Negan Smith

Negan Smith (pronounced NEE-gan) is a main character and a former antagonist as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He was the original founder and former leader of the Saviors. After a short war against the Militia of his formerly subjugated communities, he was defeated and taken as a prisoner to the Alexandria Safe-Zone. He remained imprisoned in Alexandria for seven and a half years, until Gabriel Stokes failed to properly close his cell door, allowing him to escape. After seeing how the world had changed, Negan chose to return to Alexandria and his cell rather than be alone. He served as the primary antagonist of the second half of Season 6, and the whole of Season 7 and Season 8, but has also been present as a recurring antagonist, bordering on anti-hero, since Season 9.

Overview
Negan is shown to be a charismatic, cocky, manipulative, brutal, and ferocious man with a sarcastic, inappropriate sense of humor. Negan is a brilliant strategist and a strong, effective leader, having kept hundreds of people alive and is worshipped by many and feared by others. When he was leader of the Saviors, he was shown to have had complete control over his vast group and was questioned by no one, acting as a complete dictator. Negan also acted like a cult leader, as the Saviors all knelt in his presence and when asked who they are, they all responded in unison "Negan". Negan appeared to care about the well-being of his group as shown when he personally killed Abraham as punishment for the slaughter of many of his soldiers at the hands of Rick and his group. Negan believes that he alone can save the people around him and was willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their survival.

Negan was also an extremely ruthless leader, willing to do whatever it took to obtain resources and supplies for his group by extorting from multiple communities, threatening them with death if they did not obey his demands or did not gather the necessary amount of supplies. Negan is shown to be a cold-blooded killer who kills not just for survival, but to send a message and as punishment for disobedience as seen when he brutally murdered Glenn after Daryl attacked him even after he made it very clear he would punish anyone who provoked him. He also has no respect to those he views as being weak as he brutally slaughtered Spencer after he attempted to convince him to kill Rick, claiming he had no guts to do it himself. He explained to Father Gabriel that he wants to help people through their weaknesses and by being strong he makes the world strong. This may explain why he uses fear as an instrument to keep people in line. By being hard on people he makes them stronger and more inclined to survive.

In addition, Negan has great respect for those he views as strong, both physically and emotionally, and those who show bravery and defiance against him. This is shown when he immediately took a liking towards Daryl for standing up to him and punching him in the face, even though Negan punished Daryl by killing his friend Glenn. Negan did the same thing with Rosita in "Hearts Still Beating", when she tried to shoot him but shot Lucille instead, and although he admired her bravery, he angrily punished her by killing her comrade Olivia. Moreover, despite his very harsh treatment towards Rick and doing everything he can to insult and intimidate Rick, Negan shows great respect for Rick and his leadership skills. He even explains to Spencer that although Rick hates his guts and wants him dead, Rick is swallowing his hate and gathering stuff for Negan so that he does not harm anyone else in Alexandria, and admires and respects that. After Carl tricks Negan so the people of Alexandria can escape, Negan openly admits respect and admiration for Carl's actions despite the fact that it caused Negan to lose the confrontation.

He is also shown to be capable of severe torture and will mutilate whoever does not follow his rules, such as Dwight and Mark whose faces he burned with a hot clothing iron. Negan has however stated that he hates performing this form of punishment, but also sees it as necessary as his rules matter. Negan will also employ psychological forms of torture as seen when he nearly made Rick chop his own son's arm off to break him completely, being the only antagonist to do so. Negan is also highly prone to psychological warfare and is extremely good at manipulating and breaking most people into submitting to him. Furthermore, Negan has openly admitted that he enjoys killing people, especially men, while he does not enjoy killing women, but he will kill a woman if he feels that he has to. Negan doesn't kill unless he feels that it's necessary. He stated to Gregory that he likes killing people, but under the right circumstances. He was enraged by Simon's suggestion that they kill all of the Hilltop residents, because to him people are a resource.

It appears that he is not above killing children and adolescents as he allowed his group to kill a 16 year old boy when they first encountered the Hilltop Colony. However he was disgusted at Simon for massacring all boys over the age of 10 years old from Oceanside. He also shows reluctance to kill Carl, even when Carl has killed Saviors.

Despite his jolly, childlike behavior, Negan is highly intelligent and is incredibly good at reading people and exploiting their weaknesses as seen when he almost immediately knew that Carl was Rick's son and that Rosita had been in a relationship with Abraham. He is also very good at knowing when people are lying, most of the time at least, as seen when he demanded to know who made the homemade bullet that Rosita used to shoot at him with, and Rosita falsely said that she made it, but Negan instantly did not believe her, and when Eugene confessed to making the bullet, Negan quickly knew that he was telling the truth. There were only a few times that Negan failed to see that he was being lied to. The first time was when Rick and Gabriel faked Maggie's death as to shield her from Negan's intention of taking her back to his compound and making her his wife. This could be because Rick and Gabriel managed to make Maggie's "death" extremely convincing (they even dug a fake grave of Maggie), even to someone like Negan. The second time was when Negan believed Eugene's lie of being a bio-engineer and makes him Chief Engineer to the Saviors. This could be justified because Negan sees that Eugene is a highly intelligent man, like himself, and has extreme knowledge of scientific things that can be very useful in certain circumstances; as a result, Negan needs someone like that in his group and simply takes Eugene's word for being a bio-engineer. The third time was when Dwight had framed Emmett Carson for freeing Daryl on behalf of Sherry, whom Dwight had claimed was dead. Negan believed Dwight over Carson, who honestly said that he had nothing to do with Daryl's escape and said that Dwight was lying and was framing him for the crime. Negan, however, failed to see that Carson was telling the truth and that Dwight was lying because he didn't believe that Dwight would take such a massive risk in betraying him and telling him that Sherry is dead, and that Dwight would have no way of getting out of being killed by him if Negan found out that Sherry was alive and Dwight betrayed him. Eugene concluded that Negan believed Dwight over Carson, because he was of use to him and not replaceable.

Negan has an unhealthy and unusual obsession with his primary weapon "Lucille", a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire and is shown speaking to it, referring to her as if she is a person and asking it to give him strength. He was incensed when Lucille is shot, losing his usually calm and flamboyant behavior. Negan also shows panic and gets greatly upset if anyone dares damage Lucille. Negan enjoys using Lucille to kill his victims, often using her excessively to install revulsion and terror into others. He revealed to Anne that he named the bat after his wife, who got him through the hard times before the apocalypse. The bat is a symbolic reminder of Lucille, which helps him cope during the apocalypse.

Despite his brutal nature, Negan is not completely heartless, as seen when he spared Carl, even after he killed two of Negan’s men in an attempt to assassinate him and appeared to feel remorse for taunting him over his eye injury. He has also demonstrated care and love of babies as shown by his reaction to meeting Judith and cradling her kindly, though these kind moments are few and far between. Also, he is seemingly against killing children under 10. He also has a genuine disgust towards sexual violence and has made a strict "no rape" policy within his group, and will have anyone caught breaking this rule killed on the spot, as seen when he killed David, one of his men, for attempting to rape Sasha. He is also generous when it comes to second chances and can be very lenient, such as giving Rosita a chance to tell him who made the bullet, and his treatment of Carl, despite the fact that Carl killed two Saviors. He even allowed Simon a chance to lead the Saviors by engaging into a fight to the death, despite Simon's treacherous behavior. He also shows Eugene kindness by gently telling him that there is no need to be scared anymore. Negan is also, like Rick, a man of his word and does not lie or breaks a promise, and he is always open and true to who he is and never tries to hide it. This stands in complete contrast with other antagonists in the past, such as Shane Walsh, The Governor and Gareth, who used a combination of lies, manipulation and superficial charm in an attempt to hide their true inner nature.

In "The Big Scary U", Negan shows a belief that killing a few to save a hundred is justified. Negan believes that he alone can save everyone and appears to truly care for his people. He also refuses to harm the innocent, telling Gabriel "me killing the innocent? That ain't why I came here." Negan states that he sees himself as both strong and weak and appears to genuinely care about children, having helped them before the war. When talking about his first wife, his real wife, Negan shows real emotion and states that his weakness is that he couldn't bring himself to kill his wife after she turned into a walker.

