If you think Negan is to blame for ripping your heart out on the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead, you’d be wrong.
Spoilers for the season 7 premiere below.
Negan is being touted as season 7’s big villain, and while it’s true he’s the antagonist to Rick’s group, does that automatically make him a villain? All right, he killed Glenn and Abraham, which is totally not cool, but consider this: Negan was justified in doing so. Or at the very least, he can’t be put on a lower pedestal than Rick.
In The Walking Dead‘s dog eat dog world where only the strong survive, Negan is doing what he must to keep his people alive, and retaliation is part of that. Oh yes, Negan was retaliating, not inciting.
Remember in season 6 when Rick and co went to the compound and killed Negan’s people in their sleep? They did this, not as a defensive measure, but as an unprovoked, offensive measure. Rick justified his group doing what they needed to for food, but had anybody given it more thought, they could have come up with another solution.
The situation was thus: Rick and the group were scarce on food. Hilltop had lots of food. However, Hilltop was giving half their rations to the Saviors, in exchange for Negan not killing them. Rick reasoned that if they got rid of Negan’s group, then Hilltop could give them food, in exchange for protection and medicine.
It was a decent plan, if Rick had done a little recon on Negan to know what he’s capable of before storming in and starting a war. The fact is, Negan hadn’t done anything to Rick. If the situation were reversed, and Negan randomly attacked Rick’s group, we’d be calling for retribution. We only call Negan a villain because he’s new and against the people we’ve spent seven years with.
Back to present time, Negan kidnaps everyone and threatens to kill one of them. Just one, for the dozens Rick’s group killed. Considering the world they’re living in, it actually seems pretty fair. Negan also wants the survivors to work for him, yet another reasonable demand after these people tried to kill the Saviors. It’s actually quite a generous offer. Do you think Rick would have offered the same if roles were reversed?
So Negan picks stoic Abraham as the victim. By all intents and purposes, the nuts are sucked and it’s over. As Negan says, they just need to keep their mouths shut, do as he says, and he’ll let them go. Of course, that doesn’t work for our group.
Your fave Daryl vainly attempts to attack Negan, but this act of defiance is anything but heroic. Negan, apparently being a (violent) man of his word, punishes them for what Daryl did, and pop goes the Rhee-sel!
Can Negan really be blamed for this? How is he to assert authority over Rick’s group, and show his own people that he’s not weak, if not by demonstrating there are consequences for attacking him?
Negan is just Rick 2.0. He’s the man Rick has been becoming over the last six seasons. He’s doing exactly what Rick would have done. He may have even given more chances than Rick ever would. If you’re upset by Abraham and Glenn’s deaths, don’t blame Negan. Blame everyone else. Rick’s group started it. But in particular, blame your problematic faves Rick and Daryl. If they hadn’t been so reckless, Abraham and Glenn might still be alive.
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