had placed the rifle upon the lookout in the clock tower. He is later seen at the party where he meets Sasha Williams and tries to strike up conversation by talking about Mrs. Neudermeyer and how she wants a pasta maker. However, Sasha turns him down and walks away. He later witnesses Sasha snapping at a women when she is overwhelmed by everyone and the general atmosphere.

"Try"
Spencer sits with his parents in their house as they mourn the death of Aiden. The next day, Spencer witnesses a fight between Rick Grimes and Pete Anderson in the streets.

"Conquer"
Spencer is on guard duty when Gabriel Stokes, a priest and a newcomer with Rick's group, approaches the gate to leave for a "stroll" beyond the walls. When Gabriel returns later that night, Spencer asks if he could sometime come over and discuss his brother's death, as he claims he has nobody else to talk to. Spencer then asks Gabriel to close the gate as he gets ready for the community forum to discuss Rick's fate after his actions the night before with Pete. Once at the meeting, he listens to the townspeople and members of Rick's group speak about Rick. When Rick arrives with a dead zombie and informs the townspeople that it got through the walls, Spencer is quickly dispatched by his mother to check the gates after the people are notified that someone left the gate open.

"First Time Again"
Spencer appears at the meeting in his house held by Rick to discuss how they are going to get rid of the massive horde zombies discovered in a nearby quarry, which is the main reason why the community has not been overrun this far into the outbreak. Rick assigns Spencer alongside Rosita Espinosa and Holly to be on watch duty in town while Rick's group goes to lure the zombies out of the quarry and away from the safe-zone. Spencer is at the armory with Olivia, Tobin, and Francine listening to Carter's plan to overthrow Rick and his group. Carter tells Spencer that Deanna is barely a leader anymore due to the recent loss of her husband Reg. Rick walks in to find Carter holding a scared Eugene Porter, who overheard the plotting, at gunpoint. Carter tells Rick that he's taking the town back. Rick asks Spencer if that's what he, Francine, Tobin, and Olivia all want, and Spencer says, "No, that's what he was talking about", which prompts Rick to disarm Carter and hold him at gunpoint. After a few tense moments, Rick decides to spare Carter and lowers the gun.

"JSS"
Spencer first appears in this episode in the watch tower of Alexandria. He witnesses the Wolves, a hostile group of survivors that runs through communities, killing their inhabitants and taking their supplies, swarming the town and killing several people. He attempts to snipe several members of the Wolves, but only manages to kill one of them due to his inaccuracy with the rifle. Disappointed, he attempts to snipe more of the Wolves until he notices a truck heading straight for Alexandria. To prevent massive destruction, he takes aim at the truck and fires several bullets before managing to kill the driver, which brings the truck crashing into a wall instead of through the front gates. This is also triggers the horn of the truck to blare, attracting the half of the herd of walkers, which Rick's group is concurrently leading from the quarry, toward Alexandria. Spencer quickly runs down the tower to the truck in an attempt to stop the noise. He reaches the truck and prepares to kill the Wolf member that has reanimated before Morgan Jones, who was sent by Rick back to the community, comes along and kills it. Spencer informs Morgan of the attack on Alexandria from the Wolves. Morgan tells Spencer to stay on watch which he does. Spencer meets up with his mother and Maggie Greene, his mother's assistant. Spencer and Deanna embrace. Maggie tells Spencer and Deanna that she is going to help the others while Spencer stays to watch his mother. Spencer helps Deanna into the truck to keep her safe. Spencer is later seen with the other surviving Alexandrians patrolling the walls. Spencer asks Rosita if this is what life outside the walls is like, to which she replies, "Pretty much." Spencer also asks how Rosita is able to live in the face of such despair. She explains that her friends give her something worth dying for.

"Now"
Spencer first appears listening to Rick, who has returned to the community but brought along with him the half of the herd that had broken away from the rest due to the horn, discuss that they will lure the zombies away from Alexandria, and that they will wait for Glenn Rhee, Nicholas, Abraham Ford, Sasha, and Daryl Dixon to return to Alexandria.