Negan may not have started out with the intention to become who he did when he became the leader of the Saviors. When Carl tried to negotiate with Negan and asked if he wanted to be who he is now, Negan noticeably pauses as if Carl's words struck a nerve or reminded him of who he once intended to be. This, along with Negan's former profession of helping children indicates that Negan's time as leader of the Saviors has corrupted his original intentions and turned him into the man he currently is.

By the start of Season 9, Negan is now completely powerless and trapped in a degraded form of existence as a prisoner in Alexandria. Despite this however, he is still shown to be strong and has maintained his sanity despite his captivity as well as his menacing attitude. He is even shown to be brave enough to still taunt his jailer, Rick, about his late girlfriend Andrea even though he is completely at Rick's mercy and can potentially be killed in an instant and appears to have hopes for freedom as he tells Rick that he is not saving the world in the least, but that he is simply getting it ready for him.

Despite this, Negan confides in Michonne that he greatly misses his wife, appreciating the fact that she is not alive to see him in such a state, and admits to her that, since losing the war, he has lost everything. When Negan desperately asks Michonne to see Lucille, he is horrified and broken when she gleefully tells him that his bat is still where he was defeated, causing him to bash his head repeatedly into one of the cell's walls. This illustrates that, while Negan continues to put on a fierce exterior when conversing with Rick, being locked up for nearly two years without an audience, power, and especially Lucille has begun to eat away at him.

This finally culminates in a complete breakdown during a confrontation with Maggie, who came to his cell to finally kill him, purposely trying to goad her into killing him before begging her to do so. Pulling Negan from his cell, Maggie demanded to know why he wants her to kill him. Sobbing, Negan finally admits he wants to be with his wife and can no longer live his life as a prisoner with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company. Realizing how broken Negan is, Maggie lets him live and demands that he get back in his cell, telling him that imprisonment is the worst fate for someone like him. Walking back into his cell, Negan continues to cry, muttering that his life wasn't meant to turn out like this, showing just how broken he has become over the last year and a half.

Six years after Rick's apparent death, Negan appears to have adopted a friendlier personality, helping Judith with math problems and offering her advice on Magna's group. While interacting with the young girl, Negan's advice appears to be completely genuine and not manipulative and he even gives a fond smile at Judith's take on the situation. He has retained his sense of humor and some of his manipulative personality, which he uses to tease Gabriel. When he sees Gabriel is upset about Rosita, he seems to genuinely sympathize with him, though Gabriel doesn't believe him.

Negan's change of heart and attitude was further proven during a blizzard, when Negan willingly abandoned his group of survivors and risked his own life to chase after Judith, who herself began chasing Daryl's dog after it ran off, desperately calling out to her, and used his winter clothes to keep Judith warm, while also causing his own well-being to decrease. Nonetheless, Negan still retained his rather crude and straight-foward sense of humor, joking about the "love triangle" between Gabriel, Rosita and Siddiq, and poking fun at Gabriel not being the father of Rosita's child, sarcastically referring to him as "Father, not the father". Regardless, Negan seems to have completely changed his ways, showing genuine concern about the well-being of The Kingdom's residents after the storm, asking Michonne about their status.

Virginia
Negan was born in the mid 1960's and grew up in Virginia. As a child, he brought stray dogs into their house which his mother disapproved of. One day he brought home a vicious dog which killed all the others he adopted and bit off half of his mother's ear when she intervened.[1] In high school, Negan grew into a bully who enjoyed humiliating others, upon where he gained a strong penchant for profanity and enjoyment for power games.[2]

As an adult, Negan worked with children whom he helped improve upon their weaknesses and molded them into stronger individuals.[3] Negan later met a woman named Lucille whom he described as an 'angel', where the pair fell in love and married, although they desired to have a child together they never managed to start a family.[4]

Over time however, Negan gradually became unfaithful towards Lucille as he began lying towards her and even engaged in an affair.[3] Around this time, Lucille eventually succumbed to cancer which plagued Negan with extreme remorse over his actions which led him to believe that Lucille truly deserved better than him.[4]

Washington, D.C.
In the onset of the outbreak, Negan was present alongside Lucille whom had succumbed to a form of cancer and eventually perished. Negan however was unable to bring himself to put his wife down, this act of weakness would continue to haunt him and thus Negan strove to become a much stronger person.[3]Sometime later, he acquired a baseball bat. He modified the bat with barbed wire and named it "Lucille" in honor of his late wife.

At some point later, Negan apparently formed a group of survivors he named "the Saviors". The central headquarters for the group became a factory called the Sanctuary, after Negan took the place from it's apparently incapable leader. One notable member of the group was Simon, whom helped Negan take the Sanctuary, thus Negan later appointed him as his right-hand man, second-in-command.

Over time, however, Negan gradually descended into a vicious, totalitarian leader who asserted his position of authority through forceful dominance and intimidation with which he fiercely ruled over his community which mainly consisted of thugs and bandits who operated under his command.[5]  Throughout the following months, Negan and his group grew in size (consisting of well over 600 survivors), and he appointed several lieutenants, including Wade, Paula, Jiro, Gavin, Arat, Regina and eventually Dwight; additionally, he established several outposts located throughout the Washington D.C. area. These outposts operated semi-autonomously, lead by a lieutenant, and manned by a sizable number of Saviors. They were responsible for finding and terrorizing other survivors and communities, subjugating them to Negan's will. Typically, one outpost was assigned to at least one community under Savior rule.

Early on, Negan and his group discovered a community known as the Hilltop Colony. Immediately after the farming community's walls were built, Negan dispatched a group of Saviors; upon meeting the community leader, Gregory, the Saviors demanded half of the community's resources on a weekly basis. In exchange, they promised not to destroy the community and offered to clear the local area of the undead. Though the Hilltop was reluctant to comply, the Saviors showed their true motives by demonstrating their power, killing Rory, a 16 year-old boy, as a display of superiority.[6]

Some time later, Negan became aware of the existence of another community, named 'The Kingdom'. A group of Saviors met with the community leader Ezekiel and demanded a portion of supplies in exchange for leaving the community unscathed. The Kingdom complied, and the Saviors recognized Ezekiel's capabilities. A truce was quickly settled between the two groups and thus they conducted weekly trades which was kept hidden from the wider community's knowledge.[7]

At some point, the Saviors had encountered and subjugated another, large group, under a similar extortion racket to that imposed on the Hilltop and Kingdom. Sometime later, the Oceanside group rebelled against the Saviors but lost the subsequent skirmish, which resulted in many deaths. Afterwards, the Saviors, under Simon's orders, lined up and killed every surviving male over 10 years old, then ordered the group to continue their service. Ultimately, the group, now consisting entirely of women and children, ended their deal with the Saviors by one night leaving their original settlement on foot. Despite his harsh and violent methods, Negan was incredibly successful at keeping his group safe and kept more than six-hundred people alive.

