Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
I’ve been waiting so long for Negan to do something earth-shattering and it looks like he has finally returned.
Whether you love him or love to hate him, Negan is one of the best villains I have ever witnessed on any television show. His actions are ruthless and he has killed some of our beloved characters and yet he still manages to find a way to be charismatic, thought-provoking, and absolutely hilarious.
Over the seasons, Negan has been on this journey toward redemption and the dynamic between him and the Grimes family is a major part of that. Negan is not completely bad and he has proven that there is this potential within him to do good, but it can’t completely wipe his slate clean either.
In the previous episodes, Negan really bonded with Lydia and I think it’s because he knows all too well what it means to be looked at as an outsider and the enemy. No matter how hard you try to do the right thing to fit in, you will always be the first one blamed for anything that goes wrong.
Negan’s past actions are beyond forgivable, but I also can’t ignore the anti-hero emerging within him either. I think that’s why I was so captivated by his performance in season 10, episode 5. Please note spoilers are ahead if you are not up-to-date on the series.
In this episode, Negan’s chance at goodness is brutally ripped away from him when his number one fan, Brandon, decides to murder an innocent family. Negan kills Brandon and the big bad wolf returns, as he grabs his new Lucille and leather jacket, ready to cross into The Whisperer territory with nothing to lose.
Except he did lose something, suddenly realizing that he isn’t going to get the chance to be a hero and that the darkness from his past actions will always follow him.
Is Negan going to be working with the enemy or is this his opportunity to truly make a difference and stop Alpha once and for all? I can’t ignore the setup here, but I also know that Negan has been broken after this moment with Brandon.
He can’t really blame Brandon because he is the cause of his actions in a way, but does that mean that he can only be a villain in the end or is there another way?
While I love Negan as a villain, I feel like he has grown so much over the seasons and I would like to see him thrive as a bad-ass anti-hero. That doesn’t mean that he needs to always do or say the right thing, but I think that Alpha is a worthy foe and only Negan or Carol really have the potential, or the motivation, to take her down.
What’s next for Negan? We’ll have to wait and see, but it looks like he will be tested by Alpha and Beta. I’m interested to see how he does and what their conversations will look like, especially since we know that Negan is no stranger to manipulation.
Either way, I’m excited to see some well deserved screen time for Negan’s character and I can’t wait to see what he does next. I’ve been very impressed with season 10 so far and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s performance is a major part of that!
Stay tuned for a recognized performance on TV each week!
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Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
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