The Walking Dead: Our panel speculates about Negan’s future

After many years in prison Negan is free and is back at the Sanctuary. But the Saviors have been gone for a long time. What’s Negan’s next move on The Walking Dead?

In the midseason finale of The Walking Dead thanks to a careless Father Gabriel Negan ended up with the perfect opportunity to slip out of prison in Alexandria and of course he took it. Negan had been in jail for almost 8 years at that point though and while he immediately headed for the Sanctuary when he escaped there might not have been much left at the Sanctuary for him to return to.

It looks as if the Saviors have disbanded and the community at Sanctuary fell apart. Some of the Saviors were killed by Carol when she was taking Henry to see Daryl and then to the Hilltop. There were references made in Carol’s conversation with the Saviors indicating that Sanctuary had fallen apart. Some of the Saviors are apparently members of the other communities now, like Laura who is part of the council in Alexandria.

It makes sense that Sanctuary was never able to get it together after Negan was captured. They didn’t have much luck growing their own food or surviving without pilfering from the other communities and after awhile none of the other communities could or wanted to help them. Now that Negan is free is bound to be disappointed when he gets back to Sanctuary and sees that it’s become a shell of what it was.

But maybe that will inspire Negan to start over. There’s bound to be a few residents in the old Sanctuary because the building is secure and livable. Maybe Negan is counting on the loyalty of the Saviors who are spread out in the communities or maybe he thinks he can recruit a new class of Saviors to start the business of “saving” people all over again now. Our panel sat down to discuss what The Walking Dead’s escaped villain will do next.

Negan’s Next Moves

Will Negan try to rebuild the Sanctuary and become a major player in the communities again?

Sonya says:

"I think that he will want to try, but I think Alexandria is going to need him to help them fight The Whisperers. Negan might have extreme methods but he knows how to control a group of people who are not the most upstanding people and he knows how to fight. Michonne is going to need his help to keep Alexandria safe I think."

Sara says:

"I definitely think Negan is going to try to rebuild the Sanctuary again. He has always loved being in charge and I’m sure that’s going to be something we are going to see him try to do this season.  I would personally love to see him rally behind Alexandria though and help them out with the threat of the Whisperers."

Jeffrey says:

"I don’t necessarily see Negan trying to rebuild the Sanctuary, but I do think he might spend some time there deciding what to do next. I predict that he will join in the fight against the Whisperers once he becomes aware of just how much a threat they pose. Perhaps he will return to Alexandria and offer to assist in the fight. That would definitely make for an interesting redemptive arc."

Sarabeth says:

"I think Negan will try a new approach. The Sanctuary can’t raise crops, as we have seen, and he might have known this all along and that’s why he demanded half of the other communities’ supplies. He probably has his eye on new territory."

What do you think Negan will do TWDFamily? Is he going to lead The Walking Dead survivors into war against the Whisperers or will he focus on rebuilding what he had before? Tweet us @SonyaIryna, @WrittenBySara, @TWalkingDWorld, @SarabethPollock, and @UndeadWalkingFS to join the conversation.