The Walking Dead Reveals The Origin Of Negan’s First Savior

The Walking Dead season 10 finale explores Negan’s past, and in doing so, it also reveals the origin of his first Savior. As has been the case with each of The Walking Dead season 10’s bonus episodes, “Here’s Negan” focuses almost exclusively on one character. It is set in both the past and present, but most of the episode is devoted to showing Negan’s origin. Included in this story is how Negan meets Laura, a character first introduced as a loyal and high-ranking member of the Saviors.

When Negan arrives in The Walking Dead season 6 finale, he’s joined by a large group of his followers, the Saviors. Laura is among Negan’s top lieutenants and is depicted as a cunning and ruthless character. Throughout seasons 7 and 8, Negan and the Saviors are the primary antagonists to Rick and his ragtag group of survivors, but that all changes with Negan’s capture in the season 8 finale. A few Saviors continue to resist, but Laura leads their Sanctuary community in surrender, recognizing their best chance at survival is to ally with their enemies. She remains at the Sanctuary until its fall, eventually moving to Alexandria and even taking up a position on the council. Laura is killed by Beta during the Whisperer War, but she returns in the flashback scenes of “Here’s Negan”.

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In The Walking Dead season 10 finale, “Here’s Negan”, the flashbacks show Negan caring for his wife, Lucille, who was diagnosed with cancer just prior to the outbreak. When their medicine supply is ruined, Negan leaves in search of medics. Since he doesn’t have anything to barter with, he uses an (unloaded) gun to threaten them into handing over the drugs. As Negan is berating one man, a woman sneaks up from behind and knocks him out with a baseball bat. When Negan comes to, he learns from the man, Franklin, that the woman, Laura, is his daughter, and they’ve been traveling the area just trying to help out. Franklin agrees to give Negan the medicine he needs, and when Laura hands it over, she also gives him the baseball bat for protection. Still, Negan is captured by a biker gang who are searching for the medics, looking to loot their supplies, and he gives them their location so he can get back to Lucille. Tragically, Lucille is dead and turned by the time he returns, and in his grief and rage, Negan goes to get revenge on the gang for delaying him, rescuing Franklin and Laura in the process.

“Here’s Negan” doesn’t go on to show any more interactions between Negan and Laura than that. There isn’t even a scene between the two when Negan kills the bikers and rescues Franklin. Instead, the focus stays with Negan giving a speech to Craven, the gang’s leader, before he kills him by bashing in his head with the now barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat. The scene is clearly meant as the precursor for every time he’ll pontificate before murdering someone in the future, and as the episode is Negan’s story, it makes sense this is what’s featured in the moment. Still, another scene between Negan and Laura that more directly sets up their future would have been welcomed. Not to mention, answering questions like, what happens to Franklin?

Laura is shown to play an interesting role in Negan’s origins, though. She is who gifts him his signature weapon, the baseball bat he’ll later christen after his late wife. She’s also one of the first two people Negan saves, even if it isn’t explicitly shown in the episode. This is likely the root of Laura’s loyalty to Negan, and while there’s no scene of him actually starting the Saviors or her officially joining, it’s clear from this episode why she’ll swear her allegiance to him. Perhaps future Walking Dead episodes or an entry in the anthology spinoff, Tales of the Walking Dead, will continue Laura’s journey with Negan. Until then, we’re left to speculate where their story goes next, but in revealing Negan’s origin, The Walking Dead has also revealed how he meets Laura, the first of his many Saviors.

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