I was hoping for something with a bigger scale, like a full launch into the Saviors, but this was decent. I get what the story says about him seeing red, and no consequences post zombieday, but I'm sure the ep was really all that successful in explaining him.
So what does it mean that he burned the bat and said to the spirit of Lucille, "And I am gonna do your fighting for you."?
And what does it mean that he went back to Alexandria and stared down Maggie?
Quick aside- Who would have thought Laura would be the one who gave Lucille to Negan?
Dont know if everyone caught that because she didnt have much screen time and didnt yet have the tattoo on her neck, but the doctors daughter is a future lieutenant for the saviors.
Here is some backstory and then my take.
In the comic, Negan breaks lucille on Beta.
He had done the beheading of alpha and ended the whisperer war on his own.
After that, he buried Lucille at a little house outside of town, the community let him be, and he faded to relative obscurity.
coming to terms with the loss of Lucille (wife and bat) was the end of his arc.
Now- although I think there has been a ton of filler lately, I do think they are trying to focus on a few key things moving forward. I think establishing Negans place was one of those things they wanted to get done heading in to the final sprint.
Here is my perception of what they were saying-
Carol makes a unilateral decision to exile Negan. Her motivation is a sense of responsibility- she used him to kill Alpha nd appreciates that. She also holds a grudge, and naturally will side with Maggie, so this is Carols attempt to diffuse the situation and avoid a showdown.
It has been well established that Negan does not like silence, and he thrives around people.
Banishment and zero purpose is the worst case for him.
So here he is- alone in a cabin in exile. No chores for the community, nobody to talk to, no sense of purpose.
He makes his own purpose, find Lucille.
He does.
That moment is a crossroad. He could very well take Lucille out in to the world and start again.
He is smart and persuasive, and if he wanted to he absolutely would make his way to the top again.
Long story short, after soul searching, he discovers he has a pattern- overcompensates for guilt in the name of Lucille.
He beats the shit out of a dude for talking over his wifes song, causing her untold grief.
Bones his wifes friend while she is diagnosed with cancer- and instead of picking up the gun and blowing his head off, she forgives him without a word.
Goes on a massive trek to get her meds and fix her despite knowing it was a losing battle, driven by guilt of how shitty he was to her.
He showed a pattern of doing the wrong thing but avoiding most consequences due to the ability to talk his way out (cult of personality).
He runs in to the medical team aiming to rob them, and he walks away with her meds and ultimately gives them up to the gang and causes them pain.
The basic gist was no matter how poorly he goes about things, no matter who gets trampled, more often than not he gets what he wants with minimal consequence, and he sleeps at night saying he is fighting for lucille.
As he saw what he was, he realized that fact. Lucille was an excuse and a defense.
Lucille breaking showed him that old excuse doesnt work any more. He unearthed it, used it once, and it came apart immediately.
He puts it away.
Instead of running from what he did, instead of finding a new place to go, He goes back to the community.
Ultimately he has decided to face the consequences of his actions without his crutch (lucille).
No hiding from it in the cabin, no running away.
The look between him and Maggie, to me, is her showing she still has a fresh wound, and him smiling back says "I am not running. I am not hiding. I hold no symbol and make no excuses. Hold me responsible. Kill me or forgive me. Lets end this. You decide, did I earn redemption or am I done for? Either way, you decide how we finish this."
From here on out, Negan wants to be 100% part of the community or dead.
... as for him becoming a savior- I am glad they didnt half ass a quick montage. I would totally be on board for a "better call saul" style prequel on the rise of Negan, even if it was a single season.
I would be far more interested in that than the upcoming Carol/Daryl show.
