Negan’s attempts to convert Daryl, Eugene and Sasha on The Walking Dead

Daryl, Eugene and Sasha: different people, different strategies… and different results for Negan

Season 7 of The Walking Dead saw Negan trying to “convert” several prisoners he had forcibly taken from Rick’s group and brought back to the Sanctuary. First Daryl, whom he took back with him as a consequence of his outburst after Abraham’s death. Then, Eugene, who had confessed to making the bullet used by Rosita in her failed attempt to assassinate Negan.

At the end of the season, another prisoner ran right into the Sanctuary: Sasha, who had gone on a suicide mission to kill Negan. Every time, Negan tried to “convert” these prisoners and to convince them to join the Saviors.

As we will see, Daryl, Eugene and Sasha do not work in the same way. They have different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, and motivations.

As a manipulator, Negan thus tried to assess their personalities and used completely different methods to convert them, with varying degrees of success: abuse and humiliation for Daryl, reassurance and rewards for Eugene, and an appeal to reason and pragmatism with Sasha.

Here’s a look at Negan’s treatment of each of the three characters, and possible explanations as to why his various attempts succeeded or failed.