Later that day Spencer is at the food pantry with Kent, Anna, Barbara, Bruce, and Olivia. Olivia tells the Alexandrians that they need to start rationing the food as they do not know when they will be able to leave for runs. Bruce insists that his family and the other Alexandrians need the food, since they will likely be dead soon anyway, but Spencer speaks up and says that they need to save the food. Bruce talks back to Spencer and reminds him to make sure to close the front gate. Spencer reminds Bruce and the others that he killed the truck driver that was heading straight for Alexandria that was aiming to destroy the walls and that, without him, they would not be standing there. Spencer also tells the others to think about the other Alexandrians that need food as well. The Alexandrians consider Spencer's words and put back their excess food. Deanna looks on in pride of her son's actions.

At their home, Deanna comes down to the kitchen to find Spencer drunk with stolen food from the food pantry. Deanna asks why he took the food when before he was against taking it and he simply says that he wanted it for himself. Deanna reprimands Spencer for his actions and he harshly criticizes her, stating that it was her fault that Aiden and Reg died, and for giving everyone a false sense of security. Shocked at Spencer's words, Deanna walks away with Spencer looking on remorsefully. Spencer is later seen relieving Rosita on guard duty watching the herd. Right before she leaves, Rosita compliments Spencer on taking out the truck driver and saving Alexandria. Spencer overlooks the walker herd while eating chips from the food pantry he took earlier.

"Heads Up"
As Rick and Tobin work on strengthening the wall, they look up to see Spencer climbing along a grappling rope over the herd and towards the decaying bell tower. Rick calls for him to return to safety, while Tara Chambler urges him forward. The grappling hook starts to come loose, nearly causing Spencer to lose his grip; by now, he is closer to the tower, and Rick urges him to continue forward to safety. However, the rope detaches from the hook, sending Spencer falling into the midst of the herd against the wall. Tara, Rick, Tobin and later Morgan all help to save Spencer from the herd and pull him back up to safety with the loose rope.

As Spencer rests on the lookout, Rick reprimands him for his improvised attempt, with Spencer replying that he was only trying to help, revealing his plan to climb over the herd in order to reach a car to use to draw the walkers away. Rick angrily orders Spencer to consult him before acting on any plans he makes in the future; Spencer challenges him, asking if he would have listened regardless.

Spencer is later mentioned during Rick's conversation with Deanna, the latter of who is grateful for the former saving his life.

"No Way Out"
As the group is separated due to hundreds of walkers flooding into Alexandria, Spencer is found in the infirmary with Heath and Aaron watching Rick carrying an unconscious Carl. He helps Denise with tending to Carl's eye injury and later helps fight walkers to save Alexandria. He is later seen with the remaining survivors resting outside of Denise's clinic after the bloody and tiring battle against the mega walker herd.

"The Next World"
Spencer walks into the woods with a shovel. Michonne follows him. Spencer tries to draw a walker out of the nearby brush and as the walker emerges, Michonne appears and kills it. She then asks Spencer why he is in the woods. Spencer explains that he takes walks after his shifts and starts to head off alone again. Michonne insists on going with him. She explains that his mother Deanna told her to figure out what she wants in life, and for now, she just wants to figure out why he's wandering around in the woods with a shovel. Michonne and Spencer catch a glimpse of Carl as he races away, leaving a walker behind. Spencer unsheathes his knife as Michonne recognizes the walker: It's Deanna. Michonne restrains Deanna as Spencer tearfully stabs her through the head, He explains this is the reason he's been walking in the woods. Afterward, Spencer digs a grave and mourns the loss of his entire family. Michonne assures him that he still has a family with his friends in Alexandria.

"Twice as Far"
Spencer first appears laying in bed after Rosita gets up. The two are implied to be in a relationship. The next day, Spencer asks Rosita to dinner and she reluctantly agrees to it.

"Last Day on Earth"
Spencer appears when Rick and the others are leaving to take Maggie to the Hilltop. He asks Rick if it's too late to make a deal with the Saviors if they come to Alexandria, Rick confidently tells him to make the Saviors wait for him and that he's "got a deal for them".

