Simon (The Walking Dead)

"Yes... Tell me I don't gotta go down the line, tell me Maggie!!"

- Simon to Maggie.

Simon is a main character and antagonist in the AMC television series The Walking Dead, who serves as the secondary antagonist from the second half of Season 6 onwards. He is a high-ranking member of The Saviors, Negan's right-hand man and his second-in-command.

He is portrayed by Steven Ogg, who is most famously known for portraying Trevor Phillips in Grand Theft Auto V.

Backstory
Simon was born in the late 1960’s and grew up in Virginia, however, extensively little is known regarding that of his early life. Simon grew to become a charismatic, efficient and hardworking man who sold subprime mortgages to unsuspecting customers and was fully able to justify his unmoral motives to other people even though he was fully aware of his own sinister intentions.

Season 6
Simon was first encountered when he and a band of others Saviors hunt down a man in the woods. They then mercilessly beat him and drag him to a road, intending to show him to Rick's group as a warning. When Rick and his group arrive at the scene in their RV on their way towards Hilltop, they are stopped by a roadblock made by Simon's group. He orders Rick to hand over their belongings and when refused, Simon says that they will not negotiate and their deal is the only deal. Simon then warns Rick about what will happen to those who oppose Negan and recommends him to treat his friends like it was their last day on Earth, knowing full well what Negan is going to do with them. During their journey to bring Maggie to the Hilltop, Rick encounters more roadblocks orchestrated by Simon and he and his group are constantly forced to back up and find a different route.

He is encountered once again in the climax, when a large group of Saviors led by Simon ambush Rick's group in the woods. He then orders them to hand over their guns while threatening to shoot Carl. Rick, visibly intimidated attempts to reason with him only for Simon to immediately refuse and demand their weapons. He also orders Dwight to go get the rest of the group that were captured earlier. After Rick and others are forced to line up and get on their knees, Simon knocks on the RV and summons Negan himself to make an entrance. When Negan asks which one is the leader, Simon points at Rick, telling him that he was the man responsible for the deaths of his men. He is present when Negan makes his speech and beats Abraham Ford to death with Lucille.

Season 7
Simon, along with the other Saviors, witness the execution of Glenn by Negan. When Negan captures Rick and brings him back to the clearing, Simon is asked by Negan if he has a pen, so he can draw the line of amputation on Carl's arm, to which he happily responds he does.

During Sasha and Maggie's stay in the Hilltop Colony, Simon orchestrates an attack on the community by opening the gates and luring a horde of walkers inside. With the help of Jesus, Maggie and Sasha manage to eliminate the walkers and close the gates.

Later, Simon appears at the Hilltop Colony, being in charge of a group of Saviors. Arriving at the Hilltop, Simon and his men enter the Barrington House where Simon invites himself into Gregory's office. There, he has an uncomfortable conversation with Gregory, speaking of the Savior outpost that was raided by Rick and his group. He explains that the incident the previous night was a reminder that the walkers are still a threat, and the Saviors provide a great service by killing them. Due to Gregory being an awful liar, Simon senses that Gregory is hiding something and pressures Gregory to show him. Intimidated, Gregory leads Simon to the closet where he believes Sasha and Maggie, who have hidden from the Saviors at Hilltop, are hiding.

However, the two women were relocated by Jesus in time and Gregory is forced to improvise when the closet is revealed to be empty, instead begrudgingly gifting Simon with the scotch from his personal storage he was keeping in the closet. Simon is pleased, as, although he himself does not like scotch, knows Negan will be pleased. He orders the scotch to be brought to the truck delivering stuff to Negan and then orders the Saviors to spread out in order to take half of all the belongings of the colony. Before the Saviors leave the community, Simon publicly forces Gregory to kneel before him, both to undermine Gregory's authority and to assert domination.

After Daryl escapes from the Sanctuary, Negan sends Simon and his men to Alexandria for a search. Rick, pretending that he doesn't know anything about Daryl gone missing, claims that he hasn't seen him ever since Negan took him. Simon then orders his men to turn Alexandria inside out just in case. After finding nothing, Simon then leaves Alexandria and advises Rick to take care of Daryl as soon as he sees him again and that he doesn't get away with his escape, the way Carl did.

In the episode "The Other Side", Simon and his men returned to the Hilltop Colony and is still searching for Daryl. He spends some time with Gregory and they both agreed that if there is any trouble in the Hilltop, Gregory will come to the Savior's compound and they will take care of it. While there, he also took Dr. Harlan Carson from the Hilltop to the Sanctuary as a replacement for his late brother, Emmett Carson; whom Negan recently killed.

