Despite her determination, the young girl collapsed because of an infected wound, prompting Negan to track down medical supplies to help save her life. When he managed to stabilize her, he decided anyone whose actions would put her in danger would need to die by his hand. The opportunity arrived at the end of Dead City season 2, when Bruegel arrived at the church, intending to ambush the Burazi. Negan was prepared, though, launching an attack of his own. Unfortunately, his actions that followed proved he hadn't learned a vital lesson from before the spinoff even began.
Negan's Failure To Save Ginny By Killing Bruegel Reflects What Happened To His Family
Both Times, Negan Allowed Revenge To Triumph Over Protecting Those He Loved
Near the end of the battle, Bruegel and Perlie end up in the basement of the church, where Negan takes them prisoner. After a performative bout of "eeny, meeny, miny, moe," he killed Bruegel with Lucille. Although the moment mirrored Glenn's death in the original show, he killed the antagonist in order to keep him from harming Ginny. Intending to protect her, though, wasn't enough to save her; not long after, it's revealed she succumbed to her injuries and turned into a Walker. With Maggie's help, Negan is forced to kill her, despite everything he'd done trying to save her.
The moment is reminiscent of what happened prior to the events of Dead City that caused Negan to become a wanted man. He killed multiple men associated with the New Babylon Federation after they severely beat his wife, Annie. Although he'd killed them in order to save her and their son, Joshua, his decision resulted in a bounty being placed on his head. Knowing his wife and son could be caught in the crossfire, he sent them on a train to Tennessee, losing contact with them not long after going on the run.
Just like during his failure to save Ginny, Negan prioritized trying to exact revenge on people instead of making sure those he loved were protected. It's a common theme with his character in Dead City that, based on what happened to Ginny, he still hasn't learned anything from. Not only have the events of the show and those leading up to it destroyed his family bond, but they also resulted in the only other person he cared about getting killed. While these losses are tragic, though, it doesn't mean the former antagonist needs to repeat his mistakes forever.
What Negan Needs To Learn To Avoid Losing Someone He Loves Again
He's Already Shown Signs Of Knowing How To Properly Protect Those He Loves
Both times Negan has lost people he loved in the spinoff, it's been because he prioritized killing and revenge over saving the people he cares about. Instead of ensuring those he loves are okay and doing his best to save them from dangers later on, he's actively harming others on their behalf. The only way he can heal from his mistakes is if, in a potential Dead City season 3, he decides to cast aside hurting others to try and save those he loves.
He's already made a tough call in this regard during Dead City season 2, when he sent Annie and Joshua back to Tennessee following their arrival in Manhattan. Instead of hurting others to try and protect them, he used his power to get them to safety, a rare moment where he did something benevolent to protect the people he loves. If he can embrace this mindset into the next chapter of his journey in New York City, then perhaps he can avoid experiencing another tragic loss.
All episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City are now streaming on AMC+.
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