Negan: The wacky neighbor of Alexandria on The Walking Dead

AMC recently released character bios for the key players in season 10 of The Walking Dead. The true wild card of the bunch is naturally, Negan.

Negan is a fairly divisive character, with half of The Walking Dead fandom rooting for him, and the other half longing for his imminent demise. Like most of the fan faves, feedback is a mixed bag.

Negan is interesting: there’s nothing quite so engaging as a character who starts at the top, only to fall, hard, peeling back the layers to their core and discovering things about themselves along the way.

Should Negan survive the impending Whisperer War, he will be allowed to complete a true redemption arc. There were opportunities in the past: Shane, Philip, and even Gregory to an extent. But either the character turned their 180 into a 360, or they were offed before having the chance. Negan was allowed to live thanks to Rick (and posthumously, Carl), thus giving him the opportunity to be integrated into the community he was once at war with. The gateway was officially opened last season, due to his risking his own life to save Judith’s.

Recently, bios were released for major characters in season 10 of The Walking Dead and Negan’s is quite interesting. Here is what it had to say on the official AMC website:

"“Negan is coming to terms with his post-Sanctuary life. He has been granted some small freedoms, but struggles to find his place within the community, particularly when the increasing threat of the Whisperers causes paranoia and suspicion to seep in. Negan wants to lay low and not become the focus of anyone’s rage, but what is a bad guy to do when he isn’t allowed to be good? Will he find redemption? Regardless of the situation, whether he has the upper hand or not, Negan is always ruthlessly vocal and honest.”"

Part of Negan’s AMC bio poses the question, “…what is a bad guy to do when he isn’t allowed to be good?” The thing about Negan is that he only adheres to his own rules, and to his own code of honor.

Despite his smashtastic entry into the series, he actually values human life. More than that, he values the lives of those he cares about. As of last season, that list was limited to Judith, but as this season progresses, that will likely extend to more of Judith’s family (i.e. little Rick and their mother, Michonne).

Michonne, though reluctant, expressed her thanks for Negan’s saving Judith’s life last winter. As the Commander in Chief of Alexandria, her trust in him will open the gates, so to speak, to the other residents of the community.

Though nearly everyone will look at him with a skeptical, or hateful eye (Daryl has just moved back, after all), this acceptance from their leader will give him some elbow room to make allies, and maybe even, friends in season 10 of The Walking Dead.