The Walking Dead‘s Negan Is The Corniest Antagonist, Ever

For viewers who have been keeping up with the tortuous postapocalyptic saga of Rick and his band of survivors on The Walking Dead, the premiere of season 7 a few weeks ago may have ushered in one of the worst human antagonists the show has ever seen. The graphic deaths of Abraham and Glenn at the hands of Negan in the season opener completely crushed most fanatics. I’m still not over it. Negan has amassed a loyal band of followers through his acts of cruelty and terrorism. He’s also built an efficiently run compound to keep him and his servants fed, housed, and safe from the walkers and other hostile intruders. And for what it’s worth, I can’t deny his sense of style — the red scarf tucked into his leather jacket, and the slicked-back hair is a nice touch. Outside of that, I remain thoroughly unimpressed. When it comes to Negan as some kind of badass… I'm not buying it. He’s personified his baseball bat wrapped in wire and named it Lucille. The only baseball bat with a name we acknowledge is Beyoncé’s Hot Sauce. And his use of the words “cool” and “awesome” are eye-roll worthy at best. Negan has all the makings of a middle-aged bro who is still trying to live up to his high school mullet days when he was a rebellious bully, much like he is now. Currently, he seems to have completely broken Rick’s spirits and has Daryl locked in a cell eating dog-food sandwiches. He’s a big brother hazing a group of pledges during hell week with a murderous streak. Scary? Sure, but mainly annoying. Let’s just keep it real: Lucille is the real villain here.