The Walking Dead Is Conveniently Forgetting A Negan & Carl Moment From Season 7

Although Negan got on surprisingly well with Carl in The Walking Dead, the two shared an iconic moment that showed how ruthless the former Saviors leader once was, and Dead City season 2 really wants you to forget it. Having worked hard to find redemption, Negan started a family with Annie in The Walking Dead and seems to have genuinely turned a corner, with his spinoff show highlighting how much he has grown. He willingly sat in a cell and ate cockroaches to avoid assisting Dead City's villains, only breaking when his family was threatened.

Now, Negan's story in The Walking Dead spinoff revolves around him trying to reject his dark past and hold onto the good traits he's developed, despite constantly being put in difficult situations. The attack on New Babylon's ship highlighted this, as Negan halted the artillery to let Maggie, Ginny, and Hershel get on an emergency raft with some marshals. However, the Croat believed he hesitated simply because he saw kids, claiming "You draw the line at children", but this line completely overlooks a pivotal moment from season 7, where Negan looked more than willing to break this rule.

The Walking Dead Forgets That Negan Was 1 Second Away From Killing Carl Grimes

Negan Fully Intended On Killing Carl Despite His Supposed Limit Of Not Murdering Children

While it's hard to deny that Negan did truly care about Carl, he was also willing to kill him, and very nearly did in season 7. During his introduction, Negan demanded that Rick cut his son's hand off, stopping him at the last minute when he felt he had made his point. However, it wasn't the only time he was about to hurt Carl, as he attempted to murder him right in front of Rick in season 7's finale, going behind the teenager and swinging full force, only stopping when Shiva attacked one of the Saviors standing behind him.

It's possible that Negan did genuinely show remorse, yet his hesitation seemed abrupt, suggesting it was simply the result of being startled. He could have even viewed Carl as an adult given his maturity, which may have been his justification for attempting to kill him, but the most likely scenario is that Negan was willing to break his rule due to Rick's resistance. Rick's group isn't the first to defy the Saviors, but no one has caused more problems and fought back so hard, which may have prompted Negan's most evil tendencies to flourish in The Walking Dead season 7.

Regardless of the reasoning, it's clear that the former villain was just a second away from taking a child's life, suggesting that Negan's so-called rule wasn't a hard limit, at least not back then. Even though he has changed and regrets his past, Negan wasn't above killing someone as young as Carl back when he led the Saviors, and while The Walking Dead looks desperate to skip past this moment, it's far too significant to forget.

Why The Walking Dead Is Rewriting History To Redeem Negan

Negan's Sinister Past Is Almost Impossible To Justify Without Some Slight Retcons

The Walking Dead has done a great job of redeeming Negan over the years, but the franchise is now actively rewriting the past to make him look better. For the most part, the series hasn't tried to shy away from Negan's darkest moments, as he has taken accountability for his actions and shown remorse for killing Glenn. It has undoubtedly been tough trying to make the audience sympathize with him given everything he's done, but this would be borderline impossible if he had willingly killed children, hence why Dead City wants you to forget that he nearly did.