After two years away from the group, The Walking Dead: Dead City's Negan (Jeffery Dean Morgan) has devolved back into the ruthless survivor he once was, which may exactly be what Maggie (Lauren Cohan) needs.
According to Morgan, this episode is key to understanding Negan's mindset and actions. "We saw him get defensive with Maggie earlier in the bathroom scene when he says, 'I am not that guy. I didn't do this s--- frivolously. I put on a show to save my people.' Negan believes that with all his heart." Early in Episode 2, “Who’s There?” of The Walking Dead: Dead City, Negan tells Maggie, "I was only a monster when I had to be," while explaining his actions back at the Sanctuary. "When I had to put on a show to protect my people." By the end of the episode, Negan's ultraviolent nature and gallows humor are on full display as he batters his way through a group of attackers likely sent by Negan's former ally, the Croat (Željko Ivanek).
Negan has had an extraordinary arc on The Walking Dead, evolving from a violent, darkly comedic tyrant who bashed in heads with a barbed wire-covered baseball bat to a man desperate to make amends for the harm he caused to Maggie. Morgan explained how Negan has devolved into his former, more violent self after spending two years apart from the group. "I think he came a long way in the original show. But I think there's a problem when we find him in Dead City," Morgan explained. "He's not been part of the group now for a couple of years, and he's reverted a little bit in some ways because he is a survivor. More than anything else, he's a survivor."
The Croat is a More Extreme Version of Negan
Negan's knowledge of Hershel's kidnapper makes him an invaluable asset to Maggie, so she is forced to overlook her long-standing animosity and work with him to find her son. Morgan explained that The Walking Dead: Dead City's main villain, the Croat, was created to surpass any of the horrific deeds that Negan committed. "He's an underling of Negan's from back in the day," Morgan said. "But he has taken the evil to places where not even Negan in his heyday has gone."
The Walking Dead: Dead City Episode 3 will air on Sunday, July 2, at 9 pm ET on AMC, and subscribers to AMC+ will be able to access the episode a few days early.
Source: Entertainment Weekly