TWD: Will Negan ever be a leader again?

The Walking Dead has always been a show in which the survivors in the apocalypse have followed someone’s lead. Even if the leader isn’t always the best to follow, like the Hilltop leader Gregory (Xander Berkeley). Depending on who’s side you are on, choices are hard to make in a broken world – but some actions people take aren’t just vital to their own safety, but a whole community.

Each section of TWDU has seen varied leaders come and go, leaving their footprints in the world along the way. Each community has heads that are depending upon to make the leading choices and calls. This has to be one of the toughest jobs in the apocalypse because nothing can ever fully be planned for.

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) was the main man who fans followed for the first 9 seasons of the show, and we witnessed him make some great calls but also a few stinkers. However, one leader that swaggered onto our screens in 616 “Last Day On Earth” with his famous leans and baseball bat was Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who took the new world by storm with the complete opposite way of running things than we were used to seeing. His leadership brought brutality and rules that were selfishly advantageous to him.

Can Negan be a leader again?

Negan, ex-gym teacher and Savior leader, really has shaken up TWD from one extreme to the other. The brutal murders of some of our favorite characters (Glenn and Abraham etc.) to his softer, most caring side for his beloved Lucille. Whether we hate to love him or love to hate him – what a fantastic arc Negan has had, but can he rewind time and be the leader he once was again?

At his peak of leadership, Negan was running a full community according to his rules. And to be fair to the guy, some of these rules weren’t bad at all – such as members of the Sanctuary attacking other members, as we saw in 715 “Something They Need” when he kills David for attempting to assault Sasha. But taking half of innocent people’s belongings, I mean come on, Negan, really?

Things were clearly working at the Sanctuary for the Saviors within the walls until, of course, Rick and other members began to fight back. People had what they needed, and all had jobs to do, seeing Negan as their protector and hero. Not all members liked being under his rule though, in 711 “Hostiles and Calamities,” Negan’s ‘wives’ expressed their concern with their place under Negan’s rule. This included Dwight’s wife, Sherry, who even, upon her crossover to Fear The Walking Dead, wanted to avenge Negan for what he did.

I highly doubt that Maggie (Lauren Cohan) would ever let Negan rule over her or her people (who we now know are called the Wardens thanks to the new season 11 synopsis) ever. And many of the communities are made up of ex Saviors who knew Negan was going to lose and had no loyalties to him anymore, so would they be under his rule again? In a recent Season 11 teaser, we saw that Negan is wearing his leather jacket again… is this a sign that the ‘old’ him will creep back somehow, maybe into the Commonwealth?

All in all, I still feel that Negan may like to regain trust within the communities he has found himself in (or locked in!) and have a more prominent role to prove his worth. He knows what to do to survive, and as seen in 1022 “Here’s Negan,” Lucille the vampire bat was burned after being found broken, and we seemed to see Negan begin the path to build himself back up again in his wife’s honor. Maybe if he were a leader again, he wouldn’t be the kind he was before.

Will Negan be trusted to be a leader again? We can see when The Walking Dead returns August 22 on AMC, Star on Disney Plus August 23 for UK Viewers.