Posted in: AMC, TV | Tagged: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead: Dead City Feeds Our Need for Rick/Negan Reunion

With some references dropped during AMC's The Walking Dead: Dead City S03E03: "Emigrants," here's why we need a Rick-Negan reunion to happen.

Between The Walking Dead CCO Scott Gimple dropping hints that there's more on the horizon for the TWD Universe, Netflix and AMC Global Media reaching a new $500 million co-exclusive streaming/production deal, and AMC's third season of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan-starring The Walking Dead: Dead City scoring big with critics and viewers, the future is looking pretty bright. But as much as we're loving the spinoffs, we're really holding out hope that the original series will continue – especially with the storyline possibilities in play stemming from "Dead City," "Daryl Dixon," "The Ones Who Live," and "World Beyond." The reunion possibilities are endless – but while a lot of folks are psyched about a Rick (Andrew Lincoln)-Daryl (Norman Reedus), we're all about a Rick-Negan (Morgan) reunion – and this weekend's episode of "Dead City," S03E03: "Emigrants," dumped a whole lot of gasoline onto our dumpster fires of random speculation. While we're going to avoid specific details, there were some Rick references we wanted to spotlight, so we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer.

At one point in the episode, Negan devises a way to "convince" the leaders of two warring groups of survivors who brought their drama into NYC – and that can't happen. "You see, I used to know… well, we'll call him an 'asshole.' And he would ask people three questions, and that would decide whether or not they would stay as part of the community. But see, I'm not in the mood to be asking any questions. So, we're going to play a game," Negan shares with the two leaders, who are chained up and giving him their full attention. As TWD fans know, those three questions that Rick would ask were, "How many walkers have you killed?", "How many people have you killed?", and "Why?"

There's also another moment, when Maggie asks for Negan's help in planting crops in Central Park – a request that Negan believes is a joke at first, before telling her that he has some business of his own he needs to take care of. Negan, not really seeing himself as a farmer, got us thinking back to what he said to Rick during that infamous "Glen" night: "I'm not growing a garden." It's also an interesting comparison to what Rick would've been more than happy to spend his life doing back during "The Prison" seasons.

Take a second and think back on just how much both characters have been through since Rick blew up the bridge and sealed his fate in S09E05: "What Comes After." That got us thinking about what would go down when the two eventually meet again, though it might not be a popular opinion. If you're expecting big drama, it's not happening. After some hesitation and a lot of staring, we see Rick extending his hand to Negan for a handshake. After some hesitation, Negan shakes Rick's hand, and Rick places his other hand on Negan's shoulder. Looking him in the eye, Rick says, "Thank you." We don't see Negan verbally responding, but offering a nervous but appreciative nod before they break and part ways. That would definitely be a great way to move things forward in a new direction.

But with so much bad blood between them, why would Rick thank Negan? There are actually two big reasons why. First, we're going to safely assume that Rick and Michonne (Gurira) were filled in on everything that's gone on since they were on the scene after the finale of "The Ones Who Live" – including the times that Negan came to their aid. Let's not forget that if it weren't for Negan, Rick and Michonne would've never been able to reunite with Judith (Cailey Fleming) – a fact we're sure Judith will drive home to them.

In addition, Rick would thank Negan for proving him both right and wrong in the best way possible. Rick was right in that there was nothing to be gained by killing or allowing Maggie (Cohan) and Daryl (Reedus) to kill Negan. But Rick was wrong because he was blinded to the idea that Negan could be redeemed, viewing the ex-Saviors leader as nothing more than a cautionary tale, who he wanted watching the new world pass him by. Instead, Negan would end up becoming a key player on several occasions in keeping the hope of a new world alive. And seeing Negan working alongside Maggie – after all of their history together – wouldn't be lost on Rick.

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