(Warning: Spoilers for this week’s The Walking Dead will be found below.)
There was something incredibly electric about the first appearance of Negan on The Walking Dead way back in the season six finale. Carrying Lucille and wearing a leather jacket, Negan walked out with with swagger, a foul mouth, and the hubris of someone whose life had not been threatened in quite some time. He was a fun introduction to the series … until he wasn’t. Over the course of seasons seven and eight, Negan became something of a caricature of a big bad. He was great with the one-liners, and he was sufficiently menacing, but as he began to dominate the series, the Negan schtick became grating and obnoxious. The series had a major Negan problem.
Cut to two seasons later, and Negan may be the best character on The Walking Dead now. He’s still got the good one-liners, and he still has the swagger, but Negan has been humbled. He’s also formed real connections with people like Judith and Lydia, and despite how things might appear on this week’s episode of the series, “Bond,” he seems to be working for the good guys, unless viewers actually believe that Negan is going to bend the knee to Alpha without crossing his fingers behind his back. We know where Negan’s heart really lies, because we saw him kill Brandon last week for murdering two innocent people. Negan may be able to go to war with The Whisperers against Daryl and Carol, but he’s not going to do anything that might risk the life of Judith or Lydia. Hell, he saved Aaron two weeks ago when he had no reason to do so. Negan may be on the inside with The Whisperers now, but he’s not going to flip.
Meanwhile, the arrogance and swagger that once made up the entirety of Negan’s identity are now personality traits that he uses as a rouse. It worked in this week’s episode, too. He got under Beta’s skin and nearly got himself killed, but he’s far too compelling an individual for Alpha to murder. She likes that she thinks she can use him against Alexandria, of course, but I think she also finds that shtick compelling, just as we did as viewers when he was introduced to the series. I also think that the rest of the Whisperers, sans Beta, find his charisma compelling, too. He has a personality, something with which the rest of The Whisperers are trained to repress. They’re drawn to him, as we see in this week’s episode when one of The Whisperers gives him a piece of bacon. I don’t think that Alpha and Beta’s decision to kill their own over slights and disagreements is going to endear them long term, either.
Meanwhile, he is straight-up trolling Beta in this week’s episode, and it is spectacular fun to watch. It’s remarkable that he’s been able to get away with it, too. “So do I get bathed and reborn in [Alpha’s] whispery image?” Negan asks Beta jokingly. “Or is this more like a ball-tripping, skin-themed Vision Quest?” Beta makes for a remarkably good straight-man, delivering side-eye, grunts, and death threats. If they took it on the road, I would watch their act.
In the end, though, Beta ditches Negan with a small horde of walkers, thinking he had finally rid himself of the pest. It’s hard to describe how thrilling it was to see Negan stroll into The Whisperer camp with a stick over his shoulder a la Lucille. “I am ready for my skin suit. You’re gonna need an extra long tape measurer, on account of the size of my balls.” Negan was a grating villain, but when he’s coming in with that strut on behalf of the good guys (probably)? That’s pure joy. All it was missing was the Negan whistle.
How good is Jeffrey Dean Morgan this season? He’s been an absolute blast. I don’t know what’s in store for Negan in the future of The Walking Dead because the comics have only one big storyline remaining after The Whisperer War and Negan is not a part of it, but I hope Angela Kang finds a believable way to fold him into the series. The show is never better than when it takes a character and transforms him or her over the course of multiple seasons, as it has with Carol, and as it has now done with Negan.
Additional Notes
— Carol and Daryl got to spend another episode together, which is always fun given their chemistry together, and the way they know each other well enough to call one another on each other’s bullsh*t. Carol even seemed to voice support for the Daryl/Connie ship this week. I want it to happen, but I wonder what Daryl might be like paired up romantically? We’ve only seen him as a loner for ten seasons. It would be an adjustment.
— Of course, Carol had the zip tie in her bag the whole time, and of course, Carol had planned from the beginning to find a Whisperer, abduct him, and probably torture him for information before killing him. Carol is out for revenge, and she’s clearly not afraid to start some sh*t.
— Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, Rosita and many others have come down with a stomach bug, for reasons that I explained last night. I have a feeling that numerous sick Alexandrians — some of whom may turn into zombies — may trigger Siddiq’s PTSD in violent ways. He may go full combat Morgan.
— Elsewhere, Eugene made himself a friend on the CB radio, a friend who may have already friend-zoned him. Poor Eugene. Also, I wouldn’t trust whoever it is that Eugene is talking with. She may be using Eugene’s crush against him. It’s probably either someone from the Commonwealth, or someone from the community introduced in the next spin-off in the Spring.