Season 6
Approximately 20 months into the apocalypse, a supply exchange was conducted between the Hilltop and the Saviors. When a group consisting of Ethan, Andy, Crystal, Craig, Tim, and Marsha were sent to deliver their share of supplies, Negan personally felt unsatisfied with the amount he received, and thus had both Tim and Marsha executed and Craig imprisoned in one of the Saviors' outposts. Negan ordered the remaining survivors to return to the Hilltop, and, in exchange for Craig's release, kill Gregory and bring his head back as evidence of his death. This however never occurred and soon after, Negan's group came under attack by Rick Grimes and his people in order to end the subjugation of the Hilltop Colony. Rick and his group succeeded in killing a great number of Negan's men and a few of his lieutenants and even wiped out one of his outposts. Negan chose to send Dwight (who accidentally killed Denise in the process) to subjugate Rick and his people to his rule, and later Jiro, another one of his lieutenants, but both failed in doing so. Angered at the slaughter of many of his people, Negan chose to take matters into his own hands.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Negan has killed:
 * Beatrice's Husband (Indirectly Caused)
 * Cyndie's Mother (Indirectly Caused)
 * Cyndie's Brother (Indirectly Caused)
 * Library Survivor (Indirectly Caused or Directly Caused, Alive)
 * Rory (Caused)
 * Marsha (Caused or Direct)
 * Tim (Caused or Direct)
 * Ethan (Indirectly Caused)
 * Denise Cloyd (Caused)
 * Abraham Ford
 * Glenn Rhee
 * Spencer Monroe (Alive)
 * Olivia (Caused)
 * Emmett Carson
 * David (Alive)
 * Sasha Williams (Indirectly Caused)
 * Simon (Zombified)
 * Kent (Caused)
 * Anna (Caused)
 * Dean (Zombified)
 * Brion (Indirectly Caused)
 * Tamiel (Indirectly Caused)
 * Harlan Carson (Indirectly Caused)
 * Tobin (Indirectly Caused)
 * Kurt (Indirectly Caused)
 * Kevin (Indirectly Caused)
 * Dana (Indirectly Caused)
 * Wesley (Indirectly Caused)
 * Katy (Indirectly Caused)
 * Bruce (Indirectly Caused)
 * Craig (Indirectly Caused)
 * Crystal (Indirectly Caused)
 * Stephanie (Indirectly Caused)
 * Gary (Caused; Before Reanimation)
 * Lance (Caused)
 * Duke (Caused)
 * Richie (Zombified)
 * At least 20 unnamed people
 * All male Oceanside residents above the age of ten (Indirectly Caused)
 * Many unnamed Library survivors (Indirectly Caused or Directly Caused)
 * At least 12 unnamed residents of the Alexandria Safe-Zone (Caused)
 * At least 130 unnamed Scavengers (Indirectly Caused)
 * 6 unnamed Hilltop residents and refugees (Indirectly Caused)
 * 28 unnamed Saviors (21 Caused, 2 Indirectly Caused, 1 Before Reanimation, 5 Zombified)
 * At least 1 unnamed dog (Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people (Caused and Direct)

Relationships
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Lucille
Not much is known except Lucille was Negan's true wife prior to the apocalypse. However, In "The Big Scary U", Negan solemnly confesses his past transgressions to Gabriel on how he unfaithfully cheated and lied to his wife while she was sick and later being unable to put her down when she had died and reanimated during the onset of the outbreak, thus blaming himself for being weak from failing to do so. At some point after the outbreak, Negan names his baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire Lucille as a personal remembrance of his late wife showing that he still greatly remembers and loves her as well as often "conversing" to it, referring to her as if she is a person and still alive. In "Still Gotta Mean Something", Negan admits that the bat is the "last piece" of his former wife that he got left.
 * "My first wife was a real wife. My only real wife. Till death did us apart. It was before this. I lied to her, I screwed around her. And she was sick. And when she went, it was during this. I couldn't put her down."
 * —Negan confessing to Gabriel about Lucille.[src]

After being imprisoned by Rick, Negan is shown to miss his wife even more and even claims he would not want her to see him locked up, degraded, and weak. Negan even tries to get Maggie to kill him so he can no longer live in suffering and finally be reunited with his beloved wife in death.

Dwight
Negan and Dwight have a poor relationship. As revealed by Negan in the episode "The Cell", Dwight and his wife fled from the Saviors and simultaneously stole insulin for Sherry's sister, Tina, who was diabetic, after the points price for the medicine became unmanageable for them. After Tina's death, Dwight and Sherry returned to Negan and pleaded for forgiveness. Negan decided to marry Sherry at her request on the condition Dwight lived; he was, however, still punished by being badly scorched on his left cheek with an iron. Since that incident, Dwight has been unfavorably loyal to Negan and worked his way up the Saviors' ranks, becoming one of Negan's top men. This is seen in "Last Day On Earth" when Dwight goes so far as to almost kill Glenn after Glenn desperately jumps towards Negan after he threatens to kill Maggie. Negan orders Dwight to get Glenn back in line, which he does without question. Hence, Negan puts intense trust in Dwight and occasionally jokes with him, much to Dwight's dismay (as most jokes are at Dwight's expense).
 * "It all makes sense now. You told Rick when to attack. How to get to the outposts. You keep us locked in here, slipping them workers guns. Maybe you even lied to me about killing Sherry. Oh, hell. You, for sure, lied to me about that. So, what? Hmm? You think you're some sort of a hero? No. You are nothing. A nobody in way over your head."
 * —Negan after learning of Dwight's betrayal.[src]

However it is revealed that Dwight deeply despises Negan for taking Sherry away from him and his overall cruelty towards others. After Sherry disappears, with no more reason to be loyal to Negan and the Saviors, Dwight offers his services to Rick and the Militia, claiming that he wants Negan dead, proving that he indeed hates him.

Throughout the war, Dwight is dedicated to bring Negan down and Negan viewing Dwight in high regard completely blinds him to the fact that Dwight is the Militia's spy. Eventually however, Dwight exposes himself to Laura and she in turn exposes him to Negan. Negan is visibly disgusted at Dwight's betrayal however he chooses to keep him alive in order for him to watch the Militia get destroyed as a result of him passing them false information and that he may one day be of use to him again.

After the Saviors are defeated as a result of Eugene and the Militia, Dwight furiously attempts to attack Negan though he is thrown off. Dwight is visibly pleased that Negan is defeated though it is unknown how he felt about him being kept alive and as a prisoner.

Simon
Simon is Negan's right-hand man, and the two have a strong relationship. Initially, Simon is extremely loyal to his leader and obeys his orders without question. It is evident that Negan views Simon very highly and claims that if he wasn't around, there would be a lot more work to do. During an ambush by Alexandria, Kingdom, and The Hilltop, it can be seen that Negan and Simon like to stay close to each other during war. This is most likely due to both working well together and trusting each other completely.
 * "You went for it all at the Hilltop. You got Saviors killed. And then you ran away like a coward! You got shown up one too many times. Those people are always going to know there's a loophole, a way to escape, they are always going to be looking for that chance to push back, SO NOW I'VE GOT TO KILL ALL OF 'EM, JUST LIKE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!."
 * —Negan berating Simon for his betrayal before killing him.[src]

Despite this, it was eventually revealed that Negan was extremely weary of keeping Simon within his fold after the Oceanside massacre, an act that disgusted Negan. Nonetheless, Negan still had great respect for Simon's loyalty, intelligence, organization, and ruthlessness, so long as each of those traits were kept in check. Due to this, Negan kept Simon as one of his top guys and, over time, Simon's effective following of orders cemented his loyalty to Negan as his right-hand man, earning his complete trust as an equal.

Sherry
Negan and Sherry have a forced, unstable relationship. Before being one of Negan's "wives", Dwight, Sherry, and her sister, Tina, used to work for points until they decided to steal some insulin and flee. After Tina was killed, Sherry and Dwight returned to The Sanctuary and, as punishment for their acts, Negan was going to kill Dwight until Sherry proposed that she will marry Negan if he let Dwight live. Negan accepted the offer but still punished Dwight by burning his face with a hot iron.

With her becoming one of Negan's harem and Dwight eventually appointed as a high ranking member of The Saviors, they are separated from seeing each other though they still manage to secretly meet up occasionally. It is implied that Negan views Sherry higher compared to the rest of his harems. Despite this, it is likely that Sherry deeply despises Negan for his actions towards her and Dwight as she escapes the Sanctuary just to get away from Negan once and for all. Had Dwight not lied about her death, Negan would most likely have hunted her down and killed her.

Negan, after learning of Dwight's betrayal, correctly guesses that Sherry is not in fact not dead after all.

