The season 10 finale episode of The Walking Dead focused entirely on Negan and finally telling that backstory that fans have been waiting so long to hear. While comic lovers have an idea of who Negan was prior to the apocalypse, the show doesn't always follow the same path. Case in point: a number of characters have died in the comics who didn't on the show and vice versa.
Viewers learned a lot about Negan beyond the typical things they already knew, including that he was a high school gym teacher and that his wife Lucille died of cancer. Some of the facts painted a picture of who Negan was and what made him become the person he did, while others proved what type of person he would likely be going forward.
10 He Was Fired From His Job
Die-hard fans already knew that Negan was a high school gym teacher prior to the apocalypse, which explained his affinity for children and his innate desire to protect them at all costs, like when he saved Judith's life. But what fans didn't know was that just before the dead began to take over, he was actually fired from his job.
He was both between his job and having to go to court to face charges when he was hit with tons of terrible news, including not only the world coming to an end but his wife's diagnosis as well.
9 He Got Into A Bar Fight
The reason Negan got fired from his job as a high school gym teacher was because he got into a bar fight with two men who happened to have kids who attended the school where he taught. Naturally, once the school board got wind of what happened, they could no longer keep him in their employ.
What was particularly interesting, however, was the reason he got into the fight. The two men were being loud and rowdy while Negan and Lucille were trying to listen to her favorite song, Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful." When the men refused to quiet down and cough up another $0.50 for a replay of the tune, Negan, as he explained it, "saw red" and proceeded to throw punches.
8 He Was Cheating On His Wife
There were rumblings from comic book fans that Negan was not the greatest husband to his wife Lucille and had been cheating on her. The episode revealed more than that, however. Not only was he cheating but Lucille had suspected the affair was going on the whole time.
The fact that the presumed woman's phone number was saved in Lucille's phone's contact list and that she was one of the people Lucille called for a ride home from the hospital after learning she had cancer suggested that the woman might have even been her friend.
7 Lucille Took Her Own Life
Fans knew that Lucille died, presumably of cancer but that is only partly true. While Lucille did have cancer and likely would have eventually died without completing her treatment, or even if she did complete it, that didn't happen.
Rather, while Negan headed out on a trip to find medicine for Lucille for her last few days of treatment, she decided to take matters into her own hands the very same day he left. Through a combination of pills, tying herself to the bedpost, and putting a plastic bag over her head, Lucille died by suicide. She left a note on the door pleading with Negan, or whoever found her like that, not to leave her in that state.
6 Laura Might Have Been His First Follower
There was a surprise cameo in the episode: Laura appeared as the daughter of a kind man who had access to medicine that Negan needed and had caught the attention of a group of thieves wanting to get their hands on his valuable resources.
When Negan arrived hoping to steal the medicine, he was knocked over the head with the bat he ended up taking (and naming) for himself by none other than Laura. Fans of the series eventually came to know Laura as a high-ranking member of the Saviors and one of his most trusted followers. Based on this meeting, she might very well have been his first follower.
5 He Bought His Signature Leather Jacket Pre-Apocalypse
Most of the possessions people have in the apocalypse were found items they scavenged or even took right off the bodies of the dead. But it was revealed in this episode that Negan's signature jacket was one he actually bought before the world was overtaken.
It was also the subject of a big fight between him and Lucille since he purchased it for $600 after having lost his job. Lucille was so angry, she hid the jacket in the attic, only to gift it to him after the apocalypse, realizing how their petty argument about money didn't really matter anymore.
4 Lucille Was Pretty Fierce And Fearless
Lucille was always discussed as though she were a delicate flower, a very ill woman who was cheated on, taken advantage of, and got weaker over time before she finally perished. But in reality, she might have been an even better leader than Negan.
She was pretty fierce and fearless. In one scene while Negan was awkwardly trying to kill a walker on their property, she walked outside and shot it in the head without batting an eye, while still hooked up to machines. In another, she waited for Negan at home with a gun and pamphlets about cancer, unsure of how she would handle not only breaking the devastating news to come but also her feelings about her husband likely having been with another woman when she needed him the most.
3 He Was Captured While Trying To Get Her Chemotherapy Treatments
After Negan and Lucille let go of their inhibitions and accidentally let her last two bags of treatment defrost in the freezer while the generator was off, he had to go on a run to locate more. It was then, as noted, that he met Laura and her father.
It was also during this time that he was captured, kidnapped, and forced to give up the location of where he got the medicine. It's unclear if Negan would have made it back in time to stop Lucille from dying had he not been forced to take this short detour.
2 He Always Had An Edge
Negan comes across as the kind of guy who is cunning and mean and he did indeed have a bit of an edge prior to the world coming to an end. But he also had a softer side, as he demonstrated after realizing that his wife was sick and doing everything he could to care for her.
Still, prior to that, he got into bar fights, stepped out on his wife, and seemed to be an overall reckless person. Thus, it's no surprise that Negan found his confidence following her death and tapped further into the darker side he might have been hiding all along.
1 He Is Seemingly Reformed
While many of the teasers attempted to suggest that the old Negan might be returning, the exact opposite happened. After thinking back to his past and desperately searching for his old bat, Negan was finally able to get closure. He said his goodbyes to both Lucille his bat and his late wife, promising to move on.
After showing up back at Alexandria, Carol revealed that she suspected he might return but had to send him away so that when Maggie killed him – which she genuinely believed would happen – the blood was not on her hands. Nonetheless, the old Negan seems to be gone for good, which is something that fans of the favorite character might love (or not) about him.
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April 07, 2021 at 05:30AM
