Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan is a terrifying villain.
But The Walking Dead should know that menace can be built in what you don’t see, too.
ThisWalking Deadarticle contains major spoilers.
Negan may crack wise (fairly and often), but the man himself is no joke.
How you feel aboutTWDs seventh season probably has a lot to do with your feelings about Negan.
Whether you saw it coming or not, Glenns death was both horrific and heartbreaking.
So much so that many viewers swore off the show, appalled by the level of gore and violence.
Message received loud and clear, though: Negan is not to be trifled with.
And that would be fine, except thatTWDs creators really like Negan a lot.
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Maybe too much.
Sometimes, less is more.
And yet the character still managed to cast a long shadow across the movie.
When he showed up, everyone else knew it was bad news.
Like Vader, Ledgers lip-smacking anarchist never overstayed his welcome.
Jaws (AKA Bruce the Shark).
Which is quite a feat for a mechanical shark that barely has five minutes of screen time.
One of this seasons best Negan episodes is probably Sing Me a Song.
One of the episodes best moments is Negans insistence on seeing Carls empty eye socket.
Its a power play, of course, but Negan is legitimately chastened by Carls tearful humiliation.
Negans subsequent apology is earnest.
Its a nice departure from what has basically been one-note villainy.
Theres a conscience lurking around in there, beneath the swagger and bravado.
One of the reasonsTWDs take on the Governor was so effective was because the character was flawed.
Woodbury was the Governors attempt at normalcy, not a power play.
And he was actively searching for a way to cure his daughter.
The show went on to humanize him more in episodes subsequent to Woodburys fall.
Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard started exploring a bit of this backstory last year in the pages ofImage+.
The serialized story called Heres Negan!
gives us the man before the apocalypse, shedding light on the would-be leader of the Saviors.
One can hope that AMC will bring these moments to the screen.
We dont need to like Negan, especially since hes responsible for killing so many important characters.
Until then, though, I believe in the idea that less is more.
Make the undead a real threat again, something we havent really experienced since season 6.
We get itthe living are dangerous.
The show doesnt have to beat us over the head with it.
Yes, I realize Negan is in the comic a lotand I do mean a lot.
(Its worth noting that JDM will be around for season 8, too.)
And yes, I understand this season is being very faithful to the source material, slavishly so.
Even so, we understand Simon is an extension of Negan, as all Saviors are.
Theyre not mere henchmen.
In essence, each of them is Negan.
