Summary
The Walking Deadwas more than just a show, becoming a cultural phenomenon, even beyond fans of horror and gore. Its excellent writing remained strongly consistent throughout most seasons, and introduced the audience to truly memorable characters,among the protagonists and antagonists. New villains were constantly introduced, with one of the most iconic being that of Negan.
The leader of a survival group known as the Saviors, Negan made life for everyone who was not part of his posse miserable, including Rick and his people. But his character was still loved, as the audience couldn’t help but like him with the witty and extremely quotable lines of his character.
9"You Got No Guts."
Negan Kills Another Core Member with Dramatic Flair
Whenever Negan does something, he always has to do it with some flair, or at the very least with a cheeky one-liner ready at the go. And this includes the death of Spencer in Hearts Still Beating. Spencer had spent most of the Saviors' visit to Alexandria schmoozing up to Negan before finally spelling out why he was suddenly getting all buddy-buddy withthe man who would cave all their skulls inif it suited him: he wanted Rick’s role as leader.
Negan, unsurprisingly, doesn’t take kindly to being manipulated, and decides he deserves death, but not by Lucille. Plunging a knife into Spencer’s abdomen, he claims he has no guts until they slither out of the wound, proclaiming in mock surprise he does in fact have them. The line of hilarity in this moment of brutal death is very Negan-esque, and the reason many fans could not get
enough of him.
8"And I Fed Him Spaghetti."
“Your kid? He hid in one of my trucks and machine-gunned a bunch of my men down, and I brought him home, safe and sound, and…I fed him spaghetti!”
Season 7 saw Negan making himself very comfortable in Alexandria, and gave fans some of his best lines of all time, such as in the episode Hearts Still Beating. Not everyone is pleased by his occupation and reign, particularly Carl, who decides to take matters into his own hands by hiding in the back of one of his trucks and gunning down some of his men with a machine gun. This is definitely a risky move against Negan, who has introduced people to the business end of Lucille for less.
Many would expect him to exact bloody revenge, but instead, as Negan says himself, he doesn’t touch a single hair on his head, bringing him home and making him a hearty meal instead. Somehow, this is perfectly in character for Negan, who maintains an intimidating aura even when sitting down for a family meal he made.
7"I Hope You Got Your Sh****ing Pants On."
Negan Reveals His Presence to Gabriel in a Hilarious Manner
“Your sh*ing pants. I hope you’re wearing them right now. Because you are about to sh your pants.”
Almost every time Negan opens his mouth, he delivers an absolute zinger that fans will remember and quote even years down the line. Even doing simple things like greeting another person, he has to do it in Negan style, just like in the season 8 premiere, wherein he and Gabriel find themselves in the exact same shelter, surrounded by walkers.
The sight of Negan emerging from the shadows is chilling, so it’s no wonder he utters those words to Gabriel, who is unnerved to see the leader of the Saviors already in the cabin he sought refuge in. Now, fans are unsurewhat the fate might holdfor Gabriel, as though he is safe from the walkers for now, he stands before someone who might be an even bigger threat.
6"I Just Slipped My Di** Down Your Throat, and You Thanked Me For It."
Negan Never Wastes an Opportunity to Neg Rick
Poor Rick. Though he survived the encounterwith the Saviors, unlike certain other members of the group, Negan delighted in tormenting him from the first moment they met. He clearly wanted to keep Rick alive so he could continue toying with him, humiliating him in front of the group whoplaced their trust in Rickto guide them to safety, and to life outside of survival. But then enter Negan, turning all of their worlds upside down.
Negan and the Saviors have grown all too comfortable in Alexandria, even having Rick hold Lucille for him, the beloved bat he barely ever parts with. He refuses to leave the compound until Rick thanks him, which he does so reluctantly. In return for his cooperation, Negan, of course, takes this chance to gloat, ridiculing him for his subservience before he leaves. It is a shocking and humorous line, and one still quoted by fans even though the audience can’t help but feel a little sorry for Rick, and worried about the fate of the survivors under this harsh new regime.
Negan Straddles the Line Between Megalomaniac and High School Bully with His Mean Teasing
“Starving? You? By ‘practically’, you mean ‘not really’….Really?”
