How will Maggie react to a changed Negan now that she’s back home? That’s the question that The Walking Dead fans are asking the most following Lauren Cohan’s return to the show in the recent season 10 finale. Last time they saw each other, Maggie almost killed the ex-Savior, but elected to let him rot in jail instead. The emotional fallout from this was a big part of why she left Hilltop in the first place. So, what will she make of Negan now being a free, reformed man?
Jeffrey Dean Morgan pondered how their next meeting could go down while speaking at the virtual panel for TWD at New York Comic Con. The Negan star pointed out that it’ll be interesting to see if other characters vouch for the former villain’s redemption, or if they’ll leave him to convince Maggie himself.
“It’ll be interesting to see if anybody kind of tells Maggie what Negan’s been up to, or if they just put it on Negan to kind of start from scratch with this,” Morgan said. “I think that’s an Angela [Kang, showrunner] and Scott [Gimple, executive producer] thing.”
When Kang was asked how Maggie might react to Negan’s good deeds, the EP pleaded the fifth, answering: “You’ll see in the episodes to come.” That might not sound like it confirms anything, but it does promise that this will be cleared up in the bonus episodes due in early 2021, so we won’t have to wait until season 11. However this reunion goes down, Morgan says he’s “very excited” to get into it and share some scenes with Cohan again.
“I’m very excited,” added Morgan. “Lauren and I have talked about it a little bit, so we’re both very excited to see how that plays out.”
Since Maggie’s been away, Negan has rescued Judith from a blizzard, saved Aaron from the Whisperers, teamed up with Daryl a couple times and avenged the deaths of Jesus and Enid, both of whom Maggie was close to, by killing Alpha under Carol’s orders. But will all of those heroic acts be enough for her to appreciate that the man who killed her husband has changed? Negan’s redemption arc has gone further than it did in the comics, so it’s hard to say.
The Walking Dead is back in production now on those season 10C episodes. In the meantime, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Fear the Walking Dead continue Sundays on AMC.