I Need the Old Negan Back in 'The Walking Dead: Dead City' — and Not for More Violence

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2, Episode 1One of the most famously brutal entrances I can recall in The Walking Dead is when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) sauntered in wielding his barb-wired-wrapped Lucille and wearing a studded leather jacket to match his cruel smirk. Very quickly, he was known for the sheer brutality that he brought to the show, but one of the other reasons for his immense popularity as a character was his blasé and comedic attitude about it — one that I couldn't help but love.

Negan's main survival tool was his ability to give a damn good performance, and in his recent spin-off where he co-leads with Maggie (Lauren Cohan), The Walking Dead: Dead City, he is forced to rely on these tools again. During Negan's redemption arc in the flagship series, his comedic traits were watered down a bit to my disappointment, depriving me of these moments of respite from the overwhelming seriousness of the apocalypse. But Dead City's Season 2 premiere includes a scene that made me nostalgic for the old Negan, reminding me why I needed him in the franchise in the first place.

Negan Brought Dark Comedy to the Walking Dead Franchise

The Walking Dead franchise has had plenty of characters and scenes that have brought levity to the show, from the quiet hilarity of watching practically anyone trying to interact with the usually-gruff Daryl (Norman Reedus) to the supporting cast like Jerry (Cooper Andrews), who made the Kingdom a welcoming place to be. But Negan brought his own wicked and vicious sense of humor while delivering some of TV's most iconic one-liners that left me reacting with terror or belly-aching laughter. (Most of the time, it was both.) His flavor of humor was essentially unmatched, making for an entertaining villain even as he committed some of the most atrocious acts on the show. The most infamous example, of course, is whacking Glenn (Steven Yeun) to death in front of his pregnant wife. I had to take a whole month to recover before I could continue the show again, and Negan made it worth it even after the loss of Glenn.

At that point, I couldn't conceive that such an influential villain could even have a redemption arc, but Negan proved us wrong. When the Sanctuary was defeated and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) allowed Negan to live, the latter was given an opportunity to reform his ways. He turned from a fan-favorite antagonist to a fan-favorite main cast character, giving us some heartwarming scenes, especially when he interacted with children, including his relationship with Judith (Cailey Fleming). While seeing this warmer side to him was endearing, it did mean we also got less of his savage humor. But in Dead City, as he is officially separated from the main group and back on the road with Maggie, we see glimpses of it whenever he needs to assert his power over someone, including the memorable "raining blood" scene in Season 1 and, more recently, his Lucille 2.0 scene in the Season 2 premiere. It reminded me what The Walking Dead franchise has been sorely missing.

'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Desperately Needs Some Levity

The absence of Negan's humor is most strongly felt in Dead City, as his presence is a constant reminder of what we used to have. In Season 1 we still have remnants of Negan's black comedy, as mentioned before in the raining blood scene, where he makes a "knock knock" joke then guts a man in front of his gang to dissuade them from following him and Maggie. But it is also present in his interactions with Maggie, who is still preoccupied with her blind hatred for him. There is a level of performance in his responses to her rage-filled comments, as if he cannot resist pushing her buttons since he knows he will not be able to fully mend their relationship or redeem himself in her eyes. But these are few and far in between, as many of his conversations with her are genuine, as he does feel some level of guilt for her loss.

But Season 2 of Dead City has Negan imprisoned and Maggie back in Bricks, so their separation means we won't even have that slight semblance of his dark humor. While the apocalypse is certainly an intense situation to be in, the premiere has a constant barrage of life-or-death seriousness that has been grating for me. We jump from a scene where Maggie and Hershel (Logan Kim) have a heart-to-heart, to Maggie fiercely compromising with now-Colonel Perlie (Gaius Charles) about saving lives from conscription, to another damn conversation where we are reminded of the stakes, trauma, and ethical dilemmas of living in a post-apocalyptic world — there is no reprieve anymore. I'm sorry, but I don't need another reminder in every second line of dialogue.

'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Needs To Bring Back the Old Negan

While Negan was in a precarious position to deliver a watered-down form of his humor in Season 1 of Dead City, his circumstances in Season 2 thus far prevented him from even that. His imprisonment sours the mood, even during his dry and slightly witty remarks during a conversation with the Croat (Željko Ivanek) in the jail cell, but joking about feasting on cockroaches is a far-cry from the sardonic villain we were introduced to. With the Croat and the Dama (Lisa Emery) shoving threats against Hershel down his throat, Negan is only a shadow of who we loved, adding to the suffocating grave tone of the season.

Consequently, the only conceivable solution to this overwhelmingly dour atmosphere is to give us the old Negan back, as morbid as that is. We get a glimpse of this in the premiere as the Croat gifts Lucille 2.0 to Negan and recruits him to deliver a performance that will unite (and terrify) the three warring factions of Manhattan against the invading New Babylon. Reluctance pervades Negan's performance, but he slowly finds his stride, which is what I deem the best scene in the entire premiere. His irreverent, sarcastic attitude comes flooding back, as he almost casually electrocutes a naysayer and instills fear in the audience all with an evil, shit-eating grin on his face. It's the twisted yet enticing surprise I needed in the series to balance out the tone and storytelling. While it may be a tad detrimental to Negan's arc, you can't argue with the fact that it makes for good TV, especially with Negan's new internal conflicts about reprising his old leadership style.