"The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"
Spencer appears in Rick's dream sequence of everyone having dinner.

"Service"
Spencer and Rosita drive up to the gate, preparing to leave for a supply run. Spencer asks Eugene if he would like to help until Negan arrives with a large group of Saviors and demands to be let in. Spencer approaches the gate and asks who Negan is, who is frustrated due to making such a ‘strong first impression’.

Dwight confiscates Spencer and Rosita’s guns before ordering them to bring back Daryl’s motorcycle. They leave Alexandria.

Out in the woods, Spencer and Rosita find Daryl’s motorcycle by the tracks where he had previously hidden it. As Spencer loads the motorcycle into the van, he begins to question Rick's leadership.

Spencer tracks Rosita down after she has killed the Saviors present at Denise’s death and chastises her. Rosita tells him that she’s looking for guns on the assumption that Negan will confiscate all the guns in Alexandria and that they don’t have to live this way.

Back in Alexandria after the Saviors leave, Rick calls out Spencer for hoarding supplies saying that he is small, weak and that he has got lucky. Spencer says they should’ve made a deal with Negan when they had the chance; he then blames Rick for Glenn and Abraham’s deaths. Rick threatens to break Spencer's jaw and knock his teeth out if he says anything like that again.

Rosita confronts Spencer about the hidden guns and asks why he didn’t mention them. “You saw what I did to get one,” she says. Spencer explains that he hid the guns for a while because he didn’t trust Rick and he was worried about Rick being in charge. He muses that Rosita was correct; they don't have to live like they are.

"Sing Me a Song"
Spencer and Gabriel drive up to the gates to find Rosita and Eugene preparing to leave. Spencer warns Rosita that they must produce for the Saviors as part of their new “tax.” He reminds her it was Rick that got them into this. Rosita asks if he thinks he can do better, to which he says yes. She chastises him and tells him to leave her alone before leaving with Eugene.

Out on the road, Spencer asks Gabriel if it is a sin to hate someone. Gabriel tells him it is not, and Spencer confesses that he hates Rick. He says he is a bad leader and hopes he doesn’t return from his supply run. A shocked Gabriel asks him to stop the car. He calls Spencer a “tremendous shit”, but says he doesn’t have to be eternally. He gets out of the car and starts walking back to Alexandria alone. Spencer hears a walker nearby and runs into the woods, where he finds a walker stuck in a hunter’s tree stand.

Spencer lassos a compound bow from the walker in the tree. The walker falls to the ground. Spencer searches its pockets and finds a note written in Latin.

Spencer returns to Alexandria at the same time as Rosita and Eugene. In the car, there is a bounty of supplies and weapons. He explains that he found a note describing a list of caches. He plans to give them over to the Saviors and also plans to do "much more". He whistles towards the gate and a Savior opens it. They realize that Negan is in Alexandria.

"Hearts Still Beating"
Spencer watches as a Savior rummages through the goods that he collected. He commends his hard work as Laura sidles up to Spencer and offers to show him their compound if he plays his cards right.

At home, Spencer looks at the mess Rick made after he ransacked the house to find the guns he had hidden. He dresses up in nice clothes and rehearses his greeting in front of a mirror. He grabs a bottle of liquor and heads outside.

Spencer is walking down the street and Rosita calls out to him, asking if he has a hot date. He approaches her and reveals that he’s planning to get close to Negan so he can strike against him at some point in the future. He asks her about their relationship and why she ended it. Rosita admits she used him and apologizes. Spencer asks her to dinner and Rosita agrees to join him.

Spencer walks to Rick’s house and introduces himself to Negan. They share a drink on the porch as Negan pines for a pool table. Spencer points to the house across the street and tells him there is one in the garage.

As Spencer and Negan play pool in the middle of the street, residents gather around to watch. Spencer tells Negan that Rick’s ego is out of control and proposes that Negan appoint Spencer the new leader of Alexandria. Negan considers Spencer’s betrayal. He points out that Rick is swallowing his hatred to gather goods for Negan so he won’t kill anyone else. “That takes guts,” he says. Negan wonders why Spencer doesn’t just kill Rick himself instead of sneaking around as Spencer begins to stutter. “It’s because you’ve got no guts,” Negan says as he plunges a knife into Spencer’s abdomen, disemboweling him. Spencer falls to the ground, holding his intestines in his hands as the residents watch in horror.