Though Negan is mostly quite a fearsome presence on-screen, his short interaction with Olivia in season 7 episode 7 reduces Negan’s presence to the levels of a high school bully, as he knows he doesn’t really have any reason to threaten Olivia. He can’t help but resist digging into her with some words that, while funny in context and coming from Negan, are quite mean-spirited.
Olivia claims Rick has gone out scavenging for more supplies as they are struggling at Alexandria, and everyone is having to tighten their belts due to a shortage of food. Negan looks at her in mocking disbelief when she says those words, very obviously glancing at her figure as he delivers this insult. The audience can’t help but feel a little bad for Olivia, but it is also hard not to laugh, especially at how Negan attempts to comfort her, and the well-deserved slap she gives him in response.
4"Well, Pardon Me, Young Man….Did You Just Threaten Me?"
The Beginning of Negan’s Odd Respect for Carl
“Well, pardon me young man, excuse the sh** out of my goddamn French but did you just threaten me?”
Season 7 was full of zingers from Negan, as this was one he had his boot firmly planted on the necks of the survivors, forcing them to gather supplies for him and the Saviors, even if it meant they had to go without enough food for the entire compound. Though the group didn’t like this one bit, they mostly cooperated so they could survive to work out a plan, but Carl wasn’t going to take this lying down.
During the collection in Service, he pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot Negan if he doesn’t return some of the supplies, prompting this line from Negan. He couldn’t quite believe the courage of Carl, who was just a kid, yet knowing Negan, he couldn’t help but to respect this display of bravery. In the end, Negan does come to admire Carl, and this might have been the first step towards that path.
3“You’re Not Saving the World, Rick. You’re Just Getting it Ready for Me."
A Chilling Line Alluding to a Bleak Future for Rick and the Survivors
The second episode of season 9 turned out to be one with a major twist. The friction between Alexandria and the Saviors came to a head in the season 8 finale, with the audience assuming Negan to be dead when his neck met the business end of Rick’s blade. But, the end of the episode revealed him to be down but not out, as he was in the individual Rick was speaking to in the cell. He tells him the progression of the communities, presumably to demonstrate how he and his men had lost, while Rick and his group were thriving.
But even locked in a cell, Negan can’t seem to admit defeat. Instead, he claims Rick is just preparing the world for him, confident he will be freed and once more be king of the hill. It was a surprise enough to see Negan had survived, but this line certainly hints Negan won’t be locked away for long, and he will return to claim what he thinks is his.
2"Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe…"
Negan Makes a Game Out of Choosing His Victims
And here it was, the long-awaited proper introduction of the Saviors' leader, Negan. After stopping the RV from escorting the ailing and pregnant Maggie to safety, they are finally herded into a clearing and forced to their knees to meet the Saviors leader, who immediately made it known he was about to make the lives of those that survived merry hell, as for some of them, it would be their last day on earth.
Negan seemingly couldn’t decide who he wanted to make the acquaintance of Lucille, and decided to make a game out of it. Using the children’s rhymeeeny, meeny, miny, moe, he walked in front of the group while chanting, until reaching the one who wasit. Bashing someone’s skull in is bad enough, but to treat the choosing of his victim like it’s just a game kids play at recess makes it all the worse. Fans also wouldn’t know who was chosen until season 7 premiered, resulting in one of the most jaw-dropping cliffhangers of all time.
1"I Was a Coward. I Couldn’t Face the Pain of Losing You, So I Ran Away."
This Episode Revealed Hidden Depths to Negan’s Character
“I was a coward. I couldn’t face the pain of losing you, so I ran away. And then I made myself not feel anything because I didn’t want to feel the shame. The problem is that… shame is the one thing that I still feel.”
Here’s Negan might just beone of the best episodes inThe Walking Dead,as it gave some much-needed background and context to Negan, who is arguably thebest villain in the whole show. His life before the apocalypse is revealed, where he was a not-so-great husband to Lucille, playing on the Xbox all day after losing his job, spending his money on unnecessary things like expensive leather jackets, and even being unfaithful.
Then Lucille got cancer, and the world began ending. This shifted Negan into a loving and attentive husband who wanted nothing more than to care for his wife, and for her to survive cancer. Alas, Lucille does not survive, and Negan returns to find her a walker. This line is Negan lamenting his regret as he cradles the bat he named after her. For someone who jokes almost 99% of the time, this scene, and the entire episode, truly packs a devastating punch.