Tina
Originally, Tina alongside her sister, Sherry, and brother in-law, Dwight worked for points under Negan at The Sanctuary until she began to fall behind on points and was unable to purchase insulin to treat her diabetes. Negan then offered to marry her to solve her problem. After telling him she would consider his proposal, Dwight stole all the medicine and fled with both Tina and Sherry. It is implied Negan did desire her to such an extent that he sent a search party led by Wade to capture the trio and bring them back, and was later furious that Tina got killed.

Gavin
Little is known about the relationship between Negan and Gavin as they haven't been seen interacting on-screen so far. However, it can be assumed that Negan holds enough trust and respect for him to become one his lieutenants and being in charge of the weekly tribute from The Kingdom.

His reaction to Gavin's death is unknown.

Regina
Regina and Negan seem to have a good relationship. As one of Negan's top lieutenants, it is clear that he highly trusts her. Their relationship may have been strained due to Regina shooting one of the Savior workers commenting on why she killed a worker.
 * "Ah Regina, now why'd you have to go and do that?"
 * —Negan scolding Regina.[src]

It is unknown if Regina betrayed Negan willingly after being defeated by the Militia and wounded by Eugene and Rosita or if she was still loyal to him and was angered about his defeat and imprisonment.

Amber
Although being one of his "wives", Amber seems to strongly dislike Negan, due to her having to become his wife for free medication for her mother, and being forced to break up with her boyfriend, Mark. In "Sing Me a Song", Amber is deeply upset about her situation with Negan. When Negan gives her the option to no longer be his wife, she is frightened to say yes, knowing that if she is no longer his wife, she must go work for the medication for her ill mother. She forcefully agrees to stay as Negan's wife, telling him she loves him. Later on, Amber watches in horror as Negan burns Mark's face with an iron.

Tanya
Although their relationship has not been explored, Negan seems to be attracted to Tanya, since she's one of his many wives. However, it can be assumed Tanya dislikes Negan when she tells Eugene that he's the only "good man" she knows. When Eugene refuses to give pills to Tanya, it is revealed that the pills Frankie and Tanya wanted weren't for Amber, but for Negan. This shows that Tanya wants Negan dead and therefore doesn't care for him.

Arat
Arat is shown to be completely loyal to Negan and is one of his closest associates. He clearly trusts her to carry out his orders without question, such as when she mercilessly killed Olivia on his orders. She also tackled Rosita to the ground after she attempted to assassinate Negan, showing that Arat is willing to protect her leader from danger. In "The Key" Arat was willing to help Simon and Dwight find Negan.
 * "Arat, kill somebody."
 * —Negan to Arat[src]

Despite Arat's loyalty to Negan, she seems to willingly surrender to the Militia upon the Saviors' defeat, effectively betraying him.

Laura
Little is known about the relationship between Negan and Laura, but proving her loyalty to him allowed her to become a Savior. Later, Negan picks her up walking along the side of the road. Laura then reveals Dwight's betrayal to him and delights in angrily telling Dwight what she has done while Negan reveals that he used Dwight to pass a fake plan to the Militia so Negan could lead them into a trap. Negan then promotes Laura to the position of his second-in-command.

However, after the Militia corners them after their weapons explode, Laura surrenders to the Militia and she betrays Negan by renouncing his way of leadership and assists in building a new life for the Saviors while Negan is taken prisoner.

Gary
Little is known about the relationship between Negan and Gary but he does see him as one of his loyal and trusted men. When Simon infers that Negan is most likely dead, Gary appears to be somewhat saddened. It is later shown that Gary's loyalties are to Simon and not Negan, he (alongside fellow Saviors) were gunned down on Negan's command for their betrayal. Negan shows no remorse for his demise.

Emmett Carson
Negan and Emmet Carson's relationship were considered neutral. He sees him useful for treating his injured men and considers him a great doctor.
 * "You left the door open and let my puppy out! You knew Sherry hated Daryl being here, so you let him out for her, be the hero. Then you could move in. That is some weaselly shit right there."
 * —Negan blaming Emmett for Daryl's escape.[src]

However after Dwight frames him for falsely aiding Sherry for Daryl's escape, Negan becomes furious at Emmett and shows Dr. Carson a note from Sherry, which Dwight planted on his desk. After Dr. Carson falsely confesses that he did it to avoid the iron, Negan grabs him and throws him into the furnace, burning him alive.

Mark
Negan and Mark associate with one another as business associates in the Savior Compound. It is assumed that Mark doesn't respect Negan enough to avoid seeing Amber behind his back. Once found out, Negan punished Mark and scarred the left side of his face. It is assumed that Mark resents Negan for both interfering with the relationship between he and Amber, and now for the disfigurement of his face.
 * "Mark, I'm sorry. But it is what it is."
 * —Negan to Mark before ironing his face.[src]

David
Negan and David's relationship was neutral at best. Negan knew that David was the threatening type. However, their relationship becomes hostile when David tried to rape Sasha and broke one of his most important rules. Because of this, Negan kills David, not even accepting his apology for his wrongdoing.
 * "You were trying to rape this woman, weren't you? This is some unacceptable behavior. Rape is against the rules here. I wouldn't wanna be somewhere where it wasn't."
 * —Negan confronting David.[src]

Paula
Paula was never seen with Negan on screen but she was one of his high ranking members of The Saviors as shown when she was leading the remaining Saviors after Rick Grimes and his group attacked their outpost as well as dealing with Rick about trading with Carol and Maggie for Primo. When Carol asked her about Negan, she and Molly protected Negan's identity by telling her, "We're all Negan", showing an amount of loyalty for him. Her death was avenged when Negan personally kills one of Rick's group members.

Gregory
Negan has a complete lack of respect for Gregory due to the cowardice and incompetence of the supposed leader of the Hilltop Colony.
 * "You know what I think, Gregory? I think you're playing both sides. I think you are a thin-dicked politician threading the needle with your thin, thin dick. Now, is listening to you the right way to go, or is it the right place and time for something else?"
 * —Negan threatening Gregory.[src]

Gregory is shown to be quite fearful of Negan and becomes submissive to his demands, giving him half of his community supplies, after Negan and the Saviors killed a member from the Hilltop. Negan takes advantage of Gregory's cowardice and begins demanding more supplies. After some time, he can't keep up to the amount that Negan wants, so Negan kidnaps Craig and sends Ethan to kill Gregory for failing to follow his orders. After the attempt of taking Gregory's life fails, the leader of the Hilltop decides to make a deal with Rick Grimes' group to eliminate Negan and the Saviors once and for all. Instead of doing it himself, he sends Simon to deal with Gregory at the Hilltop after Rick's people had killed every Savior from one of the outpost.

In "The Big Scary U", Gregory meets with Negan and his lieutenants and offers to help the Saviors by exiling any Hilltop resident who joins Rick’s alliance. Negan questions Gregory’s true allegiance and doubts that he holds any influence over the Hilltoppers.

Ezekiel
Negan and Ezekiel have not interacted on-screen once, though since the attack on Alexandria, Negan wants to capture Ezekiel, Rick and Maggie and torture and kill them horribly in front of their people. Ezekiel likely despises Negan deeply and willingly goes to war against him to end his tyranny once and for all.
 * "Plan A is taking Rick, the Widow, and King Assface alive and making them dead in a very, very public and instructive way. We kill the right people in the wrongest way possible, and we make them all watch!"
 * —Negan mentioning Ezekiel.[src]

Ezekiel is likely pleased that Negan is eventually defeated however it is unknown if he agreed or was angered at Rick's decision to keep him alive and as a prisoner.

Paul Rovia
Jesus and Negan have not shared any on screen time yet, however it is clear that Jesus despises Negan for the atrocities committed by him and his men and willingly assists Rick and his group in attacking one of Negan's outposts in the hopes of killing him and ending the servitude of the Hilltop. Jesus later actively partakes in the war against the Saviors to end their tyranny once and for all.

