Forget Whether Negan Was Forgiven, The Walking Dead Never Answered A Bigger Question
Now based in Australia, Samantha has joined GameRant as the Movies/TV Lead Editor and always enjoys reading and writing about her favorite fantasy movies, sci-fi shows, and sitcoms with her like-minded teammates.
When Negan was first introduced in The Walking Dead, he quickly became the show's most notorious villain. In his very first episode, he murdered a member of Rick Grimes' group with his baseball bat, Lucille, and in only his second episode, he brutally murdered series favorites Glenn and Abraham. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's charismatic performance as the callous leader of the Saviors earned him enormous praise, and the character has undergone immense changes throughout The Walking Dead and its spinoffs.
Negan has become a father and a reluctant ally and antihero, but his transformation has fueled plenty of debate among fans, especially if they ask whether he has been forgiven. It's an understandable question, given what he put Rick's group through, but after his journey across The Walking Dead and Dead City, it's becoming increasingly clear that the show is wrestling with a much bigger question all along: forget whether Negan has been forgiven, the real issue is whether he can be forgiven.
Negan Changed a Ton Throughout The Walking Dead
To The Walking Dead's credit, Negan's redemption was never simple. He was such an effective villain because he enjoyed the performance of his violence. His theatrical murders of Glenn and Abraham were carefully constructed acts of intimidation designed to break Rick's group and establish his own dominance. The Saviors then extorted Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom for years, demanding half of everything those groups produced while using public punishments to discourage resistance.
His cruelty far exceeded anything on display from The Walking Dead's other villains. Between physically torturing survivors, publicly executing members of his own group to maintain order, creating an entire culture of fear, and forced polygamy, Negan's actions continue to spark debate among viewers even years after they happened. Unlike villains like The Governor or Alpha, Negan fully understood the system he built and actively used terror as a leadership strategy. By the end of The Walking Dead, though, he had been imprisoned for years, saved Judith during the blizzard, infiltrated the Whisperers, and killed Alpha to protect Alexandria. The same people he once exploited he was now ready to risk his life for.
But becoming a better person and being forgiven are two entirely separate issues, and that distinction sits at the center of Negan's storyline. Negan has definitely changed over the course of The Walking Dead and Dead City, but the harder question for fans to answer is whether that change is enough to outweigh Glenn, Abraham, and every other villainous act Negan committed.
Negan's Redemption Arc is Too Complicated
Dead City continued Negan's redemption arc where The Walking Dead left off, showing a quieter and more remorseful version of the character who clearly understands the damage he caused and genuinely wants to become someone better. The issue isn't so much that his redemption arc has been poorly written, but it's an impossible task. As a villain, he fully understood the suffering he was causing, and he was popular as an antagonist. And this left the show trapped between two competing truths: Negan has clearly become a better person, but the franchise hasn't granted him forgiveness. The better Negan becomes, the harder it is to reconcile him with the person he used to be.
That struggle follows Negan into Dead City. His redemption arc is still ongoing in the spinoff, and it feels like Dead City is avoiding answering whether it'll ever come. Whenever it seems like the story is moving toward forgiveness, the franchise reminds viewers of what Negan did. And, every time it seems like punishment is on the cards, Negan does something heroic or sacrificial. Instead of choosing one direction, Dead City settles into an uncomfortable middle ground.
The result is a character who can never quite become either thing. The Walking Dead can't answer whether forgiveness is even possible, since he was so effective as a villain, and yet the writers can't quite convince fans that he deserves a spot alongside the show's heroes. Perhaps this is why Negan is such a compelling Walking Dead character even 10 years after his introduction. His storyline should be less about how/when he will be forgiven and more about whether it is even on the cards. It's The Walking Dead's biggest Negan question, and fans still clamor for an answer.
- Release Date
- 2010 - 2022
- Network
- AMC
- Showrunner
- Frank Darabont, Angela Kang, Scott M. Gimple, Glen Mazzara
- Directors
- David Boyd, Ernest R. Dickerson, Billy Gierhart, Guy Ferland, Laura Belsey, Jeffrey F. January, Michael Cudlitz, Sharat Raju, Alrick Riley, Michael Slovis, Michelle MacLaren, Rosemary Rodriguez, Seith Mann, Tricia Brock, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Daniel Sackheim, Fred Toye, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jon Amiel, Kari Skogland, Kevin Dowling, Tawnia McKiernan, Larry Teng, Julius Ramsay
- Writers
- Channing Powell, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Glen Mazzara, Jim Barnes, Vivian Tse, Robert Kirkman, Erik Mountain, Evan Reilly, Kevin Deiboldt, Julia Ruchman, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Nichole Beattie, Eddie Guzelian, Geraldine Inoa, Magali Lozano, Curtis Gwinn, LaToya Morgan, Eli Jorne, Adam Fierro, Frank Renzulli, Ryan Coleman, Jack LoGiudice, Charles H. Eglee
Cast
-
Norman ReedusDaryl Dixon -
Melissa McBrideCarol Peletier
- Seasons
- 11
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix, AMC+
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