A Walking Dead Timeline of Maggie and Negan's Complicated Past Before Dead City Season 2

Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) and Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) have had one of the most fascinating dynamics in AMC's The Walking Dead franchise. As fans anticipate Season 2 of the pair’s spinoff The Walking Dead: Dead City, a closer look into their tumultuous history can offer insight into the future of their complex relationship.

From an initial, tragic encounter to a reluctant alliance in the walker-infested streets of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan's journey is a testament to The Walking Dead’s themes of revenge, redemption, and survival. This timeline delves into the pivotal moments that have defined their relationship, from the original series through the conclusion of Dead City Season 1 and beyond.

Maggie Before Negan

Before Negan’s arrival, Maggie Greene was one of The Walking Dead’s most emotionally rich characters. She was introduced in Season 2 as part of the Greene family, who had been surviving on their secluded farm.

Key Moments:

These early seasons shape Maggie’s strength as a leader. She loses her father, Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson), to the Governor (David Morrissey) and experiences constant threats, but Glenn remains her anchor—until Negan enters the picture.

Negan’s Arrival and Glenn’s Death

Key Moments:

• Season 7, Episode 1 ("The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be"): The Saviors, led by Negan, capture Rick’s group. In a display of power, Negan murders Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn with his barbed-wire bat Lucille while Maggie is forced to watch.
• Season 7, Episode 5 ("Go Getters"): Maggie stands up to Gregory (Xander Berkely), asserting herself as a leader when he tries to dismiss them. She plays a crucial role in defending the community against a walker attack orchestrated by the Saviors.
• Season 8, Episode 1 ("Mercy"): Maggie is recognized as the de facto leader of Hilltop and fights alongside Rick and Ezekiel in the coordinated attack on the Sanctuary.
• Season 8, Episode 14 ("Still Gotta Mean Something"): Maggie’s quest for vengeance begins in earnest when she, Rick, and Daryl (Norman Reedus) decide to kill some of the captured Saviors as retaliation for past atrocities.

Glenn’s death is the catalyst for Maggie’s evolution from hopeful survivor to vengeful leader. Negan’s brutality doesn’t just take her husband—it forces her to adapt, fueling a deep-seated desire for justice. Her resilience in the face of tragedy sets her on a path that ultimately shapes her into a formidable force against Negan. Her growing brutality and fixation on the man who killed her husband cements their rivalry as a central dynamic in the show.

Negan's Imprisonment and Shifting Dynamics

When Negan is defeated and imprisoned in Alexandria, the power dynamic between him and Maggie turns upside-down. No longer the all-powerful bat-wielding warlord, Negan is now at her mercy, forcing Maggie to confront her anger and need for revenge.

Key Moments:

• Season 9, Episode 1 (“A New Beginning”): At the start of Season 9, Maggie has already given birth to her and Glenn’s son, who she names Hershel, after her father.
• Season 9, Episode 3 ("Warning Signs"): Maggie is furious that Negan is being kept alive and begins questioning Rick’s vision of mercy.
• Season 9, Episode 6 ("Who Are You Now?"): In a pivotal confrontation between the duo, Maggie visits Negan’s cell, finding him broken and suicidal. She realizes that keeping him alive is a worse punishment than death. Following Rick’s disappearance and a six-year time jump, Maggie is gone, having left Hilltop in search of a new purpose.

Negan’s imprisonment marks another massive turning point, this time for Negan’s character, beginning his redemption arc from villain to antihero. Meanwhile, Maggie’s struggle with whether to let go of her anger or act on it continues to shape her journey, ensuring their fates remain intertwined.

Maggie's Return and Negan’s Past

Maggie’s departure from Hilltop signals a temporary escape from Negan’s shadow, but her return forces her to confront everything she left behind. With Alexandria and Hilltop changed, Maggie must navigate a new world in which Negan is no longer the monster in a cage.

