Thank God, Negan Is Finally Showing Some Life Again on 'The Walking Dead: Dead City'

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2, Episode 5

Whether you love or hate him, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) became the face of The Walking Dead in its later seasons after the bat-wielding charmer leaned into his redemption arc and Andrew Lincoln left the series. He was so popular that his character was given his own spin-off, The Walking Dead: Dead City, with the widow of his most famous victim, Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Their clashing personalities, then forced together to help save Maggie's son Hershel (Logan Kim) after he was kidnapped by the Croat (Željko Ivanek) and held in the ruins of New York City, made for a compelling first season. Season 2, however, has been a mess, with a silly reason sending Maggie back to the Big Apple, and Negan showing less life than a walker.

After Dead City's latest episode, though, Negan might be getting his groove back. He's not swinging his new, electrified Lucille, but he's playing mind games with the Croat and the Dama (Lisa Emery). This might be the only way to get Negan — and The Walking Dead spin-off itself — out of this mess alive.

Negan's Been Quiet and Sullen in 'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Season 2

Negan went through a redemption arc long ago following Rick's decision to let him live in the original series, as well as his bond with Rick's kids. He ended up fighting alongside our heroes, and although there is no way that Maggie will ever forgive him and be his friend (the whole franchise would jump the shark if that happened), it has been interesting to see the two interact, with Maggie trying her best to cooperate with the man who took almost everything from her.

Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City has taken away so much of that intrigue. Part of that comes from the lost dynamic, with Negan and Maggie kept mostly apart. But a lot of that is also how Negan has been written. The charisma is completely gone, with Negan nothing more than a shell of a man as he looks so sad and says very little. From a plot perspective, this makes sense. The Dama is passive aggressively threatening his family so that he'll work for her and help persuade other New York groups to join her side against New Babylon. Of course, he's going to be sad — that makes sense. However, when it goes on episode after episode, then it becomes boring. Negan was losing his purpose to exist as a character.

Negan Is Now Pitting the Croat and the Dama Against Each Other

Slowly but surely, this is starting to change. In Seasn 2, Episode 4, Negan is seen showing more effort, talking to Bruegel (Kim Coates), and even whispering things to him and plotting things out. However, in Episode 5, "The Bird Always Knows," he is finally snapping out of his funk. Negan comes right out and asks if he'll be done once he helps convince the only holdout, Christos (Jake Weary), to join the Dama. She does indeed promise an end, which gives Negan something to look forward to, but it all goes wrong. Christos had led what he thought was an anonymous attack against the Croat's methane operation, but after the latter finds out, he kills Christos and all of his men, gassing them in front of Negan. Negan looks so sullen afterward. He doesn't need to say anything to convey his realization that he's never getting out.

This causes the reanimation of that dead side of him who loved to connive and plot people against each other. The Dama is pissed at the Croat for killing Christos and his men, and Negan sees his window. It's time to turn the two into enemies. If they take each other out, Negan can get away and find his family. We can see it so easily when Negan suddenly acts like he cares about the Croat, saying that he has his back, while also mentioning that the Dama cares more about her pet rat than she does her faithful solider. That leads to an already-insecure Croat, who isn't happy about Negan's rise alongside the woman who saved him, to snap to the Dama about said rat. The smile on Negan's face says it all. These idiots can be manipulated to do his bidding with very little effort.

Negan then only has to kill the Dama's rat (we don't see it happen, but we know it's him) and then wait for the fallout. It comes in the form of an argument between the two big bads, before it turns physical, and the Dama is trapped by a fire. She screams out for help, but the Croat leaves her for dead. Who knows exactly what will happen next, but what's for sure is that things won't be the same in the next episode. The Croat is in trouble, the Dama might be dead, and Negan is now in control without swinging his bat.

What's Next for Negan on 'The Walking Dead: Dead City'?

Even if the Dama is dead and the Croat is on the run, the drama isn't over for Negan. He still has to get away from her soldiers and Bruegel, find Maggie, find his family, and help Hershel. Negan sees all, and he knows Hershel's mind has been corrupted by the Dama, making him a potentially very dangerous boy who shouldn't be trusted. Oh yeah, and Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) is out there with a gun too and ready to kill the man who murdered her father.

There are three episodes left in The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2, and it feels like anything could happen. Sparks are certain to fly in Negan's way from all of his remaining enemies and frenemies. Although a fitting finale would see Negan die at the end, either sacrificing himself to save someone or paying the ultimate price for his past sins, don't get your hopes up. The Walking Dead universe is too attached to him to let him go just yet. Who knows how long Negan has left to walk around in his leather jacket in this world, but at least the old Negan is coming back. He has been shocked back to coherence and given a reason to move. With him being back in action, the audience can wake up again as well. Dead City's Seasn 2 needs an active Negan more than anything else to be watchable.