Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, episode 3, "Why Did the Mainlanders Cross the River?"Although Negan got on surprisingly well with Carl in Negan started a family with Annie in The Walking Dead and seems to have genuinely turned a corner, with his spinoff show highlighting how much he has grown. He willingly sat in a cell and ate cockroaches to avoid assisting Dead City's villains, only breaking when his family was threatened.

Now, Negan's story in The Walking Dead spinoff revolves around him trying to reject his dark past and hold onto the good traits he's developed, despite constantly being put in difficult situations. The attack on New Babylon's ship highlighted this, as Negan halted the artillery to let Maggie, Ginny, and Hershel get on an emergency raft with some marshals. However, the Croat believed he hesitated simply because he saw kids, claiming "You draw the line at children", but this line completely overlooks a pivotal moment from season 7, where Negan looked more than willing to break this rule.

The Walking Dead Forgets That Negan Was 1 Second Away From Killing Carl Grimes

Negan Fully Intended On Killing Carl Despite His Supposed Limit Of Not Murdering Children

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) swinging his baseball bat at Carl (Chandler Riggs) in The Walking Dead season 7 episode 16

While it's hard to deny that Negan did truly care about Carl, he was also willing to kill him, and very nearly did in season 7. During his introduction, Negan demanded that Rick cut his son's hand off, stopping him at the last minute when he felt he had made his point. However, it wasn't the only time he was about to hurt Carl, as he attempted to murder him right in front of Rick in season 7's finale, going behind the teenager and swinging full force, only stopping when Shiva attacked one of the Saviors standing behind him.

It's possible that Negan did genuinely show remorse, yet his hesitation seemed abrupt, suggesting it was simply the result of being startled. He could have even viewed Carl as an adult given his maturity, which may have been his justification for attempting to kill him, but the most likely scenario is that Negan was willing to break his rule due to Rick's resistance. Rick's group isn't the first to defy the Saviors, but no one has caused more problems and fought back so hard, which may have prompted Negan's most evil tendencies to flourish in The Walking Dead season 7.

Related
The Walking Dead Is Teasing Negan's Death (If AMC Is Brave Enough To Do It)

Negan has become one of The Walking Dead's most important survivors, but Dead City may quietly be alluding to his death despite how unlikely it seems.

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Regardless of the reasoning, it's clear that the former villain was just a second away from taking a child's life, suggesting that Negan's so-called rule wasn't a hard limit, at least not back then. Even though he has changed and regrets his past, Negan wasn't above killing someone as young as Carl back when he led the Saviors, and while The Walking Dead looks desperate to skip past this moment, it's far too significant to forget.

Why The Walking Dead Is Rewriting History To Redeem Negan

Negan's Sinister Past Is Almost Impossible To Justify Without Some Slight Retcons

The Walking Dead has done a great job of redeeming Negan over the years, but the franchise is now actively rewriting the past to make him look better. For the most part, the series hasn't tried to shy away from Negan's darkest moments, as he has taken ability for his actions and shown remorse for killing Glenn. It has undoubtedly been tough trying to make the audience sympathize with him given everything he's done, but this would be borderline impossible if he had willingly killed children, hence why Dead City wants you to forget that he nearly did.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episodes

Release Date

Episode 1: "Power Equals Power"

May 4, 2025

Episode 2: "Another Shitty Lesson"

May 11, 2025

Episode 3: "Why Did the Mainlanders Cross the River?"

May 18, 2025

Episode 4: "Feisty Friendly"

May 25, 2025

Episode 5: "The Bird Always Knows"

June 1, 2025

Episode 6: "Bridge Partners are Hard to Come by These Days"

June 8, 2025

Episode 7: "Novi Dan, Novi Početak"

June 15, 2025

Episode 8: "If History Were a Conflagration"

June 22, 2025

That's also likely why Negan's wives haven't really been mentioned recently, as the coerced nature of Sanctuary's hierarchy paints him in a very bad light. Instead, Dead City looks to be bringing back Lucille after "Here's Negan" introduced the character's real wife, who humanized Negan while still exposing his flaws. Likewise, referencing Annie and Joshua furthers the idea that, despite his demons, Negan is a family man who cares about children and always has. However, there is a reason he was once The Walking Dead's biggest villain, and Negan's most sinister moments are what make his redemption so impactful.

  • The Walking Dead Season 11 Poster

    Your Rating

    The Walking Dead
    Release Date
    2010 - 2022
    Network
    AMC
    Showrunner
    Frank Darabont, Angela Kang, Scott M. Gimple, Glen Mazzara

    WHERE TO WATCH

    Streaming

    Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series, developed for television by Frank Darabont, follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. The Walking Dead lasted for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff shows, such as Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
     

  • 0544157_poster_w780.jpg

    Your Rating

    The Walking Dead: Dead City
    TV-MA
    Drama
    Sci-Fi & Fantasy
    Action
    Horror
    Release Date
    June 18, 2023
    Network
    AMC
    Directors
    Kevin Dowling, Loren Yaconelli

    WHERE TO WATCH