The Walking Dead: 7 Ways Negan Psychologically Broke Rick
3. The Son
This part of the episode is the one that blew everyone away and brought Rick crumbling to his knees. Apparently, fetching the axe wasn't enough to prove to Negan that Rick understood the new order of things, so he gives Rick a new order.
He gives Rick the axe, ties down his son, Carl, and orders him to chop off his hand. When Rick refuses, Negan declares that, if he doesn't do it, everyone from his group will be killed and then Carl will be shot as well.
Negan claims he wants the way Rick looks at him to change and this is the way he chooses to change it. Rick cries, shakes, and screams and Carl lies there on the ground awaiting his fate.
The axe is raised into the air and.... Negan stops Rick and let's Carl go...
But, once again, there's been a whole lot of psychological damage done to Rick even despite the swerve The thing Rick loves the most, his son, was in the hands of this madman and what happened to him and which limbs he could keep, was solely up to him.