I miss Rick and company. For the second straight Sunday, we don’t get to see the aftermath for Rick and the others as they return home. We do however get the painful idea of what has been going on with Daryl (Norman Reedus) as Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) prisoner. Warning, spoilers ahead…
Sunday nights “The Cell” episode gave us two points of view on life inside Negan’s sanctuary. You obviously get to see it through Daryl’s eyes as he’s stripped down and living in a darken cell. He’s filthy, he’s being feed dog food sandwiches and he has to endure the blasting of the song “Easy Street” playing over and over in an attempt to break him.
We also get to see what life is like through the eyes of Dwight (Austin Amelio) one of Negan’s men and whose backstory was further revealed to us. His story is one of tragedy as well. Negan emasculates him in front of the other men who are loyal to the bat wielding villain. Each one who refers themselves as “Negan” basically surrendering their individuality for self-survival. Either you’re with Negan or you’re dead.
Dwight who appears to try and keep Daryl alive, brings him in front of Negan. Negan proceeds to taunt Daryl by talking about Dwight and how the two of them had a falling out after Dwight, his wife Sherry and his sister-in-law fled the sanctuary after he stole meds. As we saw from the premiere, stealing from Negan has dire consequences. In short, in order to save Dwight’s life, Sherry offers herself to be Negan’s “wife”. He accepts but not before using an iron to burn half of Dwight’s face. It serves as a constant reminder of Negan’s power and control. When Negan confronts Daryl and ask him for his name, he wants him to say “Negan” but Daryl doesn’t comply.
The character of Negan is great in the comic book series. He is also funny in a sadistic way. My fear is that it might not translate here on TV and that this uniquely badass villain may become a stereotypical villain we’ve seen on any series. Let’s hope not it would be a shameful waste of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s talent.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
