TWD: Is Negan the key to the Rick and Maggie conflict?

Despite not making a physical appearance, an old foe loomed large in the season 9 premiere of The Walking Dead, and he may be the only answer to one of the show’s greatest conflicts moving forward.

Warning: Spoilers will follow for the season 9 premiere of The Walking Dead. 

The All-Out War may be over, but new conflicts are already arising, one of the most important of which is the tension between Rick Grimes and Maggie Rhee.

Rick has done his very best to make Carl’s dying vision of a better world a reality. He has largely succeeded, bringing Alexandria, the Saviors, Hilltop, the Kingdom and Oceanside into an alliance where the communities work together, supporting and providing for one another. They’ve built a decent way of life for themselves, working toward Carl’s dream that there was more to life than the endless cycle of violence.

It was one of Rick’s first steps toward this way of life that began to drive the wedge between himself and Maggie despite their many years of of closely fighting and living side by side. Rick spared Negan’s life in the season 8 finale. Killing him was what both Rick and Maggie wanted most for so long. Rick took a different road to begin fulfilling Carl’s vision while Maggie clung to the hatred she’ll forever hold against the man who brutally murdered her beloved Glenn.

This was only the beginning to the tension between Rick and Maggie. Despite the defeat of Negan and the Saviors, Rick didn’t follow through on his promise of following Maggie when the war was over. She remained in charge of the Hilltop, but Rick essentially became the figurehead that united all the communities. No matter her leadership, given her history with Rick and his ongoing status, in the eyes of certain members of the Hilltop, this diminishes Maggie to little more than Rick’s lackey.

More from Entertainment

• 10 greatest fictional football players of all time
• Stephen A. Smith learned quickly not to mess with Rihanna
• Everything to know about Taylor Swift’s Thursday Night Football appearance
• House of the Dragon live stream: How to watch
• From boxing to cinema, Javon Walton stars in Samaritan with Stallone

Beyond perception, by continuing to follow Rick, the Hilltop has had to make sacrifices and share much of its resources with the Saviors. They’ve changed leadership and their way of life, but in Maggie’s eyes they’re still the same people who followed Negan and did his cruel bidding. She and Rick have different leadership philosophies, which was shown pretty clearly in how she handled the Gregory situation in contrast with Rick’s more peaceful, cooperative approach.

To top it all off, despite her many connections to the people of Alexandria, Maggie refuses to step foot in her old home while Negan remains a captive there, isolating herself from the people and place that are dear to her.

Seeing as Negan was the source of many of the problems between Rick and Maggie, it stands to reason he also may be the only solution. If he is killed — especially if it happens under Maggie’s authority — she will prove she alone makes her decisions and doesn’t just answer to Rick. Instead of helping the Saviors, she’d eliminate their former leader, forever ending their hopes written on the walls of the Sanctuary about Negan returning to save them. Negan’s death would also mean the end of Maggie’s isolation from Alexandria. Saving Negan’s life was the beginning of the new world Rick built. Now his death could spell the end of what Rick created, leading to a world where Maggie reigns supreme.

If Negan remains a captive in Alexandria, it would seem that Rick would have more of the upper hand, an ongoing symbol of the mercy and second chances that have defined the new way of life among the communities.

The best-case scenario for Rick and Maggie would be to come to some kind of compromise about how to deal with Negan. Without compromise, Negan will continue to haunt them and the tension between them will only grow worse until it consumes all the communities.