Later on, Simon, Negan, Dwight, Eugene and the rest of the Saviors drive to Alexandria with Sasha held hostage in a coffin while the people of Alexandria prepare for a fight. The Saviors unexpectedly outnumber Alexandria after Jadis and her people betray Rick and his group (who had secretly spied on Rick and his group, as well as making negotiations with The Saviors). Simon and Dwight both reveal the coffin Sasha is kept in, and Negan announces that if Rick gives him all of their supplies and lets him kill one of his people, he will give them Sasha unharmed. However, a zombified Sasha tackles Negan after being let out of the coffin, which Alexandria uses as an opportunity to open fire on Jadis' people, starting a massive gunfight. After Negan pushes Sasha off him, Simon covers Negan and brings him behind cover. Simon then flees along with the rest of the Saviors back to the Sanctuary after people from the Hilltop Colony and the Kingdom turn up and join the fight against them.

Season 8
When the Militia from the Alexandra Safe-Zone, Hilltop Colony and the Kingdom arrive at the Sanctuary, Simon is present among the rest of Negan's lieutenants during the standoff. Rick announces that he will let the rest of the Saviors live if they surrender at the cost of Negan's life. In response, Negan boasts that the Militia does not have the equal numbers in a fight against the Saviors and orders Simon to bring out Gregory, who secretly left the Hilltop to seek help from the Saviors to keep his own people in check. In an attempt to sow distrust between the Militia, Negan has Gregory announce that the Hilltop stands with the Saviors, and that anyone from the Hilltop who stands up against the Saviors will be evicted from their home. However, Jesus yells that the Hilltop no longer stands with Gregory, but with Maggie instead. Simon is visibly enraged by this revelation, and angrily voices his disappointment in Gregory before shoving him down a flight of stairs. Rick continues to urge Negan and his group to make up their minds and starts counting down from ten, but unexpectedly opens fire on the Sanctuary mid-way through his countdown, forcing Simon and the rest of the lieutenants to run back inside the factory while Negan dives for cover.

In "Big Scary U", Simon is first seen in a flashback with Gregory. He mentions how he came to him when he needed him and Simon complaints him how he did what he was told with the other Saviors. Gregory was going to reveal the alliance between the Hilltop and Kingdom, but Simon was "finding out at that point" from someone in Alexandria according to Gregory. Later, Simon is in the meeting that was mentioned by Negan in “Mercy” they discuss how people are resources and how they are going to stop Rick and the Militia.

Simon suggests a strong raid on the Hilltop, which could end in killing everyone there if they don't cooperate, which would send a message to the other communities. "People are a resource," Negan insists. "Money on the table. People are the foundation of what we are doing here!" He questions Simon and if he remembers who they are and who is in charge. Simon pledges his allegiance. Negan says they have to capture Maggie, Rick, and King Ezekiel and kill them horribly in front of their people. Suddenly, The Militia's gunshots ring out outside. Negan pauses and looks out the window to see Rick and his group are outside the door, he steps out with the other Saviors.

In the present, Simon is in the room with Gavin, Regina, Dwight and Eugene as they have another meeting. Regina mentions how if Negan is dead and they should send workers to distract the walkers while they alert the outposts, Eugene refuses to do that, as he insists they are valuable. Dwight agrees and says to Simon that if they are not gonna lead the Saviors out, he will. Simon has a angry grin on his face and complaints Dwight about his idea he explains how when the find the guy they will kill the guy slowly in front of everyone. Simon is seen in another scene where Laura comes in the room and says the workers are outside.

Simon and the rest of the Lieutenants step out and he orders everyone to go to the factory floor. At first the workers refuse to listen to his order and ask the Lieutenants when the electrify is coming on, as well as plead for food and water. As Simon attempts to calm them down, Regina shoots one of the workers and at that moment, Negan and Gabriel walk in, explaining how he is gonna take a shower, eat a sandwich and he has to have a “talk” with Simon about the Mole who caused the ambush and the herd.

In the episode "How It's Gotta Be", Simon and a group of saviors cut off Maggie and the Hilltop members after escaping the sanctuary. It is revealed he has brutally beaten Jerry almost to death and is keeping him as a hostage, he explains to Maggie that Alexandria and the Kingdom are going to be taken over by the Saviors but Hilltop will be allowed to keep producing for them as long as she surrenders. He then explains he will need to kill one of her people and immediately shoots Neil, killing him as a horrified Maggie breaks down in tears. Simon then orders Gary to shoot Jerry to which Maggie agrees to his terms with the request that she is allowed to take Sasha's coffin to Hilltop to bury Neil in. Simon grants her request and leaves.

