Warning: spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 1.
Negan's partner and child are nowhere to be seen in The Walking Dead: Dead City, and while episode 1 leaves several subtle clues that point toward their fate, one question remains: "Annie, are you okay?" Despite his extensive history of vile villainy, The Walking Dead season 11 sought to further redeem Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan by teaming him up with Annie - a kindhearted survivor who knew about her lover's dark past, but adored him anyway. The Walking Dead ended with Negan and Annie still together and expecting their first child.
By the time The Walking Dead: Dead City begins, however, Annie and the child have disappeared, with Negan instead traveling alongside a silent newcomer to the cast called Ginny. Episode 1 does at least acknowledge Annie and her unnamed child, with Maggie asking Negan directly where the two absentees are. Characteristically, Negan avoids the question, casting a veil of mystery over the matter. Nevertheless, The Walking Dead: Dead City does drop several ing hints as to what happened with Annie and the kid.
Negan Is Separated From Annie & His Child In The Walking Dead: Dead City
It can be gleaned from The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 1 that Negan is, for one reason or another, permanently separated from Annie and his child. The Walking Dead season 11 ended with a one-year time skip that found Negan in high enough spirits to send Judith a gift - a sure signal that all was well with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The Walking Dead: Dead City takes place several years after that, judging by Hershel now being in his mid-late teens. That leaves a sizable gap during which Negan's fortunes might have taken a turn for the worse.
Evidently, this is not a new development either. Although Negan neglects to explain what happened to Annie and his child, he does mention to Maggie that he was already traveling alone when he met Ginny on a farm. It seems that whatever happened to Annie and Negan Jr. happened a good amount of time prior to The Walking Dead: Dead City. As for the specifics, three main options present themselves. Annie and her child might have tragically died. Alternatively, only the child died, but the trauma broke Annie and Negan's relationship apart. Thirdly, the duo may be alive, but the resurfacing of Negan's dark side could have pushed them away.
Annie's Disappearance Could Be Connected To Negan's Wanted Poster
The whereabouts of Negan's former lover and their young child will evidently be a running mystery across The Walking Dead: Dead City's narrative. Indeed, the solution could be tied to another unresolved Negan question - his wanted poster. When The Walking Dead: Dead City begins, Negan is being hunted by marshals of the New Babylon Federation, and stands accused of committing various violent atrocities. The exact circumstances and context of said atrocities remain under wraps, but when Negan discusses these charges with Maggie, he ominously states, "I do believe I've paid for what I've done."
The incident that brought Negan to the attention of New Babylon's law enforcement might have been retaliation for something that happened to Annie and his child, similar to the rampage Negan embarked upon following Lucille's death, as seen in the main Walking Dead TV show. It is equally possible that Negan's actions not only succeeded in attracting a marshal, they scared Annie enough to take her child away from Negan. Until the missing pieces of Negan's timeline between The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Dead City are provided, the truth remains murky.
The Walking Dead Can't Retcon Annie & Negan's Child
The Walking Dead: Dead City doesn't exactly continue seamlessly from The Walking Dead season 11's ending. Maggie claims Hilltop was relocated due to the Whisperers burning it down, but the original Hilltop was shown rebuilt in The Walking Dead's post-time skip final scenes. And while Maggie and Negan appeared to settle their beef in The Walking Dead season 11, they immediately return to being antagonistic in The Walking Dead: Dead City, reversing the pair's prior character development.
However the absences of Annie and her child are handled, The Walking Dead: Dead City's explanation must be more satisfying than the above. While The Walking Dead's spinoffs will inevitably find their own storytelling grooves, ignoring parts of the main show's ending that become inconvenient risks damaging the franchise's already-less-than-watertight continuity. For Negan to leave his wife and child, something significant must have transpired. If they died, this should heavily inform his future character arc. The answer to the Annie mystery cannot be a transparent excuse to remove two characters merely because they presented an obstacle to Negan's New York trip.
The Walking Dead: Dead City continues Sunday on AMC.