The Walking Dead Villains: Who ISN’T The Worst? Part 10

Brandon

When you think about it, Brandon is a very tragic figure in The Walking Dead: He was a little kid when the outbreak hit, he and his parents survived, only to be taken in by the Saviors, his parents wind up killed by Rick (which, clearly, messed with him) and he gets adopted by a family in Alexandria, constantly hearing how the man who killed his family was a “hero”, while the man his parents followed (his hero) was a “monster”.

Don’t get me wrong: Brandon was a disturbed young man, you only have to watch how excited he got after murdering Amelia and Milo to see that. However, that is why I can’t condemn him.

I can’t lump him in with the likes of Simon, or “Deserved It” Dan, or the other villains who’ve topped my lists in seasons past, because they were adults who had a reference point for what was truly good and bad well before the apocalypse, yet, threw it in the trash. Brandon, from what I can tell, either never did, or, at a crucial time in his development, had that reference point thrown completely off-course by his family’s time with the Saviors.

With Negan, a murdering extortionist, set as his hero — His model for what to strive to —  Brandon’s weird detachment and psychotic behavior suddenly make a lot of sense. When your kid’s role model is an unabashed murderer, it’s no surprise when that is what your kid ends up becoming.

Had Brandon arrived in Alexandria, or any of the other communities we’ve seen over the last five seasons of The Walking Dead, I think he would have wound up trying to emulate Rick, or Daryl, or Ezekiel, or Maggie, or Jesus, and become a much more well-adjusted adult.

Sure, he might still have wound up disturbed, like Lizzie, but, I think growing up idolizing Negan, instead of any of the other community leaders, practically guaranteed he would have.

…He never really stood a chance, did he?