Key Moments:

• Season 10, Episode 17 ("Home Sweet Home"): Maggie returns to discover that Negan has been freed, reigniting her fury and old tensions within the group. Maggie makes it clear to Negan that she has not forgiven or forgotten.
• Season 10, Episode 22 ("Here's Negan"): Negan’s backstory is revealed, humanizing him to the audience, though Maggie remains unconvinced of his redemption.
• Season 11, Episode 2 ("Acheron: Part II"): Forced to work alongside Negan, Maggie openly threatens him in a tense exchange, signaling their feud is far from over.

While she remains committed to leading and protecting her people, the presence of a supposedly redeemed Negan forces Maggie to confront whether she will move on or let her hatred turn her into a villain.

In the final season of the original series, Maggie and Negan are forced to work together to combat the Reapers, the ruthless mercenaries threatening her people. Their partnership is fraught with tension, but necessity pushes them to rely on each other in ways neither expected.

Key Moments:

• Season 11, Episode 3 ("Hunted"): Stranded and outnumbered, Maggie and Negan must rely on each other to survive against the Reapers.
• Season 11, Episode 7 ("Promises Broken"): Negan teaches Maggie some of his survival tactics, which Maggie reluctantly follows, feeling like she has no other choice.
• Season 11, Episode 9 ("No Other Way"): Negan saves Hershel Jr. (Michael Spiller) from danger. Maggie’s emotional response is complicated, forcing her to reconsider her view of Negan, though her hatred still lingers.
• Season 11, Episode 14 ("The Rotten Core"): Negan reveals he has married and is starting a new life in an effort to move on from his dark past.
• Season 11, Episode 24 ("Rest in Peace"): The final confrontation with the Reapers cements Maggie and Negan’s begrudging respect for each other, though their trust remains fragile and their tension unresolved.

The battle against the Reapers in The Walking Dead’s final season forces Maggie and Negan to look beyond their rift. While Maggie remains wary, Negan’s actions of atonement slowly chip away at her loathing, setting the stage for their complicated future in the Dead City spinoff.

Tied Together Again in The Walking Dead: Dead City

Six years after The Walking Dead series finale, Maggie and Negan are once again forced into an uneasy alliance. With Hershel Jr. kidnapped and held hostage in Manhattan by the Croat, a former high-ranking Savior turned warlord, Maggie seeks Negan's help navigating a dangerous walker-ridden NYC. Their journey through Dead City adds new layers to their ever-evolving relationship while introducing fresh threats.

Key Moments:

• Season 1, Episode 1 ("Old Acquaintances"): Maggie tracks down Negan, who is now living under a false identity, and enlists his help rescuing Hershel Jr. from the Croat.
• Season 1, Episode 4 ("Everybody Wins a Prize"): Negan’s past with the Croat comes to light, exposing their shared history and why the Croat sees Negan as an idol.
• Season 1, Episode 5 ("Stories We Tell Ourselves"): Maggie struggles with her lingering distrust of Negan, even as they work together to get closer to Hershel’s location.
• Season 1, Episode 6 ("Doma Smo"): The finale’s showdown takes a shocking turn when Maggie betrays Negan, giving him up to the Croat in exchange for her son.
  • Hershel Jr.’s rescue is bittersweet as he silently questions her decision to work with Negan and sell him out.
  • Negan is told by the true leader and big bad, Lisa Emery's The Dama, that if he does not help them, they will hurt Hershel Jr.

Season 2 may take a poetic turn, putting Maggie in a position to save Negan, the very man she has sought revenge on for over a decade. Hershel Jr.’s reaction to his mother’s ruthlessness could set him up as Season 2’s moral compass, encouraging Maggie to work toward forgiveness, even if for her own sake. Negan's redemption will be put to the ultimate test as he is forced back into a role that resembles the "old Negan."

Whether or not the tumultuous rivalry between the two reaches a resolution, Season 2 will challenge both characters to confront their pasts while navigating the perils of post-apocalypse New York.