After my last post, I planned on starting this blog off by going back to the beginning of the series TWD and break down each episode about what I learned and how it impacts my life, but after watching Season 10’s season finale, I was anxious and needed to talk about it ASAP! I hope I create new fans of the show with this blog and also gain OG fans who have been following this story from day one. I look forward to discussing TWD with anything I do in life. While I’m teaching, I’ll use an example from an episode to explain something to a student, the best way I know how. While I’m grocery shopping I consider what I need that will be nourishing, quick, and healthy for my daily needs and unexpected changes that life seems to bring. I picture myself as one of the characters or ask myself, what would that character do? One of my favorite characters has always been Negan.

Fans already know, Negan doesn’t even show up until season 6. So before Negan, my favorite character was Michonne but she doesn’t even show up until Season 3. However, Negan is a very controversial character. He’s brought onto the show as a villain, probably the worst one so far. The comic books hype this character’s introduction so much, fans were excited to know who would play this notorious villain. The brilliant actor, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, plays the hell out of Negan with his witty personality and cheeky sarcasm which entertains and fascinates me about this iconic villain. TWD is known for their unique and vicious bad guys or groups like the Whisperers, Alpha, and the Saviors. Negan is controversial because many fans claim to stop watching the show due to Negan’s brutal murders of two main and loving characters, Glen and Abraham. However, for me it did the opposite. Of course the deaths of poor Glen and Abraham are awful. It was horrible to watch it go down. But, as a fan of the drama, I felt Negan’s presence was stronger than their loss. Some villains are just so memorable and iconic.

I always try to be the hero of my life’s story but sometimes it’s fun being bad. Negan proves his insanity by blatantly enjoying his killings. Even though he was doing these horrible things, his wit always tickles my insides and I can’t help but love him. His fitted leather jacket and special weapon of choice, a bat wrapped in barbed is a suave and scary attire. He’s also such a strong character who has created his own way of life, the only way he knows how, by scaring people and threatening them to work for him in order to stay alive in this world. Spoiler Alert: Negan’s character goes through several arc’s over time and this episode really put all the pieces together about why he became that evil person to begin with. After Rick decides to save Negan after the war, he lives the next couple of years in an enclosed cell at Alexandria. Several characters do not agree with Rick’s decision about keeping Negan alive, like Maggie who comes back this season after several years. Carol sends Negan to live on his own, away from everyone else for his own safety. In that quiet cabin, Negan reflects on his life and the audience gets a scope of twelve years into the past, before the zombie apocalypse. Negan is portrayed as this young at heart gym coach, with a bad temper, who is cheating on his wife. Once he finds out his wife is diagnosed with cancer, he devotes of time and attention to helping his wife. When the outbreak hits and the world goes to shit, Negan tries anything to hold onto his wife but she takes her life while he’s out finding medicine for her. After losing his wife, Lucille, he then loses himself and thus begins the origin of evil Negan.

This episode was done so beautifully as they show pre-zombie apocalypse Negan and post-zombie apocalypse Negan. I understood how broken and hurt he was and I felt the regret he had for cheating on his wife and not being there for her. There are times I contemplate on my life and regret the decisions I made which led me into so much heartache and sorrow. I often took the hurt out on myself, physically and mentally. I would completely shut down and turn into someone I wasn’t. That’s exactly Negan. However, at the end of the episode he finally forgives himself and apologies to his wife for naming “a stupid baseball bat” after you. It took years for Negan to get to this point, but it also goes to prove that everything happens for a reason. I used to hate that saying but it makes sense here with Negan. He has a purpose with this group. He saves Rick’s daughter, Judith. He kills Alpha during the Whisperer war. Even Carl, Rick’s first son, could see that there was more to Negan than just evil. Everyone has their own story. According to Morgan’s mantra “All life is precious”, Negan’s life matters too. He also deserves a second chance. This is what I love about this show, so many characters re-find themselves in many ways during these tough times and discover they have always been strong, and are stronger. Just like I strive for too.