The Walking Dead: Is a Negan and Lydia father-daughter bond forming?

In The Walking Dead episode “The Tower” Lydia turns to Negan to cope with the recent death of her mother.

In The Walking Dead season 10 episode 15’s “The Tower” Lydia is very stuck. She has a very raw and angry nerve about her mother ‘s death and Negan sees it. The entire episode shows Negan trying to help Lydia mourn her mother. Of course, she is angry at him and may have hatred towards him but Negan is okay with that and he will be whatever she needs him to be. What does this mean for their relationship?

Alpha was last seen alive on The Walking Dead when she met her demise in episode 1012’s “Walk With Us” after Negan tricked her into thinking her knew where Lydia was. Once he got her far enough away from the Whisperers he slit her throat.

Although it needed to be done, Negan did not want to kill Alpha because he had developed a fondness for her that no one would understand but him. He felt alive again, like he mattered to someone after 8 years of never being noticed or seen by anyone.

Negan tried on multiple occasions to change Alpha’s viewpoint on how things had to go, but nothing seemed to work. Once Negan came to realize Alpha intended to kill Lydia and the others, he knew that the only way was to put her down. Negan’s one rule of this new world was that killing kids was never okay, so in a way, Negan did this to save Lydia, not himself.

Negan tries to talk to Lydia about her mother, but she gets upset. Negan triggers her inner rage, so Lydia lets it out at him, attacking him verbally. This all leads to Lydia smacking Negan in the chest nonstop while she breaks down in tears. Once she breaks down, Negan wraps his arms around her as comfort. He continues to try to comfort her as he tells her it is okay when she cries in his arms. It’s a very tender moment between the two.

Could this be the start of a father-daughter bond between the two of them? In earlier episodes, Negan and Lydia are the only two that understood each other since they were both very hated by people in the communities. When Negan saved Lydia from being beaten to death by some of the residents of Alexandria, it caused Lydia to have memories of her biological father and what little she recalls about him. It is possible that by protecting her, Negan brought back the feelings she had when her dad was alive.

Maybe this is Negan’s newfound mission in life, to be what Lydia never got to have from her mother, be whatever she needs him to be: a protector, a friend, a shoulder, anything. Maybe these two characters were meant to meet, maybe they are here to help each other out of the abyss they are both stuck in.

Do you feel Negan is a new guardian to Lydia? Do you hope to see more in this bond created between these two characters? What will Negan do to protect her from Beta and the horde? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or on Twitter @UndeadwalkingFS @Grevorr