After the Saviors leave, Spencer reanimates. Rick angrily stabs him in the head.

Killed By

 * Negan (Alive)
 * Rick Grimes (Zombified)

While Rick is looking for supplies with Aaron, Negan stops by at the Alexandria Safe Zone with Carl after he infiltrated the Sanctuary. He is told that Rick is busy gathering supplies, so Negan decides to rest at his house. Spencer approaches Negan with a friendly attitude, offering him some whiskey and playing pool with him. While playing, Spencer tells him that Rick isn't fit to be the leader and that he should be killed. Negan then proceeds to talk about how Rick is out gathering supplies so that he wouldn't hurt anyone while Spencer had waited until Rick was gone so he could talk to him and told him to do his dirty work, and that he has no guts. Right after he says that, Negan pulls out a knife and guts Spencer open. Spencer, still alive falls to the ground and tries to hold all of his organs but he falls down and dies of blood loss. Later, when Negan leaves. Rick approaches Spencer's gruesome corpse and sees that he has fully turned into a walker. Rick then puts him down with a knife to the head.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Spencer has killed:
 * Deanna Monroe (Zombified)
 * One unnamed Wolf (Alive)
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Deanna Monroe
Deanna and Spencer have a very strong relationship. She trusts Spencer enough to keep watch in the Alexandria bell tower. She also sends him away to check the gates after Rick informs the Alexandrians that walkers got in which shows that she trusts him. Later on when the wolves attack Alexandria, her and Spencer embrace each other and Spencer protects his mother by hiding her in a truck in an attempt to keep her safe. Deanna is also proud of Spencers speech to ration the food. However when Deanna discovers Spencer drunk with stolen food, she is shocked and upset. Spencer also reprimands his mom over Aiden and Reg's deaths. As Deanna walks away from this, Spencer looks on remorsefully which hints that what he said was out of his personal anger, and he still cares about his mother.

After Deanna died, Spencer started heading out into the forest to find her reanimated corpse. After Carl leads her towards Spencer, he feels satisfied after putting her down. It would not be unreasonable to assume he didn't feel satisfied with the relationship they had at her time of death.

Reg Monroe
He has not been seen interacting with his father extensively, but it is assumed that Spencer loved and respected his father and the two had a good relationship.

Aiden Monroe
Although Spencer and Aiden never interacted on screen, it is known that they had a good brother-to-brother relationship. After Aiden died while on a supply run, Spencer was deeply upset, asking Father Gabriel if he could talk to him about Aiden. He later mentions Aiden when blaming Rick for the death of his family.

Rick Grimes
"I hate Rick."

- Spencer telling Father Gabriel about how he feels about Rick

Spencer, alongside Tobin, Francine, and Olivia, was found by Eugene listening to Carter to make a plan to take down Rick, showing that they have a potentially strained relationship until Spencer told Carter that Rick was in the right for killing Pete, and explaining to Rick that Carter was the one at fault, ultimately eliminating the possibility of having a strained relationship, possibly leaving it at a neutral relationship. Rick is angry at Spencer's zip-line stunt to lure the walker away from Alexandria with Rick telling Spencer to come to him first before he does something like that again, Spencer however states that Rick probably wouldn't listen to him which shows some tension between the two. However, before Deanna's death, Rick did promise to her that he will look out for Spencer.

However, after Negan and the Saviors subdued Rick and the group by killing Glenn and Abraham, their relationship took a turn for the worse, with Spencer blaming Rick for all the tragedies that the Saviors cause to Alexandria. When the Saviors visit the Safe-Zone and take almost everything that the community has, Spencer confesses to Rosita that he dislikes Rick because of how his handling of things ruined their lives.

