The council reneged on their promise to Negan. He escaped prison/came back, saved Judith in a snow storm, and infiltrated The Whisperers to kill Alpha. So they repay him with exile to some ole dusty ass shack. At this point, if he snaps out, it’s going to be hard to have sympathy for the survivors.

The time he spends in isolation caused him to have an existential crisis. This is an extension of a story arc that began two seasons ago. It’s also when Jeffrey Dean Morgan brought out all the dramatic chops! He is a powerhouse actor with a ton of range. His character is far from redemption, but the man is putting in work.

This is the movie I want to see in theaters. Negan Rising is what I’d call it. The episode introduced us to the real Lucille, a pre-apocalypse Negan whose only concern is getting chemotherapy for his wife. There’s so much to unpack from this story. Romance, drama, and some all too familiar violence. I give it an 8.5 out of 10.