Simon is ordered by Negan to deal with the Scavengers, but to only deliver the standard message: kill one to force the others to fall in line. Simon lets his frustration show and suggests that they cut their losses and kill them all, because Negan's method hasn't been working recently. Negan doesn't like the idea and he reminds Simon that what they do is hard, that the Saviors don't take the easy way and they save people. Once he clips Rick, everything will be aces again. Their conversation is interrupted when Gary enters with a gift from Hilltop: a wooden coffin containing the now-turned corpse of Dean that Maggie executed. Again, Simon sounds off about going to kill every last one of the Hilltop farmers, but Negan screams and yells him to do his job, to which Simon reluctantly agrees.

Simon shows up with a group of Saviors at the Junkyard to confront Jadis and the Scavengers. His composure begins to crack as he and his men stand off against the Scavengers. He relays Negan's message of forgiveness: as long as Jadis can honor the original terms of their deal, all will be swept under the rug. Jadis says she had no deal with Rick but was, instead, delivering him to the Saviors. Though, Simon doesn't believe her and offers them a chance to divert back to the original deal with handing over all of their weapons. Jadis agrees and Simon calls for his men to take the guns before going on to question Jadis' art and the choice of living in the heap. Simon then wents to feel assured that there is remorse on Jadis' part for her role in aiding Rick and she claims there is, but he swiftly pulls out his gun and kills Brion and Tamiel. Jadis punches Simon in the face angrily, knocking over a can of blue paint. Simon stands up and in retaliation, has his Saviors kill all of the Scavengers except for Jadis.

Simon returns to the Sanctuary with Negan waiting outside. They still haven't heard from Gavin, who are unaware that he is dead, but Negan already sent a team. Simon shows Negan the guns they took from the Scavengers and so Negan asks how it went with the Scavengers. Simon lies and tells Negan the message was delivered simply. Simon then looks down at the paint smudge on his boots, the only clue to what really happened at the junkyard.

Killed Victims

 * Library Survivor (Caused, Alive)
 * Neil
 * Dean (Indirectly Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

Appearances
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Season 6

 * 6x16: "Last Day on Earth"

Season 7

 * 7x01: "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"
 * 7x05: "Go Getters"
 * 7x09: "Rock in the Road"
 * 7x14: "The Other Side"
 * 7x16: "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life"

Season 8

 * 8x01: "Mercy"
 * 8x05: "The Big Scary U"
 * 8x08: "How It's Gotta Be"
 * 8x10: "The Lost and the Plunderers"
 * }}

Trivia

 * Simon is possibly the TV Series counterpart to the Savior that is seen in the comics in Issue 97 and 100. However in the comics, the Savior was not named and did not play a huge role in the comics as Simon does. He also has some similarities with Connor, a lieutenant of the Saviors in the comics, who orchestrated Rick's group to be captured and died before All Out War.
 * Simon is an original character and does not have a comic counterpart, similar to Daryl Dixon.
 * Simon shares some similarities to Trevor Phillips. Coincidentally, they were portrayed by the same actor, Steven Ogg and Trevor's beta name was Simon. The only difference is that Trevor is more psychotic than Simon.
 * Simon is showed to be extremely loyal to Negan and never question his orders. It is unknown if they known each other in the past before the outbreak but they do have a strong relationship, as he is Negan's lieutenant and most trusted right-hand man. Another good example is that Simon acts as the second in command of the Saviors, close to Negan himself.
 * The name Simon is derived from the Hebrew name "Shim'on" meaning ‘he has heard’.
 * Steven Ogg noted that he cited the film The Big Short as inspiration for Simon’s backstory.
 * Simon appears to hold an interest in art, as expressed by his admiration of a masterpiece portrait of Charles V owned by Gregory which he accurately described as 'management by example".
 * Simon enjoys acholic beverages most notably gin and tequila, however he dislikes scotch as he personally describes it as "ashtrays and window cleaner".
 * He is far more intelligent than the majority of the Saviors as seen in Season 6 finale, when he orchestrated the capture of Rick's group with an intriguing plan that involved several, carefully planned and elaborate road blocks.
 * Simon is far more bloodthirsty than Negan as shown in his first appearance when he orchestrated the mass slaughter at the Library (and possibly at Oceanside as well). When he suggests that they should do the same thing at the Hilltop, Negan furiously reminds Simon to not start "backsliding", implying that their relationship has been strained ever since the Library incident.
 * Despite his leadership skills, what sets Simon apart from Negan is that even he is not able to control the toughest of situations. During Negan's short absence, the workers started to revolt and none of Negan's lieutenants managed to calm things down as rationally as Negan.
 * Simon is currently the longest living secondary antagonist in The Walking Dead.