The Big Picture

• Negan wields Lucille again in a new Dead City set video, hinting at his return to old ways despite his growth.
• Maggie's blind hatred may lead Negan down a dark path once more, setting up a tense Season 2.
• Its possible Negan is using Lucille to protect Hershel, whom The Dama threatened in Season 1.

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has gone through an impressive character arc in The Walking Dead, but that hasn’t stopped him from picking up his iconic weapon again. A behind-the-scenes video posted on X (formerly Twitter) shows the actor wielding his beloved Lucille, after years apart, on the set of The Walking Dead: Dead City. Named for his beloved dead wife (played by Morgan’s real-life wife, Hilarie Burton), the bat is arguably one of the most iconic visuals of the series. Wrapped in barbed wire, Lucille ended many characters’ lives and cemented Negan as one of the biggest villains in the franchise.

But it has been a long time since Negan has wielded the weapon. His defeat at the hands of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) following Carl’s (Chandler Riggs) death seemed to put an end to his career as a ruthless leader. Imprisonment in Alexandria rehabilitated him, no matter how much Maggie (Lauren Cohan) wants to deny it. Negan is on the right path and that is made all the more evident by his actions in Dead City. Despite Maggie not wanting to hate Negan anymore in the series finale of The Walking Dead, she continues to do so in the spin-off. Negan aids her in her quest to rescue her son, Hershel (Logan Kim), from the grips of the Croat (Željko Ivanek). And still, she betrays him. This may have unfortunate consequences when Dead City Season 2 arrives.

Lucille Represents Negan’s Leadership in ‘The Walking Dead’

Seeing Negan twirling Lucille again seemingly confirms many theories following the Dead City Season 1 finale. The entire time, The Dama (Lisa Emery) intended to recruit Negan to return to his previous glory to incite a civil war in New York. There is no one better to breed chaos than the Negan who controlled the Saviors. From the looks of it, it appears he has taken up this mantle. Lucille has always been a symbol of Negan’s descent into darkness in the world of The Walking Dead.

After the death of his wife, Negan takes up the bat not really to honor her, but as a way to keep on surviving. In many ways, she was the best part of him, and her death allowed Negan to accept the worst parts of himself — like swinging the bat into the faces of his enemies. Seeing him take up the bat again signals that he may have accepted The Dama’s proposal to return to his old ways. Maggie’s blind hatred of Negan once again ironically leads him down the path that killed her husband. But seeing Negan simply return to old habits wouldn’t be a very satisfying arc for the character — he's too complex of a character to just become a monster again. More likely, Negan is doing what he can to protect Hershel, whom The Dama threatened in the previous season. This dilemma sets up an intriguing Season 2 for fans to scream about when it airs on AMC.

See the set video below and stay tuned at Collider for further updates.

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