Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Fear the Walking Dead season 6, episode 9, "Things Left To Do."
Fear the Walking Dead season 6 came very close to creating its own version of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) through Virginia (Colby Minifie). Virginia, who has been the show’s main antagonist since the second half of season 5, met her end at the hands of June (Jenna Elfman) in Fear the Walking Dead season 6, episode 9. Her death came only one week after the season’s other big casualty, which was John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt) in the midseason premiere.
John’s shocking Fear the Walking Dead death was followed up by Virginia threatening the lives of Morgan’s people in order to force him to hand over Dakota (Zoe Colletti). However, her ruthless strategy didn’t go at all the way Virginia had planned. Strand (Colman Domingo) rebelling against her and the arrival of Sherry’s group made her flee for her life to Morgan’s new base. To ensure the safety of Grace (Karen David) and Daniel (Rubén Blades), Morgan (Lennie James) had no choice but to keep her alive. After a heated confrontation over Virginia’s fate, Morgan managed to convince everyone to let her leave with Dakota.
The resolution they reached for Virginia mirrored the one that Rick (Andrew Lincoln) came up with for Negan in The Walking Dead’s season 8 finale. Like Rick, Morgan defied the expectations of those around him when he refused to follow through with his promise to kill their enemy. But just when it looked like Virginia was going to get a chance to start a new life somewhere else, June got her alone and killed her for enabling the person who murdered John. By killing off Virginia, Fear the Walking Dead narrowly avoided her becoming another Negan.
There were already strong parallels between her and the Savior leader. She may not have murdered two central characters right off the bat like Negan did, but she did share a similar goal. She used her numbers and resources to put Morgan’s group under her thumb. She sought to control them, but eventually, it came to a point where they felt it was necessary to fight back. In The Walking Dead’s version of this story, the villain was initially imprisoned. Over time, he attempted to gain redemption and become a part of the community.
Virginia was kept from embarking on the same path. Considering that her storyline with Dakota gave her a bit more humanity than Negan had during the All-Out War, it’s possible that if a person like Negan can be redeemed, Virginia too could have changed for the better. But, the answer to that question can never be answered now. Though it would have been interesting to see what the future could have held for her, it may be that Fear the Walking Dead didn’t want to repeat Negan’s story. Instead, it’s Dakota — and not Virginia — who will have to find a way to push forward and live with the consequences of her actions.