Jesus is likely pleased that Negan is defeated however he does not appear to agree with Rick and Michonne's decision to keep him alive and appears to agree with Maggie and Dayrl's plan to bide their time and wait for the right moment to exact revenge against Negan. He does however appear to get over it later on and does not appear hell bent on killing Negan like Maggie is

Rick Grimes
Rick and Negan absolutely despise each other and are bitter rivals and enemies. Negan was first made aware of Rick and his group of survivors after Rick led a raid on a Savior outpost which resulted in the deaths of all its inhabitants. Hence he personally sent Dwight with a group to retaliate in whichever form possible which resulted in more deaths and the murder of Denise Cloyd.
 * "This shit isn't funny anymore. Don't make me do this now, Rick. I got plans for you. Cut you up in little bitty pieces, feed you to the dead, and make you watch. Then, when you're some sort of screwed-up, creepy stump with a head, that's when I'm gonna kill you - in front of everybody. (...) When I am done with you, nobody will ever try to do what you did - not ever again! Not your friends, not your son."
 * —Negan to Rick.[src]

Negan was able to organize a joint effort of roadblocks and psychological intimidation to trap Rick with a portion of his group to exact his revenge and break them into servitude. Once captured, Negan bludgeons Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee to death hoping to display authority but Rick still remains defiant, threatening to kill him. Amused and unsatisfied, Negan forces Rick to risk his life to attain a hatchet among a large group of walkers whilst verbally mocking Rick for thinking he could live a safe life with his group. Negan eventually breaks Rick when he forces him to attempt to cut off his son's arm after he notices that Rick is still defiant, stopping Rick shortly before the amputation could occur. Satisfied, Negan leaves the group in a shattered state.

Negan continues to converse with Rick in the style of a laid back bully whenever they meet such as when Negan arrives at Alexandria for Rick's first tribute. Negan clearly observes Rick's hatred towards him for his actions but remains unconcerned and continues his dark sense of humor. However, whenever Rick makes a statement or action that Negan disagrees with his cheerful tone becomes stern and serious to remind Rick who's in charge - such as the case of the missing guns.

Negan respects Rick to a degree for his leadership and survival skills but ultimately for being a selfless individual. Negan makes this point to Spencer that Rick is 'swallowing' his hate for him for the sake of everyone in Alexandria and being a proactive survivor.

However, when Negan learns of Rick's plot to revolt against him from Jadis - leader of the Scavengers - he becomes so irritated by his defiance that he returns to Alexandria to quell any notion of rebellion. Rick vows that no matter what Negan does to him, he will make it his mission to kill him and all the Saviors and that nothing will change that, which further amuses Negan. Rick and his group manage to thwart his plan and cause him and a few of the Saviors to retreat. Disappointed and enraged, Negan resorts to "Plan B": go to war with Alexandria and eliminate Rick.

During the war, Rick is absolutely determined to kill Negan, whom is now his nemesis. After Carl's tragic death however Rick informs him of his death and Negan tells him to simply give up on this war as he has already lost though Rick refuses and still attempts to kill him. In "Wrath" after the Saviors are defeated and he personally injures Negan, Rick decides not to kill Negan and instead takes him as a prisoner to Alexandria in order to spend the rest of his days as a prisoner for revenge for his actions and to be used as an example that people are capable of changing. It is more likely that the only reason that Rick decides to allow Negan to live is because it is what Carl wanted and if the latter was still alive, Negan would surely have not been spared by Rick.

After being imprisoned by Rick, Negan still takes pleasure in taunting Rick about Carl's death and tell him that despite all of his success, he is not saving the world in the least but is simply getting it ready for him. While Rick deeply hates Negan, he does not want him dead and is dedicated to keep him alive to fulfill Carl's final requests and to prevent Negan from being martyred and letting all the deaths suffered during the war, Carl included, from becoming nothing. Despite this, Rick's hallucination of him conversing with Shane implies that part of him still wants to kill Negan and has some regret about not doing so.

Negan's reaction to Rick's supposed death is unknown.

Carl Grimes
Upon encountering Carl for the first time, Negan takes an immediate interest in the teenager. Carl, however, shows nothing but anger and hatred for him, something that impresses Negan. When he gives a speech to the group, unlike the rest of the group including his own father, Negan bends his knees in front of Carl to talk to him, showing he somehow respects him. When he learns that Carl is Rick's son, he further taunts that he wishes not to kill the "little future serial killer". After choosing the first Lucille victim, he warns the group to not interfere least he will bring more harm by cutting Carl's other eye and feeding it to his father. Carl then witnesses the brutal death of first Abraham, then Glenn, at the hands of Negan. Later, he is brought upfront by Negan who unbuckles his belt and uses it to tie Carl's left arm. Negan then forces him to lay on the ground, draws a line on his arm and forces a fearstricken Rick to decide to chop it off. Whilst Rick is emotionally broken and pleading, Carl is scared but resolute, telling his father to "just do it". When Rick is about to do so, Negan halts him, telling him that he has proven his point. When Carl later attempts to kill him, Negan shows him around the Saviors compound and makes Carl show him his missing eye. Negan asks to touch Carl's eye socket and delights in it at first until he sees that he's driven Carl to tears. In an uncharacteristic move, Negan stops and apologizes for driving Carl to tears and begins teaching him about what he thinks it takes to be a man. He also shows some sympathy for Carl having to kill his mother.
 * "Look at you. Answering the door like a big boy. I am so proud. Daddy's not home, huh? Well, I guess he's gonna get back to a big old smoky surprise. (...) Well, that shit just breaks my heart. There's kids at the Sanctuary. You must've seen 'em. Even had a little baby at one of the outposts. I wonder what happened to her. None of this shit's fair, kid. Hell, you know that. You had to kill your own mom. That is screwed up. Ergo, we need someone in charge who's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that shit doesn't happen. Oh. Wait. That's me. (...) Oh, now you want to talk? See, your dad had it that I died, no matter what. He gave my people a choice. Not me. Now we're gonna need a new understanding. Apologies, punishment."
 * —Negan to Carl.[src]

In "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", Negan tries to kill Carl as a lesson to Rick, but is stopped when the Kingdom and the Hilltop attack and force him to retreat. Before he attempts to kill Carl, Negan expresses regret at having to do so, telling Rick that he actually likes Carl. Negan has had a change of heart since his attempt to kill Carl. During the second attack on Alexandria, Negan sees Carl as someone Rick has made weak, and wants to raise Carl as a potential lieutenant of the Saviors.

In "How It's Gotta Be", Negan shows a willingness to negotiate with Carl and appears impressed by Carl's willingness to sacrifice himself to save his community, something Negan admits to Rick. While Negan brings up Carl having to kill his own mother, Negan doesn't taunt Carl with the fact but instead admits that he finds it "screwed up." When Carl asks Negan about his original intentions in becoming the leader of the Saviors, his words actually give Negan pause before Negan realizes that Carl is just distracting him which enrages Negan.

Maggie Rhee
Maggie completely despises Negan.
 * "That widow is alive guns a'blazin!...You taste that, Simon? That is the taste of shit!"
 * —Negan angrily discovering that Maggie is alive.[src]

Negan first meets Maggie along with her group members when he and the Saviors capture them in a remote forest. Upon first inspection, he teases her with some rude remarks and calls her appearance “shitty” without knowing of her pregnancy. Negan even considers her a potential victim before her husband, Glenn Rhee, intervenes.

Negan eventually selects Abraham Ford as his victim as punishment for the deaths of his men at the group's hands and beats his head to a bloody pulp, horrifying her. Maggie become completely heartbroken when she witnessed her husband be executed in the exact same fashion as punishment for Daryl punching Negan shortly after Abraham's death. After breaking Rick Grimes into his servitude, Negan leaves her and the group in a shattered mess. Despite being utterly distraught, Maggie tells Rick to get ready to fight Negan and the Saviors, wanting immediate revenge.

When Negan arrives at Alexandria for their first offering he asks Rick where the 'sick girl' is, expressing an interest in her, before explaining that he was intending to take her back with him further saying that he has an interest in widows because they're special. Negan is then led to believe that she had died of her condition with a grave as supposed proof, unaware of her living safely at the Hilltop Colony.