After the Saviors leave, Rick confronts Spencer for having guns hidden in his apartment along with some food and alcohol. Since the missing guns almost caused Negan to kill Olivia, Rick reprimends him for that but not as hard for stealing supplies, for which he calls Spencer weak. Spencer then lashes at Rick for how good their lives are thanks to him. Spencer then brings up Glenn and Abraham, for which Rick threatens to break his jaw and knock his teeth out if he says something like that again. After discussing with Rosita for the guns he hid, he reveals that he hid them long ago, because he never trusted Rick's leadership from the beginning.

Spencer continues to blame Rick for all of Alexandria's misfortunes - including the deaths of his mother, father and brother - and later confesses his animosity for Rick to Gabriel Stokes. Gabriel reprimands Spencer for his feelings towards Rick but is ultimately unswayed.

Spencer later tries to convince Negan to kill Rick and put Spencer in his place. Negan recognizes that Spencer is trying to get Negan to kill Rick as Spencer lacks the guts to do so. Negan then disembowels Spencer in response. Spencer later reanimates near Rick who puts him down with no hesitation.

Rosita Espinosa
Spencer and Rosita are first seen interacting after the Wolves attack Alexandria. Spencer asks Rosita if this is what she had to deal with outside the walls to which she tells him "pretty much". He asks how she is able to live knowing that the world is like that, and she explains that her friends give her something worth dying for.

In Now, during Rick's group meeting, he intently stares at Rosita. Later, Spencer relieves a crying Rosita from the lookout post. She thanks him for taking out the Wolves’ truck and credits him with the fact the wall is still standing.

In Twice As Far, it is shown that Rosita and Spencer have been sleeping together. She shakes her head as though she may have regrets. Spencer later offers to make dinner for Rosita, but her distant replies lead Spencer to ask whether she is even interested in continuing their relationship. She reluctantly agrees to dinner. Since the deaths of Glenn and Abraham, their relationship has soured. However later she accepts his invitation to dinner. His death sparks her to attempt to assassinate Negan, which backfires with her shooting Lucille instead.

Negan
Negan first meets Spencer at the front gate of Alexandria Safe-Zone to collect his first 'offering' to which Spencer questions who is he. Negan immediately shows displeasure, having made such a 'strong first impression'.

In 'Hearts Still Beating', when Negan returns to Alexandria for the second time, Spencer goes and meets him and the two share a drink together at Rick's porch to which Negan acknowledges Spencer as his best friend. Later, they are seen playing pool outside while being watched by the Alexandrians and Negan's men with Spencer saying that Rick is a bad leader and proposes that Negan put him in charge once Rick is killed. Negan feels disgusted that Spencer would wait until Rick is killed and tells him that Rick may hate him but he has guts and always puts everyone else before himself before stabbing and slicing Spencer's stomach open, pouring his guts out and killing him in seconds.

Negan then jokingly mocks that Spencer did have guts in him, showing no remorse whatsoever for murdering him.

Appearances
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Season 5

 * "Forget"
 * "Try"
 * "Conquer"

Season 6

 * "First Time Again" (Flashback)
 * "JSS"
 * "Now"
 * "Heads Up"
 * "No Way Out"
 * "The Next World"
 * "Twice as Far"
 * "Last Day on Earth"

Season 7
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 * "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" (Dream, No Lines)
 * "Service"
 * "Sing Me a Song"
 * "Hearts Still Beating"

Trivia

 * With Spencer's death, there are no surviving members of the Monroe family.
 * Spencer was originally planned to appear in the episode "Start to Finish," but the scene was cut from the final product.
 * It is revealed in the episode "Sing Me A Song" that Spencer knows Latin.
 * It is possible that Spencer has religious beliefs or theistic ideals as he confides in Father Gabriel his thoughts and feelings like an adherent of Christianity would with a priest during confession.
 * Spencer is the fifth series regular to die while being credited under "also starring", the first being Gareth, the second being Bob Stookey, the third being Deanna Monroe, and the fourth being Jessie Anderson.
 * Spencer is also the second member of the Monroe family to be killed during a mid-season finale, the first being his mother, Deanna.
 * Spencer is the second main character to be part of Rick's group and later become an antagonist, the first being Shane Walsh.