MovieChat Forums > The Walking Dead (2010) Discussion > Negan's fondness for Judith and Carl...

Negan's fondness for Judith and Carl...

posted 5 years ago by Ripkens25 (1898)
5 replies | jump to latest

Sure, he tends to like kids, per his pre-ZA past. But I think he took a liking to Carl and Judith because deep down, he respected Rick, and a part of him feels a protectiveness for Rick's kids.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

They never covered his background on the show. He was a gym teacher or something like that, right?

Negan is the kind of guy who admires guts and respects worthy opponents. So yeah, as much as Rick got under his skin at times he had to admire a man who even subdued would look into his eyes and announce that sooner or later, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, he was going to kill him. He saw that same kind of determination in Carl. And later, Judith. The old Grimes stubbornness. When Carl showed up at the Sanctuary on the war path and gunning down his guys Negan was impressed. He even smiled talking about it in the cell with Michonne.

Judith (who's now the same age as Carl back in season 2) shows signs of being just as tough as he was. If Negan's going to connect with anyone in Alexandria of course it'll be her. It helps that she's not old enough to personally remember the awful things he did as leader of the Saviors. They're just stories. Other people in town would find it a lot harder to set that stuff aside and have a casual chat with Negan that didn't involve torture.

[–] hnow (27) 5 years ago

Or, like Shane, he feels he can be a better father than Rick.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Winning over the loyalty of his children is another way of beating Rick, maybe? That could be part of it. Negan's a complex character. Despite his sometimes shocking brutality, he was never just a one dimensional bad guy.

[–] LordBAElish (2015) 5 years ago

Does Negan know that Judith is actually Shane's kid?

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

They don't know that for sure. It was a guess based on timing, but babies often come early or late. When Rick went to the local lab for DNA testing the staff met him at the entrance, in their bloody lab coats, faces pressed against the glass. But they were very rude when he went inside - growling and trying to bite him. Not a lot of testing going on in there. 😁

I couldn't tell you whether Negan knew about Rick's suspicions though. The Governor did, because Andrea told him, but I don't recall a conversation where Negan ever mentioned it.