Negan later discovers that Maggie is actually alive and well, enraged he had been tricked of her demise. Ever since then, Negan wants Maggie, Rick and Ezekiel captured alive so he can personally kill them.

Throughout the war Maggie is completely focused on getting revenge against Negan and wants him dead no matter what. She even reveals that she want's Glenn's grave to be the last thing he ever sees and is visibly angered that he was not present at the attack on the Hilltop. Upon Negan's defeat in "Wrath", Maggie is enraged and broken hearted that Rick decides to allow Negan to live, even though he killed Glenn and she screams that the war will never be over until Negan is dead.

Even though Negan becomes a prisoner and is put safely behind bars, Maggie completely disagrees with Rick and Michonne's decision to let him live and she vows that she will make the Hilltop strong once again, bide her time and wait for the right moment in order to exact her revenge against Negan in order to avenge her beloved husband's death.

Nearly 18 months after Negan's defeat, Maggie finally musters up the courage to go to Alexandria and kill Negan after being inspired by the Oceanside survivors taking revenge on Saviors who caused them harm in the past. Michonne allows Maggie to enter the cell and Maggie is bent on killing Negan with a crowbar. Negan taunts Maggie for not having taken revenge sooner and taunts her over murdering Glenn, making her more furious. However after throwing him out of the cell, Negan begs her to kill him as he wants to be reunited with wife. Maggie after seeing Negan degraded and broken tells him to get back in the cell, claiming that he is already worse than dead and locks the door. Maggie appears to be pleased seeing the suffering Negan has endured while locked in his cell and appears to have let go of her vendetta against him and would rather have him alive to suffer. Negan appears upset that Maggie chooses not to kill him.

Abraham Ford
Negan was intimidated by Abraham and felt it was too dangerous to keep the larger man alive. After being captured by Negan and his Saviors, unlike the rest of the members, Abraham shows completely no fear in facing them. When Negan stands and glances right at him, Abraham continues to stare at him which slightly amuses Negan before remarking that he needs to "shave his shit". After simply unable to decide who to kill, Abraham then watches Negan who is chanting "eeny, meeny, miney, moe" and walking one person to another while pointing his bat at them before finally picking Abraham. After warning them not to interfere, Negan then slams the bat to Abraham's head, causing him to bleed heavily. Before his death, Abraham utters "suck my nuts" to Negan, who then proceeds to bash his head several more times, completely mutilating his head before mocking his last words.
 * "Red - and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team!"
 * —Negan explaining Abraham's death.[src]

Negan later reveals that he deliberately chose to kill Abraham as he likely perceived him as a threat to him and claims that he made the choice to kill him instead of Rick as he didn't want Carl to watch.

Glenn Rhee
Negan and Glenn hardly knew each other but Negan shows amusement for him after Glenn desperately tries to intervene him from harming Maggie. He warns them all not to do that again or he will "shut down that shit, no exceptions". After Negan finally picks Abraham as the Lucille victim, Glenn watches in horror as Abraham is smashed by Negan to death. After Daryl attempts to retaliate against Negan for taunting Rosita, Negan teaches the group another brutal lesson by hitting Glenn in the same fashion as Abraham, and reiterating his earlier statement that one insubordination would be pardoned but any other would be halted with no exceptions. He further taunts Glenn's mutilated face who is trying to speak to Maggie before delivering more blows to his head, brutally killing him and showing no remorse whatsoever.
 * "Buddy, are you still there? I just don't know. It seems like you're trying to speak... but you just took a hell of a hit! I just popped your skull so hard your eyeball just popped out... and it is gross as shit!"
 * —Negan in amusement of Glenn's disfigurement.[src]

Daryl Dixon
At first Negan does not show any sort of interest in Daryl. However, when Daryl punches Negan after killing Abraham and taunting Rosita, Negan is shocked and impressed. Despite this, Negan brutally kills Glenn as punishment for his action, much to Daryl's horror and sadness.
 * "We got ourselves a red situation. I need a search party. See if Daryl ran home like the dumb animal that he is."
 * —Negan over the radio when he learns of Daryl's escape[src]

Still intrigued from earlier, Negan orders Dwight to capture Daryl before the group is released, as he wants to develop Daryl into another soldier. While in his capture, Negan finds Daryl's defiance and resolve both amusing and astounding. Despite having trouble breaking him into the Savior's ranks, Negan continued to enjoy having Daryl in his servitude up until Daryl's escape. It is evident that Daryl hates Negan deeply and wants to fight him and the Saviors and kill them all.

Daryl is likely pleased that Negan and the Saviors are eventually defeated by him and the Militia however it is shown that he completely disagrees with Rick's decision to spare Negan and secretly plots with Maggie and Jesus to bide their time and eventually exact revenge on Negan, showing that Daryl strongly wants to see him dead or kill him himself.

Nearly 18 months after the end of the war, Daryl still appears to want Negan dead and wants Maggie to have the opportunity to do it in order to avenge Glenn's death and tries to help her by leading Rick away from Alexandria and shows his disgust at him for sparing Negan.

Daryl's reaction to Maggie's decision to not kill Negan is unknown.

Michonne
Michonne at first appears to be extremely afraid of Negan when he and the Saviors capture her and the group and is shocked when he kills Abraham and Glenn. When Negan arrives at Alexandria, Michonne is reluctant to give up her gun for him, but allows Rick to hand it over and wordlessly drops the deer she shot on the ground when Negan orders Arat to get it. Michonne despises Negan deeply and wants to fight him and kill him in order to end the subjugation of her community. In spite of this, Michonne personally reads Carl's letter that he wrote to Negan to him and tells him peace is possible however Negan coldly refuses to make peace and vows he will kill Michonne, Rick and all their people no matter what.
 * "Man, I love a gal that buys me dinner and doesn't expect me to put out."
 * —Negan to Rick on Michonne[src]

After his defeat, Michonne takes pleasure in informing Negan that he is now her and Rick's prisoner and tightly grips his injured neck to cause him pain. She vows that him being their prisoner as an example is the only thing he is good for, showing her hatred of him. Michonne does however appear to be conflicted over Rick's decision to let Negan live as revealed in "A New Beginning".

In the "Obliged", Negan only agrees to eat if Michonne stays and talks to him and she agrees.Negan tells Michonne he’s not meant to be in the cell just as she's not meant to be doing random chores and looking after kids. Michonne shoots back that she's helping rebuild civilization. Negan admits he's happy his wife never got to see him imprisoned and reveals that they wish they had a kid like Carl, but his wife got cancer and the world changed. Michonne says she sees Carl everywhere, and when Negan asks about her own kid, she angrily says Andre didn't make it. Negan says it's better this way because his wife wasn't made for the apocalypse. "We were built for more," he says. Michonne reacts in anger and storms off. A while later, Michonne returns to Negan's cell and acknowledges that they're similar but distinguishes that her worldview is a lot more positive than his. She finally gets him to eat, and as she leaves he asks her to see Lucille. Michonne tells him they don’t have the bat anymore and leaves smiling, showing that she enjoys seeing Negan suffer to a degree.

In "What Comes After", Michonne allows Maggie to enter Negan's cell to kill him, however she changes her mind after seeing what jail has done to him and Michonne appears pleased that she decided to let Negan live in agony.

Judith Grimes
When Negan stumbles into Judith's room, despite Carl's attempts to conceal her existence, he is immediately delighted and lifts her out of her crib. She is then shown asleep in his arms on the porch as he calls her precious.
 * "Oh, my! Look at THIS little angel!"
 * —Negan, when he first encounters Judith.[src]

In "Who Are You Now", it is revealed that Judith and Negan have formed something of a friendship, with Judith even asking Negan for help with math homework and Negan telling her stories of his past. Judith often visited him during the years helping to form him into a more compassionate person. Negan appears to genuinely care for and respect Judith, even smiling on her takes of certain situations. It is unknown how Judith feels about Negan however, though she somewhat insults him by sarcastically claiming how good things have turned out for him (based on his imprisonment) after he claims to have wizened up once following a childhood incident. It is also unknown if Judith hates Negan for his past atrocities while leader of the Saviors and his cruelty towards her half- brother Carl and adoptive father Rick.

