We learned a lot about Dwight in The Walking Dead Season 7 episode 3, but the revelations about Negan were even more interesting. You might’ve been distracted by Daryl’s struggles, so here’s what we noticed in last night’s episode.
1. Negan is big on consent
For a man who takes what he wants, it’s extremely important to Negan that people say “yes” out of their own “free will.” Negan offered Dwight a night with a woman on the compound, so long as she said yes. He makes it really clear to Dwight the woman must say yes for him to have sex with her. Dwight declines and Negan teases him a bit for it.
Later in the episode, Negan tells the story of how he and Dwight settled their differences. Negan tells Daryl he asked Dwight’s sister to marry him. By agreeing to marriage, Dwight’s sister would get all the medicine she needed. Dwight’s sister told Negan she had to think about it, and he agreed to give her time. However, it was always Dwight’s wife Sherry that Negan actually wanted in his bed.
Negan respected Dwight and Sherry’s relationship, until they betrayed him. Negan was ready to kill Dwight, but Sherry stepped in and offered to marry him to make up for the arrangement with Dwight’s sister. Negan had never touched Sherry prior to her agreeing to be with him. Consent and saying yes is Negan’s way of justifying his actions. In Negan’s mind, all his followers willingly kneeled to him, so what he asks of them isn’t wrong. It’s an interesting way of thinking for a man’s who’s a complete tyrant.
2. Negan might want kids
There was a scene where Dwight walks into the doctor’s office where Sherry is being examined. Dwight sees a pregnancy test and Sherry quickly tells him it’s negative. Negan is extremely calculative and doesn’t make a move without consider all the potential outcomes. If he’s having unprotected sex with Sherry, it’s because he wants a kid. We could be wrong, but Sherry doesn’t seem to happy she to be in the doctor’s office. Pregnancy is not what she wants.
3. Negan is really insecure
Negan needs his followers to worship him. He enjoys having the power over everyone. He gets angry when people try to leave the compound, and it’s almost as if he’s hurt by it. Negan snatches the walkie talkie away from Dwight when he gets the call for the code Orange, which is their way of notifying the compound that someone has escaped. If Negan doesn’t have people, he doesn’t have power. Sending out search parties for one runaway seems like a waste of resources. Negan is attached to his worshipers, and seems very insecure when he sees them leave.
4. Negan knows Dwight isn’t loyal to him
Negan is aware Dwight isn’t loyal to him. Negan keeps testing Dwight, first teasing him about doing grunt work, then he reminds him that he’s sleeping with Sherry. He does this to remind Dwight he has the power. Rick doesn’t need to reminds his people he’s the leader; they respect his decisions even when they don’t agree with him. Negan can sense Dwight is following him out of fear, not respect. Negan might make it seem like he’s ok with people fearing him versus loving him, but that’s not the case. Negan wants loyalty, the kind of loyalty Daryl has to his group. Negan’s power is extremely fragile and he knows it.
Did you learn anything else about Negan? Let us know what you think about the character in the comments below. The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
