Negan and Maggie's spinoff, the final season of The Walking Dead which might suggest some important plot points.
Negan's redemption after the war has been one of the strongest aspects of The Walking Dead, but has come under the microscope since Maggie's return to the community. But while Maggie and Negan's relationship has developed throughout season 11 to almost friendship levels, Maggie and Glenn's son, Hershel, has had a harder time coming to with their situation. In The Walking Dead season 11, episode 14, "The Rotten Core," Hershel forces a confession from the former Savior, threatening to kill Negan there and then, but a calm Negan manages to talk him down, later stating, "in a few years when you've grown up a bit, come find me, and I promise you, we will settle it." This is a powerful line at the end of an intense episode, but it might spell danger for Negan in the future.
This promise from Negan to Hershel could point to a battle between the two in the Isle of the Dead spinoff. If Hershel manages to enact his vengeance and kill Negan once and for all, he might finally bring some justice for his late father, who gruesomely lost his life in The Walking Dead's season 7 premiere, "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be." Perhaps if one of those famous TWD time-jumps occurs during Isle of the Dead, viewers might see an aged-up Hershel take on the former villain, just as Negan has promised.
Could Isle Of The Dead Redeem Negan With Hershel?
There is an alternate route this story could take, however, in which Hershel follows in his mother's footsteps and changes his mind about Negan. It's been shown in The Walking Dead season 11 that Maggie is starting to trust Negan so much that she's willing to leave her son in his care, and with theories circulating about Negan and Maggie teaming up in Isle of the Dead to find a kidnaped Hershel, it's possible that Negan's hand in rescuing the boy could lead to him building even more trust. Negan's redemption arc is far from over, he still has a lot of work to do to gain the trust and respect of the community, Maggie and Hershel most of all, but the final episodes of season 10 showed Negan wanting to contribute to rebuilding Alexandria, and season 11 has seen him really digging his heels in to becoming a better person.
Isle of the Dead will continue to expand on Negan's redemption as well as further developing his growing relationship with Maggie. While not much has been revealed about the story for the The Walking Dead spinoff, there are sure to be plenty moments of tension between the unlikely pairing and an interesting new world to explore in the zombie-infested streets of New York. Isle of the Dead is set to premiere in 2023, so viewers don't have long to wait for the adventure to unfold.