We don't know if TV Negan is a gym teacher. But yeah, this Negan is truly more fascinating. There were times when I got the strong impression that Comic Negan doesn't particularly enjoy torturing people. Once you get TV Negan on a roll...watch out.
[MENTION=95192]Ionut[/MENTION] I read The Princelike you suggested. Very enlightening.

I noticed the same thing this episode.

The Saviors are way too abusive. I know that they have the numbers and the artillery on their side but still...

Beating Aaron bloody after he had risked his life getting the Saviors supplies for no reason?! Killing Spencer?! Killing Olivia?! Scarring Rosita?! Abducting Eugene?!

All within a time period of what? 5-10 minutes? C'mon...if I didn't know any better, it would seem as if the Saviors were itching to be destroyed.

I don't think Negan is a sociopath. And he's not that pragmatic either.

 

Also, it's not very sustainable to constantly get into the head of and harass one of your right-hand mans daily.

If Negan is asking for anything, it is to be double-crossed by Dwight...

 

Negan was a bit better in this episode. But I wish he would stop grinning. Father Gabriel is more menacing!

 

To me this is also Negan's flaw in me caring about the show at all. Watching someone torture and bully people for virtually half the season is just stupid. Especially when you know that he is in the credits so will be part of the show for the foreseeable future. There is no black and white with this character, nothing deeper that you want to get to know. This may work in the comic, but it does not work on TV, IMO.

 

Killing Spencer was a bit of a token kill to show Rick that Negan do not like to see "rebels" and helped him out, but Rosita kinda escalated it and Negans men are ****ing idiots.

 

Negan is the least complex character on the show. He does one thing. The Governor was a thousand times more complex.

 

"The Aaron thing was abhorrent. Aaron is submissive and causing them no problems and just brought them a lot of goodies. Did you see how the two Savior's lightened up on Spencer? That's what they should have done to Aaron."

I saw the two as idiots trying to emulate the boss. The one guy was harping about Rick being late and making them wait for hours. Negan tends to punish by having the physical force unleashed on others to make the person misbehaving feel bad and maybe so others will demand compliance so they are not next. So, the buffons emulated that strategy. Of course no one was late for anything and the punishment for productivity was inconsistent with the Negan's practice. We can attribute that one to having dumb henchmen.

But then there was the ill advised Negan decision to have the henchwoman choose who to kill for punishment for Rosita. It isn't the eenee meenee minee moe situation where he doesn't know who is useful or not. He just killed a guy for attempting a coup against a productive leader. Then he'll let his sidekick kill just anyone? We would have to figure he was too upset at that point to think straight. He also said he might have chose someone else. Maybe he thought no one would care about Olivia so they wouldn't be phased but, it was a good choice following his philosophy of preserving utility. She was useless and he knew it.

 

This. Negan is so one dimensional that I can tell what he's going to do before he does it most of the time. Oppression, brutality, head games, kill someone, smile or laugh, rinse and repeat. I saw the Spencer kill coming before Spencer even got to Negan. The Governor was more of a wildcard in my opinion. You never knew if the Governor was going to show his compassionate side or his brutal side and to me was way more interesting than Negan has been so far.

 

I agree, his killing both Olivia and Spencer was gone too far, he had everyone watching... The perfect opportunity to just scare the piss out of them, I thought for sure Spencer was going to get the iron (although I'm starting to think the 'iron' is reserved for 'cheaters') which that... Or just something other than senseless death...I even saw Haircut's departure as even Steven.

I am sure Spencer would have been more trouble later on too, but presently the whole problem with Negan is the whole problem.
He really did not need to disembowel him, he pretty much had him dead to rights when he laid out what he thought Spencer was doing, Negan was spot onto Spencer's bullshit, just for example he could've mentally tormented and controlled Spencer with that for some time.

Absolutely, I can't get enough of the funny shit.
It's when he goes way overboard that I'm like no dude...

I guess Negan's effectiveness stems from the fact he's so darned unpredictable, but I also see that as being his downfall.

The only part that still defies my sense of suspended disbelief is how has he managed to stay in power this long.

 

Here's what I saw in Episode 7 right after Carl shot up Negan's men, Negan says "dang I'm not going to have time to screw any of my wives today" (or something to that effect) and then he says "maybe ONE" and gives Dwight the 'wink.'
I took that as Negan saying "maybe YOURS, maybe I'll do just sherry, maybe I will have time for THAT"

If you ask me the look on Dwight's face says everything, that is where Negan turned Dwight against him.
It's a subtle shift but after Negan's words Dwight wasn't 100% aboard Negan's ship anymore.

I even believe it was Dwight who facilitated Daryl's escape (thou it really doesn't matter).

I think Negan's men behave in ways similar to the Governor's when the big man isn't around they play their own silly games of unjust and unhuman cruelty and torture. Not sure why but psychologically this is a common trait of henchmen, they too are unbelievably cruel and will go way overboard on their own. Oddly enough they behave when the 'boss' is around, almost like it's Negan's job to torture except when he's not there they are free to do so on their own...
Not all henchmen do it, but if you ask me the more loyal ones do.
Hitler's right hand men, Hussein's chemical Ali, I am sure there are more, all extremely cruel people when on their own.
The claimers were another bunch prone to this sickness, the termites also, and the hospital goons.

That's it, henchmen emulating the boss.

 

I agree that he is nuanced. Without getting too psychoanalytic about it, his moral code makes me think he has huge daddy issues -- like a brutally beaten son. I don't read the comics, but if someone wants to answer that under a spoiler banner, I'd love to know if there's anything like that in his backstory.

He tests but spares Rick and Carl's relationship, like he wants to examine what people will do for each other, or turn out like, if they're raised right. And maybe that speaks to his curiosity about Daryl too -- seeing whether a strong man can maintain his humanity after sustained torture.

He's made, albeit creepy, paternal gestures toward Carl, and looked like he was genuinely enjoying holding Judith. And wasn't the suggestion that he was trying to impregnate Dwight's wife?

He won't kill women, but exacts vengeance with a she-bat. I wouldn't be surprised if "Lucille" was his moms name.

 

Under the logic that it is my opinion. I do get to have one you know.

And Negan is the most predictable character on the show. Big smile, twirl the bat, threaten someone, belittle someone, torture someone, kill someone. Rinse, repeat. He has never done anything else. There is no nuance. There is no unpredictability.

 

He said he doesn't like to kill women not that he wouldn't.
Pretty big distinction.

Lucille was not his Mothers name.

I found him the creepiest while Carl was serenading him and he was practicing his swing with Lucille,I think?

 

Do not let anyone outside of Negan's roost live. Take over Alexandria, preempt/thwart any uprising however futile. Stop with the man-crushes of Daryl, Rick, Coral, etc... Show consistency in your tyranny and punish any transgression with zero impunity.

He's an inconsistent blowhard mad with post apocalyptic power.

Keyser Soze eats him for brunch.

 

I find the Governor more complicated than Negan. The only complexity of character that I see in Negan is his attraction to Carl and Judith.