In the flashback, Maggie wears a sleeveless shirt similar to her primary outfit during the first portions of Season 5 of The Walking Dead.
Negan mentions a skirmish the Saviors had with the Kingdom before Maggie and Rick’s group came to Virginia.
Negan says he learned the Croat was a "rabid dog", recalling his Animal Motifs of good and bad dogs he frequently alluded to in Season 9.
Negan guts the Croat soldier and rains his entrails on his comrades similar to how he sadistically executed Spencer Monroe in Season 7’s "Hearts Still Beating."
Mr. Aizawa introduces Ginny as coming from Oceanside, one of the communities from Virginia Hilltop was allied with.
Drunk on the Dark Side: Negan puts on a show of enjoying gutting the Croat soldier he has at his mercy and taunting his comrades with the execution… and he looks incredibly guilty when he sees Maggie was there to witness it.
Even Evil Has Standards: Negan says even well before meeting Rick’s group, he recognized the Croat was a complete monster that he personally tried to kill for his heinous actions.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Negan used the Croat as a reliable torturer and executioner, but to his dismay, the Croat was more than happy to disobey direct orders and do horrendous things he won’t even repeat to a young girl.
Fashion-Victim Villain: invoked Negan lambastes a Croat soldier for having both a neck beard and a rat tail.
He's Back!: Questionably villainous example; Negan executes a Croat soldier showing much of the old sadism and childish glee he used to show when he would do the same back as leader of the Saviors. Subverted in the look he gives to Maggie immediately after; Negan is genuinely disgusted by his actions, but he knows that the spectacle of fearsome acts are always a powerful substitute when force is in short supply.
I Did What I Had to Do: Negan is adamant that he was only a "monster" when he had to put on a show.
I Hate Past Me: Even though he insists the Croat went far beyond anything he was willing to do even as Savior leader, Negan is clearly ashamed he had such a monster as one of his henchmen for as long as he did.
It's Personal: Negan affirms to Maggie that the Croat has a personal vendetta with him due to his failed attempt to execute him in the past.
Mythology Gag: In the flashback, Hershel says he’s going to someone named Xander’s. The former leader of Hilltop, Gregory, was played by Xander Berkeley.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The "pigeon lady" brought Maggie and Negan in, only to be killed by one of the Croat’s men.
Nothing Is Scarier: Negan can’t even bring himself to state just what the Croat did to the scout, and can only lament that she was just a young girl.
Would Hurt a Child: The Croat disobeyed a direct order from Negan to continue his evil work on a young girl from the Kingdom.
