How will Negan react to Rick’s assault on The Saviors on The Walking Dead?

In The Walking Dead season 8 premiere, Rick and the other communities launched their first strike against Negan. Judging by his past actions Negan’s not going to take that lying down.

All Out War began with a bang in The Walking Dead season 8 premiere. Rick, Maggie, King Ezekiel and the survivors in their communities launched a full-on assault against Negan and The Saviors at The Sanctuary.

Strategically it was a smart move. The assault wasn’t so much to kill Negan or The Saviors as it was to send a clear message. Rick wanted to let Negan know that The Sanctuary isn’t safe and that Rick and the others have the firepower and the will to hit The Saviors where they live.

Tactically it was a smart decision. By striking The Saviors where they live and not waiting for Negan to launch another attack on the communities the leaders of the communities were making it clear that they weren’t going to be on the defensive in the war.

By striking first Rick took the upper hand in the war and was able to leverage the power of surprise. The Saviors weren’t expecting an attack on their home. And they definitely weren’t expecting that Rick and the others would lead a massive herd of walkers right to The Sanctuary’s doors.

Negan’s Reaction

Negan is a smart and cunning leader. But he definitely has underestimated Rick. When he attacked Alexandria in The Walking Dead season 7 finale he didn’t know that Maggie was alive. He didn’t know that Sasha was going to sacrifice herself the way she did. And he definitely didn’t plan on The Hilltop and The Kingdom backing up Alexandria in their defiance of Negan’s rule.

The attack on The Sanctuary in The Walking Dead season 8 premiere was another surprise for Negan. And as he got pinned down in that shed by gunfire and by walkers he had to have been thinking that Rick is not going to be the pushover that he thought.

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Negan’s managed to keep control over the communities because he has bigger numbers and he’s willing to kill whoever he has to kill in order to keep his position at the top of the food chain. But his way of controlling the communities won’t work against a united alliance of the other communities. And his humiliation and manipulation of Rick won’t work anymore either.

Negan’s going to have to change his tactics now that he knows Rick and the others are working together and that they are better strategists than he thought. It will be very interesting to see how Negan ups his game to meet the new threat of Rick and the alliance.

It’s safe to say that Negan and The Saviors have never faced a full-on assault like the one that Rick and the others just executed on The Sanctuary. Knowing Negan his response is going to be quick, brutal, and probably a little theatrical. But despite his penchant for drama Negan’s going to hit back hard. He wants to keep control at any cost. So he’s going to be gunning for Rick even harder now.

Next: Maggie needs to deal with Gregory

All Out War continues on The Walking Dead when the second episode of season 8 titled ‘The Damned’ arrives on Sunday, October 29^th.