In "Adaptation," Negan steals Judith's compass while he's escaping, but is caught by Judith who he convinces to let him go. Negan states that Judith knows him better than anyone has in a long time and expects her to believe him when he promises that he won't harm anyone, even in self-defense. Judith lets Negan go and lets him keep her compass, stating that it would help Negan find his way. Judith threatened to shoot Negan if she ever saw him again, which seemed to please him as it was what he would do if he was in her position. After realizing that Judith was right, Negan returns to Alexandria and gives Judith back her compass and agrees to return to his cell. In the process, Negan calls Judith one of the few people in his life that he's considered a true friend to him. And one of the main reason why Judith likes him is because he is always honest with her.

In "The Storm" when Judith runs offin the snow storm looking for Dog. Negan goes after her. And saves her from freezing to death.

Eugene Porter
Negan first meets Eugene when he captures him in the RV and lines him up with Rick group and he watched Negan beats Glenn and Abraham to death with the baseball bat.
 * "I know how hard it can be to accept change, to get on the right team. But I need you to understand something. I do not make this invitation to everyone."
 * —Negan to Eugene[src]

Later, after Rosita's failed attempt to kill Negan, he furiously tries to find who made the bullet. Eugene confesses that he was the one who did it and thus he and his men took him as hostage.

After arriving at the Savior's base, Negan was impressed by Eugene's intelligence and believes his lie about being a bio engineer. Thus he makes Eugene become a Chief-Engineer of the Saviors.

Surprisingly, Eugene is one of few people that Negan does not directly threaten or harm, and Negan mostly gives him respect, hospitality, and even kindness to an extent. Eugene even expresses a few times that he enjoys living life as a Savior under Negan's hospitality. However it is gradually revealed that he is only loyal to the Saviors and Negan in order to protect himself and he eventually betrays Negan by tampering with his soldier's weapons, allowing the Militia to finally defeat him and the Saviors. It is unknown how Eugene felt about Negan being spared and taken as a prisoner rather then being killed.

Gabriel Stokes
Negan and Gabriel have a hateful relationship.

They interacted for the first time in "Service". Gabriel introduces himself and he show Negan where Maggie is "buried", fooling him into thinking she's dead.

In "The Big Scary U", Negan and Gabriel are trapped in the trailer following the attack on the Sanctuary. Negan asks Gabriel why he helped Gregory. After some reflection, Gabriel concludes that they were destined to end up in the trailer together. “I think I’m here to take your confession,” he says. Negan urges Gabriel to escape with him, saying their odds of getting to the Sanctuary are much higher if they work together. Gabriel agrees to accompany Negan if he confesses. Gabriel reveals his own greatest sin: locking his congregation out of his church in the early days of the apocalypse, leaving them to die. Negan finally tells Gabriel that before the fall, he cheated on his wife while she was sick. He says that his weakness was his inability to put her down when she died after the fall. Gabriel absolves him.

Negan cuts the walker open, and they slather themselves in guts. Then, Negan opens the door to the trailer and walkers flood inside. Negan and Gabriel walk through the courtyard, unnoticed by the herd. Gabriel trips and draws the walkers’ attention. They fight the walkers together, making their way to the Sanctuary.

In "Wrath", after Gabriel found out about Negan's plan, he tried to escape, only to be stopped by Eugene and Negan, who beat him several times. Later, when Negan realized that Eugene has sabotaged the bullets, he tried to kill him, but was attacked by Gabriel. It is unknown how Gabriel felt about Rick keeping Negan as a prisoner rather than killing him.

Despite Gabriel's hatred of Negan, he devotes time to help Negan mediate during his seven year long imprisonment in order to help reform him into a better person though he makes little progress. Negan even cruelly taunts Gabriel over Rosita and Gabriel reveals his frustration having to take care of Negan while is girlfriend is injured at the Hilltop. Negan tries to offer sympathy though Gabriel rejects it and storms out of his cell, however he does not close the door properly and this allows Negan to finally escape from his captivity.

Sasha Williams
Negan and Sasha shared a brief relationship.
 * "...you got those beach-ball-sized lady nuts and I want to harness the heat comin' off of 'em. You can help me run this place one day, all of us together, following the rules, workin' on the same side of things. That's all this was ever about. And it still can be for you. I know it's hard to picture considering what I did. But, Sasha, we all got shit to get over."
 * —Negan to Sasha.[src]

Negan first meets Sasha when she is captured along with her fellow group members in a remote forest. When Negan selects and kills Abraham among them as punishment for the slaughter of his men at their hands, Sasha becomes distraught and horrified as the two had a romantic relationship. Fueled with rage, Sasha would try to take ever chance she could to take down Negan and avenge Abraham and fellow friend Glenn Rhee who also died in the forest.

Sasha eventually falls under Negan's capture again when she tries to assassinate him on a suicide mission. Despite the attempt on his life, Negan openly admires Sasha for her bravery and sees a potential recruit in her. Negan even notes to Sasha that he thinks she's "something else".

When Sasha commits suicide to reanimate as a walker and attack Negan he laments on her demise as her potential for serving at his side was now wasted.

Rosita Espinosa
Rosita deeply despises Negan.
 * "Shit.. What the shit?! Shit! You just.. You tried to kill me?! You shot Lucille!"
 * — Negan to Rosita after she tries to kill him[src]

Rosita looks to show fear of Negan after being captured by him and his Saviors. She is shocked and heartbroken when he beats Abraham to death with Lucille. Negan senses they were together and taunts her by forcing her to look at his bat, now covered in Abraham's blood. When Negan then kills Glenn as a result of Daryl sticking up for Rosita, she watches in horror and sadness.

When Negan orders Alexandria to give half of their supplies over, Rosita refuses to scavenge for him. Instead, she insists that Eugene make her a bullet, most likely with the intention to kill Negan.

Throughout Season 7, Rosita makes it a personal mission to kill Negan in order to avenge Abraham and Glenn's deaths. After Negan kills Spencer, an angry Rosita tries and fails to kill him with the bullet Eugene made for her. He is furious when Rosita shoots Lucille instead, and has Arat hold a knife to her face. As punishment for her actions, Olivia is killed.

Rosita is dedicated during Season 8 to defeat the Saviors however she appears to have let go of her vendetta against Negan and chooses not to let her desire for revenge overcloud her judgement again. Rosita is likely pleased that Negan is eventually defeated by her and her people however it is unknown how she felt about Rick choosing to keep him alive and as a prisoner.

Spencer Monroe
Negan first meets Spencer at the front gate of Alexandria Safe-Zone to collect his first 'offering' to which Spencer questions who is he. Negan immediately shows displeasure, having made such a 'strong first impression'.
 * "Oh, how embarrassing, there they are! They were inside you the whole time. You DID have guts! I've never been so wrong in my whole life!"
 * —Negan to Spencer after killing him.[src]

In "Hearts Still Beating", when Negan returns to Alexandria for the second time, Spencer introduces himself and the two share a drink on Rick's porch to which Negan acknowledges Spencer as his best friend. Later, they are seen playing pool outside while being watched by the Alexandrians and the Saviors. Spencer tells him that Rick is a bad leader and proposes that Negan put him in charge once Rick is killed. Negan is irritated that Spencer would wait for Rick to be gone before approaching and asking him to do his dirty work. He tells Spencer it's because he has no guts before stabbing him in the stomach and disemboweling him.

Negan shows no remorse for killing Spencer as he mocks him for having guts after killing him.

Olivia
Negan and Olivia have a soured relationship with Negan initially thinking very little of her and Olivia being terrified of him.
 * "I'm about 50 percent more into you now. Just sayin'."
 * —Negan to Olivia after she slaps him.[src]

Upon their first encounter, Negan makes jokes and insults about Olivia’s weight privately to Rick. Olivia however soon becomes his hostage when it's discovered two handguns from Alexandria's armory have been misplaced as Negan wished to take all of Alexandria's firearms. When the guns have been found, he happily releases her.

