The Walking Dead: Dead Citycontinues to follow the journey of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who have somehow ended up in New York City years after the end ofThe Walking Dead. Reluctantly working together to save Hershel (Logan Kim), Maggie, not surprisingly, betrays Negan, and he’s captured by a group in Manhattan. But this might not be bad news for Negan, depending on how viewers and the character take it.
In the Season 1, Episode 6 finale “Doma Smo,” Negan learns why they wanted him in the first place, and it wasn’t to be tortured or killed.The Dama (Lisa Emery) offered him a lifeline, a chance to reclaim his power. Does he take it? The answer is in Season 2, Episode 1, “Power Equals Power.”
The Walking Dead: Dead City
What Negan Initially Decides Might Surprise You
As noted, in the Season 1 finale,The Dama makes Negan an offer. She wants him to help her unite the different groups in Manhattan to protect her precious resources and fend off attacks from the New Babylon Federation.He will regain all that power he lost when the Saviors were defeated, and help her in the process because she needs a strong leader.
It seemed like an easy decision for Negan. He made a pact with himself to never return to the man he once was, even burning his barbed wire bat Lucille as a symbol of letting go. But The Dama isn’t asking him. She’s telling him. And she has leverage. She hands him a tiny box as a gift, and when he opens it, he finds a severed toe. It was Hershel’s toe that The Dama cut off when she was holding him captive. It’s to let Negan know that she’s serious. Now Negan recognizes that if he doesn’t comply, she will hurt Hershel. As villainous as Negan can be, he would never allow harm to be brought to a child, especially Maggie’s child.
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He’s especially sensitive to Hershel, given how brutally hekilled the boy’s father. What’s more, he still hasn’t been able to get forgiveness from Maggie. Allowing any harm to Hershel because of something he did or didn’t do isn’t in the cards. However, when the season picks up,Negan has surprisingly not yet said yes. It isn’t because he doesn’t care, but because, as he says, he knows Maggie would gut them before she let anyone come near her son. He is confident that Maggie can fend for herself and doesn’t need him to do it for her. The cost of bringing back his old persona is just too high.
As a result, Negan is kept prisoner in a basement cell, fed bugs with no one but a single young guard to keep him company on occasion. He doesn’t seem bothered by this, however. As fans ofThe Walking Deadknow, Negan was imprisoned in Alexandria for years, living with nothing but guilt and shame. So, this is a cakewalk for him. He’s willing and able to hold out for as long as needed. Soon enough, The Dama realizes this. But she has an ace up her sleeve.
How The Dama Gets Negan To Change His Mind
The Dama is a persuasive character, the real leader of the group, even though The Croat (Željko Ivanek) is the one who organizes the men and women of the Burazi. He’s also the one who developed the method of harnessing methane from dead bodies to use it as a source of fuel.The Dama is merely a figurehead at the top of the hierarchy. She’s a leader but doesn’t have the same charm, charisma, and ability to rally troops as Negan. And she knows it.
She understands this because of what The Croat, a former member of The Saviors, hastold her about Negan. The Croat holds Negan in high regard, even though he was kicked out for killing a teenager, and Negan tried to kill him.He knows what Negan is capable of. He has seen the heinous things Negan has done. And he knows Negan is the perfect man for the job, the only option.
Power Is Everything in ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Season 2 Trailer
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Given this, The Dama is desperate and willing to do whatever it takes. She slyly lets it slip to Negan that Annie (Medina Senghore) and Joshua, Negan’s son, are en route to the island as they speak. Negan revealed in Season 1 that he sent Annie and Joshua on a wagon train to Missouri after his incident to keep them safe. Knowing that The Dama has identified them, and they are on their way back, his top priority will be to ensure they arrive safely and are welcomed with open arms and not iron fists.
The Dama implies that if Negan wants his wife and son to live, he must do what she asks. Negan realizes that if he wants to protect his family, he needs to put that leather jacket back on, grab a weapon, and put on a show. He does just that, and The Croat enthusiasticallyhands him a new barbed wire bat, marking the return of “the old Negan” that he once bowed down to all those years ago. But is itreallythe old Negan? Fans are torn on whether to believe it, even if they want it to be.
Is This Really the Old Negan?
Whether or not Negan has power and influence, a leather jacket, and a bat is irrelevant. In this position, he is not asked to harm anyone. He is not encouraged to use force.The Dama wants his negotiation and manipulation skills to convince the other groups on the island to work together against a common enemy. While she isn’t against force if they don’t comply, it’s possible Negan could help without bashing anyone’s head like he used to do. Or at least not anyone who would be considered a friend to Maggie.
Fans are especially worried about this, knowing he and Maggie are inevitably about to collide again. The New Babylon Federation is prepping for an attack on Manhattan, and they are recruiting soldiers to fight, including those from Maggie’s community. Given Maggie’s history with Perlie (Gaius Charles), she wants him to let her fight and leave everyone else alone.
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Perlie argues for Maggie, telling his boss Lucia Narvaez (Dascha Polanco) that he has seen her fight and that she’s worth 20 soldiers. Brutally, Lucia forces Maggie into a pit to fight walkers to prove it. Right before she begins, Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) runs up as well. No longer selectively mute,Ginny also wants to go. This is partly because she wants to fight, but mostly because she’s looking for revenge on Negan after his betrayal. Maggie is angered, but she has no choice now that Ginny has inserted herself into the test. The two fight off walkers, earning their spot on the mission.
Fans imagine that, even if Negan somehow returns to his old self, he will never willingly harm Maggie or Hershel. The challenge is thathis redemption arc inThe Walking Deadwas so great that fans don’t want to see it sullied with a return to his old ways, even if that would make for entertaining television: Negan as a villain is exciting. That said, Negan may become “the old Negan” only in the ways he needs to complete the job.
However, Maggie, fighting for the New Babylon Federation, puts her in his crosshairs, which will be difficult to navigate. Negan’s own family and their lives are now on the line. In a sordid twist of fate, Negan must fight to save his family against a woman whose family he once tore apart — a woman he swore he would never harm again, spending years trying to prove it. How (and if) Negan will emerge victorious in this new situation he finds himself in, and at what cost, remains to be seen.StreamThe Walking Dead: Dead CityonAMC+.
