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Maggie and Negan have had it out for each other since The Walking Dead Season 7, but how exactly does the show plan on ending the long-lasting feud?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11, Part 1 and potential spoilers for Part 2, beginning Feb. 20 on AMC.
The Maggie and Negan rivalry has been one of the leading conflicts of The Walking Dead since Negan killed Glenn in Season 7, and its resounding tension hasn’t let up in the slightest. With the series finale approaching, their antagonizing relationship surely has to come to an end… or will it?
After the brutal death of her beloved husband, Maggie becomes a darker and more hardened person as a result of her undying hatred towards the former leader of the Saviors. When Rick Grimes made the decision to spare Negan’s life, it was enough to put a strain on their long-lasting friendship. Years after Rick’s own disappearance, Maggie leaves the communities due partly to Negan’s imprisonment at Alexandria, which she feels is unfair for the crimes he committed. Once Maggie returns in Season 10C, it’s obvious nothing has changed between the two — only that Maggie has to bite her tongue to work with Negan against the Reapers, which he gets a kick out of.
With the The Walking Dead Season 11, Part 2 trailer out, there’s more to theorize on how exactly Maggie will end her rivalry with Negan, because ultimately, she’ll be the one deciding. Not much is shown between the two in the trailer, as it’s heavily focused on the Commonwealth, but it’s the same old talk between the two. Negan says some snide remark, Maggie glares at him with deadly eyes — nothing out of the ordinary. And more than likely, Season 11, Part 2 won’t be the part of the season that ends their conflict, and it will be one of the last storylines to resolve in the series. But the trailer may be foreshadowing a formidable key in this scenario.
During the brutal Season 7 premiere line-up, Maggie was pregnant with little Hershel Jr., and Negan’s presence is a constant reminder to Maggie that her son is growing up without a father. But Hershel Jr. isn’t aware of that, or at least, that Negan is the man responsible. All Hershel Jr. knows is that a bad man killed his father, and according to Maggie, he didn’t get what he deserves. But that might all change in the remaining episodes of The Walking Dead. A possible theory is that the young boy will soon find out the truth, and will be the one to kill Negan. It’s definitely reaching a level of outlandishness, as Hershel Jr. hasn’t shown any signs of aggression and isn’t mean-spirited in any way, but learning that his father’s killer is free and unsympathetic is a reason to flip the script.
A more realistic and comic-friendly theory is that Negan will be properly exiled by Maggie as a psychological method of punishment by forcing him to live the weight of his actions. After a 25-year time jump in the comics, Negan lives by himself in an abandoned town where he is only occasionally visited by Carl. Maggie comes to accept Negan being alive, but only because she believes death would be an easier way out of punishment. In the television show, Maggie has had multiple opportunities to kill Negan but has yet to pull the trigger. And while it’s rebuked by claiming he’s a well-rounded fighter that helped them get to Meridian, Maggie may be trying to embrace Glenn’s philosophy and be a good example for her son.
Maggie and Negan’s relationship has become a “will she, won’t she” trope that exists purely to drive the tension of the story, but the constant back and forth gets old when the two of them are just words and no action is being taken. That’s why Hershel Jr. being the deciding factor works for the story; he can act as the impulsiveness that Maggie needs to kill Negan, but it may send the child down a dark path, which could be an interesting twist of character. On the other hand, Maggie sparing Negan by exiling him may be a way of honoring her late husband, remembering Glenn as a man who saved people, even those who didn’t deserve it.
The Walking Dead Season 11, Part 2 premieres Feb. 20 on AMC, and is available to stream a week early on AMC+.
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