Ok but.... I’ve gotta ask. Are people seriously upset with the way Aaron reacted to Negan in the last episode? Like, flipping out 'cause he didn’t want Negan wielding a crowbar around him? Really?
First off: yes, Negan should not have been out there if he wasn’t armed to defend himself. He was completely justified in picking up the crowbar to fight the walkers, and wanting to hold onto it. But Aaron was also completely justified in freaking out at the sight of it. Because, straight up, Aaron should not have been alone out there with Negan. He clearly did not want to be working with him, it was a situation he was obviously uncomfortable with, but he was pushed into it anyway. And... honestly I was shocked when I saw just the two of them out there together. When Gabriel said “you need the manpower” I’d assumed Negan would be joining a group of several people that Aaron was leading, wherein they could all feel comfortable and be there to back each other up if Negan tried something.
But asking Aaron to go out there, one on one, with a criminal, someone he was clearly traumatized by, who he (not wrongly) blamed for his boyfriend’s death, who he personally saw bash two people’s skulls to bloody pulp with a blunt object? That’s such an unrealistic ask, guys, and I was completely sympathetic to Aaron getting upset at the sight of Negan with that crowbar. You don’t order the victim of a crime to go spend one on one time with their attacker, even if the attacker is “having character growth” or “becoming a better person.”
Both things can be true at the same time: yes, Negan should have been well-armed if he was out there, and yes Aaron was completely justified in not wanting Negan near him with a weapon. Because it’s a complicated situation with a lot of history and trauma involved. Because Aaron should never have been put in that situation in the first place. And you can’t ask the characters Negan traumatized to forgive him just because we, as the viewers, like Negan or see him becoming better.