Why Negan Cries Over THAT Walking Dead Character’s Death In Dead City Season 3

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3, episode 1, “Trillium.”

Having taken countless lives throughout his time in the apocalypse, Negan is no stranger to death in The Walking Dead universe, yet one major departure in Dead City season 3’s premiere surprisingly made him cry. The spinoff show wasted no time getting back into the action, as the fallout from the previous installment could be felt from the off.

Negan still felt emotional about Ginny’s death in Dead City season 2, resulting in some tension between him and Maggie. However, after seemingly patching things up and attempting to move forward, another key character’s death struck him deeply, as the former antagonist cried during The Croat’s final moments.

Having been one of his right-hand men during his time leading the Saviors, Negan and the Croat had a lot of history. Their initial alliance broke down when The Croat became too unhinged even for Negan’s liking, creating a strange dynamic when the two reunited in New York, eventually ending in Negan banishing The Croat after briefly taking over the Burazi.

As a result, Dead City‘s joint protagonist should have been happy to see his former protégé go, yet that didn’t appear to be the case. Even though Negan was still performing brutal executions in The Walking Dead spinoff last season, he has undoubtedly changed and feels guilty about what The Croat became, prompting his unexpected reaction.

Negan’s Reaction To The Croat’s Death Shows How Much He’s Changed In The Walking Dead

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) looking angrily at the Croat (Željko Ivanek) in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2

Negan may not have played a role in The Croat’s death, yet the fact he still felt bad for the villain shows how much Negan has changed and grown throughout the franchise. He would’ve once smiled and taunted the helpless old man during his final moments, yet now, he feels a sense of remorse, knowing The Croat wasn’t always bad.

Dead City season 2 put him through a complex journey, as it proved Negan learned the wrong lessons from losing to Rick while he slowly returned to his dark tendencies. However, despite getting lost for a moment, the former villain avoided the point of no return, and his entire arc in “Trillium” proved that.

Initially, he showed no interest in helping Luis and Renata, yet Maggie ultimately convinced him to do the right thing. In years gone by, it would’ve been impossible to make Negan go out of his way to help relative strangers, yet recently, he has put his neck on the line for people he barely knows without too much pushback.

This transformation is one of the biggest reasons he cries about The Croat’s death. He has seen all the pain and destruction the villain has caused, yet it still hurt him to watch a former ally die. Throughout his journey, Negan has never been emotionless and has always cared about those close to him, but he’s never been this compassionate.

His time fighting Rick undoubtedly changed him, and after spending so much time with Maggie trying to become a better man, it seems as though Negan really has found redemption, hence why The Croat’s death impacts him so much.

Negan Is Crying Over The Croat Partly Due To Guilt

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan sitting on a chair and looking upset in The Walking Dead: Dead City

Although his growing compassion explains part of the reason Negan cried about The Croat’s death, the other part comes from guilt. We don’t know too much about Dead City‘s eccentric villain before he met Negan, but it seems like The Croat was an ordinary man prior to becoming the Saviors’ chief interrogator.

Years after he was kicked from the now-defunct group, The Croat continues to use the cruel tactics Negan taught him and still refers to him as a mentor. Had it not been for Negan’s influence, The Croat may never have turned into such a monster or killed so many people, adding to the emotions he felt during this death.

No matter how much good he tries to do now, the Saviors’ legacy continues to follow Negan through people like The Croat, as he made an army of psychotic murderers. The Walking Dead season 10 also highlighted this, as Brandon idolized his methods and encouraged this dark behavior, forcing Negan to kill the young man who was too far gone.

The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 will consist of eight episodes and premieres every Sunday on AMC/ AMC+.

To make matters worse, The Croat left the Saviors after Negan tried to kill him, since the leader deemed his comrade too dangerous, which is how he ended up meeting The Dama and causing even more damage. Knowing all of this could have been prevented by his own actions clearly still weighs on Negan’s mind, as evidenced by his tears.

While it’s comforting to see him continuing to reform as the series progresses, it’s also great that Dead City isn’t forgetting about Negan’s past and the trauma he has caused. Therefore, his reaction to losing The Croat feels like another significant moment in Negan’s road to redemption, with his genuine remorse proving that he cares about those who have suffered because of him.