Warning: Spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 4
A reveal in The Walking Dead: Dead City reveals that one decision made the difference between victory and defeat for Negan during the All-Out War. For a full season, the surrounding communities waged war against Negan and the Saviors. Though not without heavy casualties, Rick and his allies ultimately proved triumphant, with the Saviors surrendering and Negan losing a one-on-one fight with Rick in the season 8 finale.
The battles fought between the Alexandrians and the Saviors happened several years back in The Walking Dead timeline, yet the outcome of the All-Out War remains one of the most important events to occur in the franchise’s history. It continues to be relevant even now, with Maggie and Negan discussing it directly in The Walking Dead: Dead City. When making the point that Croat’s defeat is possible, Maggie argued that rallying others to the fight is how they managed to win the All-Out War. Interestingly, episode 4 indicates that this result wouldn’t have occurred if Negan had simply refrained from making one personnel change.
Negan Would've Won The War Against Rick If He Still Had The Croat
Thanks to The Walking Dead: Dead City, it’s now known that the Saviors lost a key ally prior to the conflict with Rick Grimes in the main series. As it turns out, the spinoff’s main antagonist was not only a Savior but also Negan’s right-hand man at one point. A flashback revealed that Negan discovered that the Croat tortured children, which seems to be what led to Simon becoming his replacement, a role he filled during his time on The Walking Dead. Simon made costly mistakes that helped lead to their downfall. However, those errors likely wouldn’t have occurred if the Croat was around.
The Croat explained in The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 4 that he would have been loyal to Negan had he not been exiled. Saying that he should have been there for the fight with Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom, the Croat remarked on “the damage” Simon must have caused as Negan’s chief henchman. As unhinged as the character certainly appears in Dead City, the idea that the Saviors would have had more success with him around does have its merits. In fact, there’s a strong likelihood that the Alexandrians would’ve fallen short of beating Negan If the Croat hadn’t been driven out.
How The Croat Would Have Changed The Walking Dead Seasons 7 & 8
With the Croat still on Negan’s side, several scenarios in The Walking Dead seasons 7 and 8 would’ve had different endings. One in particular is the slaughter of the Scavengers. Looking to punish Jadis for providing assistance to Rick, Negan sent Simon to the junkyard to kill one of them. Simon, though, had other plans. Convinced that Negan wasn’t being harsh enough, Simon picked a fight with them and wound up massacring Jadis’ people. As a consequence of this, Jadis captured Negan in “The Key.” The Croat was right when he told Negan that Simon never “really listened” to him.
Unlike Simon, the Croat respected Negan’s way of doing things and his leadership in general. If he was in Simon’s place, the Croat would have been brutal in his methods, of course, but his loyalty to the Saviors’ cause suggests he would’ve followed Negan’s orders and only killed one Scavenger (just as Negan had intended.) In turn, there wouldn’t have been a coup in the latter half of the season. Though Negan stopped him, Simon’s rebellion was an unnecessary headache for Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character, considering that he had enough on his plate with Alexandria and the Hilltop. This weakened the Saviors and only made things harder for him.
Furthermore, the Croat’s propensity for torture speaks volumes about the extra hardships the protagonists would have endured. At different points in the timeline, Gabriel, Eugene, and Daryl were all in the custody of the Saviors. The Croat surely would have tried to break them for information, and may have proven successful with at least Eugene, who wasn’t exactly known for his pain tolerance or bravery at this time. The Saviors’ repeated visits to Alexandria could have involved torture as well. Rather than simply scare Rick’s people with a show of force, the Saviors could have employed the Croat’s modus operandi by removing body parts, potentially hurting their ability to fight back.
The Croat Probably Would've Killed Carl In The Walking Dead
What’s worse is that at least one Alexandrian proabably would have died if the Croat had Simon’s position in The Walking Dead season 7. Simon claimed in Dead City that hurting children is a moral line they don’t cross. Clearly, the Croat didn’t respect this rule. With that in mind, the Croat’s continued association with Negan would have been a death sentence for Carl when he snuck into the Sanctuary. His plan to kill Negan was thwarted by Dwight, but he wasn’t killed for it. Instead, Negan gave him a tour and even took a liking to him.
When it comes to such a massive transgression, Carl being a kid wouldn’t have made much of a difference to the Croat, who murders indiscriminately. Such an act would have either crushed Rick’s morale or provoked him into immediate retaliation. But, this would have resulted in defeat for the Alexandrians since they were far from ready for war. Rick lost Carl regardless, but having him die at the hands of the Saviors as early as season 7 could only have culminated in disaster for Alexandria.
Did Negan Lose Because He Was Too... Nice?
Based on the Croat’s comments and what occurred in The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 4’s flashback, it looks like the franchise is implying that not going far enough is the real reason Negan lost. The Walking Dead season 11 left a similar impression when Negan claimed that he should have murdered everyone in the lineup in the season 7 premiere, as opposed to just Glenn and Abraham. What’s so striking about this notion is that ruthlessness and cruelty are two things that Negan had a great reputation for in The Walking Dead.
Being nice or taking pity on others was not his style, but The Walking Dead: Dead City is sending the message that Negan could’ve been much worse - and that if he had, it would’ve worked. The reality, though, is that a lack of brutality wasn’t Negan’s problem; his evil actions made Alexandria’s rebellion inevitable. Negan constantly reminding Rick that he belonged to the Saviors and his poor treatment of the people he had essentially enslaved made a rebellion inevitable. With the Croat on hand, he would have won in the end, but it would have been a hollow victory since what he really wanted was for the Alexandrians to work for him.