Negan encounters Olivia a second time when returning Carl back from the Sanctuary. When Olivia expresses the community's dire food situation, Negan mocks her obesity by claiming it hard to believe she's "practically starving" which causes her to cry. Negan is perplexed by her sensitivity but eventually relents for his abusive behavior and apologizes, offering sex until Rick returns from a supply run. Offended, Olivia slaps Negan. Surprisingly, Negan rubs it off and says his interest in her has increased then orders her to make him some lemonade.

In "Hearts Still Beating", Olivia is shot and killed by Arat after Negan ordered her to kill somebody after Rosita refused to tell who made the bullet. However, Negan tells Rick that personally he wouldn't have picked her to go.

Anne
Negan's and Anne's relationship is neutral.

For the first time these two interacted on screen in "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life". Anne brought wounded Rick to Negan as they made a deal beforehand. Negan quickly changed the deal, showing that he doesn't think much of her and the Scavengers.

During the war Anne was convinced by Rick to join the Militia, showing that she is not loyal to Negan, and has interest in the Savior resources.

In "The Lost and the Plunderers", when Simon, Gary and few other Saviors massacred the entire group, Anne developed hatred towards Saviors and especially Negan, as she believed that he instructed the Saviors to kill her group.

In "Still Gotta Mean Something", she abducted Negan and planned to burn Lucille and kill him afterwards. Negan managed to convince her, that he shouldn't have trusted Simon and he is responsible for what happened at the Junkyard and he can fix the problem. As a result, Anne released him, and Negan promised to see her again.

Anne however likely agrees with Negan being held as a prisoner due to the atrocities committed by him and the Saviors when he was their leader.

Morales
Although Morales was never shown onscreen with Negan, it was clear that he was completely loyal to him and the Saviors as he insisted they saved him from death and gave him a sense of purpose. Even after being informed of the deaths of many of his allies from Atlanta by Rick, Morales did not seem to care and made it clear that he was no longer loyal to his former group but to the Saviors and declared himself to be "Negan".
 * }
 * }

Appearances
{|

Season 6

 * "Last Day on Earth"

Season 7

 * "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"
 * "The Cell"
 * "Service"
 * "Sing Me a Song"
 * "Hearts Still Beating"
 * "Rock in the Road" (Voice Only)
 * "Hostiles and Calamities"
 * "The Other Side" (No Lines)
 * "Something They Need"
 * "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life"

Season 8

 * "Mercy"
 * "The Big Scary U"
 * "Time for After"
 * "How It's Gotta Be"
 * "Honor" (Dream)
 * "The Lost and the Plunderers"
 * "Dead or Alive Or"
 * "The Key"
 * "Still Gotta Mean Something"
 * "Worth"
 * "Wrath"

Season 9

 * "The Bridge"
 * "The Obliged"
 * "What Comes After"
 * "Who Are You Now?"
 * "Evolution"
 * "Adaptation"
 * "Guardians"
 * "Scars"
 * "The Storm"

Season 10
TBA
 * }
 * }

Trivia

 * Negan is the fourth major recurring antagonist in the TV Series, the first being Shane Walsh, the second being The Governor, the third being Gareth, and the fifth being "Alpha".
 * Negan has the most appearances in the TV Series, appearing in more than 30 episodes alive (including in a dream sequence in "Honor"), out of the other primary antagonists.
 * Negan is the first major recurring antagonist to appear in more than three and a half seasons, making him the longest recurring antagonist on The Walking Dead.
 * Negan holds the longest lifespan of any antagonist in the series, lasting 49 episodes.
 * Negan is currently the only major recurring antagonist to renounce his antagonistic ways.
 * Henry Rollins, who partially inspired the character's design, auditioned for the role. However it was ultimately handed down to Jeffrey Dean Morgan instead.[8]
 * Negan was originally called Nagus by Robert Kirkman: "Every now and then I just make up a word and then I look it up and it's a name. So he was Nagus for a long time, and then I realized that the Ferengi high commander on Deep Space Nine was called the Grand Nagus. And I was like, 'Oh, that's where I got that! Oh, okay. Uhh, maybe he's Negan.' So that's how that happened".
 * Negan's signature weapon is a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire he calls "Lucille".
 * Negan very rarely uses a gun, preferring his baseball bat.
 * Upon describing the character, Kirkman stated that "Negan is kind of an atomic bomb that's going to be dropped onto the show and the show will probably never be the same after that".
 * Negan's outfit was designed by costume designer Eulyn Womble, who custom made his jacket, belt and hand wraps in order to specifically match his comic book counterpart.[9]
 * Upon discussing Negan's foul-mouthed nature, Jeffery Dean Morgan stated: "We're going to push AMC, the plan is to push them as far as they can because it's who Negan is. He uses some colorful language. And I use some colorful language. And reading the comic, it's important. So we'll see where that lands. It's our intention that this character is going to leap off the pages of the comic book. It's very important because, that's who he is. Some of the characters there's much more leeway, but Negan is a guy that you want to keep as true as possible, and that would be how I want to play him as well."
 * Negan's first appearance in "Last Day on Earth" featured no use of the word "fuck" and Negan's general language was kept tame. However, in the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Season 6, his debut was partially a re-shot, featuring speech almost identical to his comic counterpart.
 * According to Kirkman, he expressed that Negan and Rick share several similarities as the pair have even been described as 'two sides of the same coin, only Negan's moral compass is a little more out of whack'.[10]
 * Negan currently possess the largest kill count out of any character on The Walking Dead and the entire Walking Dead universe, with a total of at least 222 victims.
 * However, Daniel Salazar currently possess the highest direct kill count on The Walking Dead universe with a total of 112 living people killed directly.
 * Negan currently possess the highest kill count of any antagonist encountered on The Walking Dead.
 * In an interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, upon being questioned regarding any insight into Negan's backstory, he elaborated that Kirkman is creating a prequel story solely dedicated to the character titled Here's Negan. Morgan expressed hope of divulging into this, however nothing is confirmed as of yet. Scott Gimple has stated he has an idea to show Negan's backstory however it's unknown when it will be shown.
 * The casting call name for this character was "Orin". Most likely being a reference to the character, Orin, from Little Shop of Horrors, who is also a sociopathic sadist who wears a leather jacket. He is described as being a "A physically imposing, charismatic, brutal, smart, ferocious, frightening, hilarious, inappropriate, oddly friendly, fun loving sociopath that is both a leader of men and a killer of men. He has both a practical and emotional intelligence, he's a brilliant strategist, he's pure, dangerous, murderous, often gleeful, that still has both discipline and a code. And he has a temper that can vaporize people. He's truly one of the strongest personalities ever".
 * Negan despises sexual violence. This is shown when he kills David for attempting to rape Sasha.
 * Negan exhibits several symptoms of what is known as a God complex, living a life of total and uninhibited dominion over any form of life he sees, people who will follow his every command.
 * He is one of only five characters introduced in Season 6 confirmed to be alive, along with Bertie, Kal,  Eduardo, and Kyle.
 * As of "The Stalker", Negan is one of only five named former Saviors confirmed to be alive, the others being Eugene, Quan, Gracie, and Alden.
 * Negan's imprisonment by Rick bares many similarities to the Crazed Man, the leader of a group of bandits and rapists who took over Terminus and tortured the residents there though he, like Negan, was eventually defeated and imprisoned as punishment for the atrocities he committed.
 * Ironically, the Crazed Man was even mistaken by many fans to actually be Negan during his brief appearance in "No Sanctuary".
 * Negan has officially killed more main characters than any other antagonist both directly and caused. He is responsible for the deaths of 5 main characters: Abraham Ford, Glenn Rhee, Spencer Monroe, Sasha Williams and Simon.
 * Negan is also the first main antagonist to kill more than one main character in one episode (Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee), with the second being Alpha.