Newt's Letter
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- "Great, we're all bloody inspired."
- — Newt, The Maze Runner
Newt was the Second-in-Command of the Gladers. He had long blond hair and a heavy limp from attempting suicide when he was a Runner. He was taller than Alby, despite the one-year age difference. Newt was named after Isaac Newton. He was described as having an "odd accent," and Dashner recounted that he thought of him as being either English or Scottish.
He was portrayed by Thomas Brodie-Sangster.
Biography
The Fever Code
In the prologue of The Fever Code, a young Newt is living with his younger sister Lizzy and their parents in a basement. Suddenly, WICKED agents force their way in and demand to take Lizzy away for testing, as they know she is Immune. Newt's father grabs a gun and fires two shots, both miss. One agent shoots him and his wife dead. They decide to also take Newt as a non-Immune control subject, and both he and his sister are taken away.
Newt is separated from his sister and placed with other Group A members. He is aware of the fact that he is not Immune. Sometime later, he and the other kids are given a brain implant that will allow WICKED to monitor their brain activity. At some point, he befriends Minho and Alby, and they start sneaking out of their rooms at night to goof off together. They even find a way outside, but as there is no reasonable hope of surviving in the wild, they stay put. Newt also manages to sneak peeks of Lizzy now and then, but he is not allowed to see her.
Alongside his friends, Newt meets Thomas and Teresa, but is often separated from them for years at a time. With Thomas's help, Newt manages to visit Lizzy a short time before the beginning of the Maze Trials. Lizzy has to comfort Newt, but Newt feels awful about this. He feels as if it's his job to comfort his little sister. When the Mazes are finally up and running, Newt, alongside Minho and Alby, find out that Thomas and Teresa are not entering the Maze with them, contrary to what they thought. They feel betrayed.
Without any prior warning on WICKED's part, Newt and the other subjects' minds are wiped and they are placed in the Maze. Newt loses all memory of his little sister. A boy named Nick takes charge of the Gladers at some point during the following months, though Newt and Alby seem to have a frictional relationship with him and argue a lot. A little over a year after the beginning of the Trials, Newt is in despair over all the deaths he could not prevent and the fact that there is seemingly no way out of the Maze, and he attempts suicide by jumping off a Maze wall. He survives, but his leg is injured, giving him a limp for the rest of his life.
The Maze Runner
In The Maze Runner, Newt was first introduced as being Second-in-Command to Alby. He and Thomas formed a friendship. After Alby went through the Changing, Newt became the unofficial leader of the Glade, doing his best to keep order. He called a Gathering to decide what to do with Thomas, who has entered the Maze ignoring Rule Number 1. Newt has a quite unique way to lead through the Gathering, clearly disliking the formal part of it. After hearing every Keeper about the matter and a harsh confrontation between Minho and Gally, Newt decides that Thomas will be sentenced to one day in the Slammer, but at the same time appoints him as a Runner. He also speaks up for Thomas' plan to escape the Maze through the Griever Hole, managing to convince the other Keepers. About forty Gladers finally leave the Glade for good, fight a great number of Grievers to give Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck time to punch in the code to shut down the Grievers, and escape. Newt, alongside Minho and about twenty others, make it alive, finding themselves in a WICKED control center.
Dr. Ava Paige appears with Gally, who seems to be not himself. After Paige explains about the Flare, Gally throws a knife at Thomas, but Chuck throws himself in the way, taking the knife instead in an act of self-sacrifice. After his death, Thomas loses control of his ferocity and savagery, subjecting Gally to a far more ferocious and savage beatdown until Newt, alongside the other Gladers, are forced to restrain the former. Suddenly, the building is stormed by unknown people, who lead the Gladers into a bus. They claim that they rescued them and bring them to a safe place.
The Scorch Trials
Alongside the other Gladers, Newt was awoken in the dormitory by sounds of groaning and banging. An insane group of humans infected by the Flare, known as Cranks, attacked in vain at the barred windows of the dormitory.
While Thomas wandered the building in search of Teresa, Newt waited with the other Gladers in the dorm they were sleeping in. When Thomas discovered a new boy in the dormitory Teresa had stayed in, Newt decided to interrogate the boy. During the interrogation, the boy introduced himself as Aris, and revealed that he was part of a group of female Gladers called Group B, much to the shock of Newt and his fellow Gladers.
At 5:00 the following day, the Gladers awoke and waited for the Flat Trans. The Flat Trans arrived an hour later, and Minho told Thomas to enter the Flat Trans last to make sure Newt and the other Gladers followed. Thomas complied, and the Gladers entered the Flat Trans and were taken underground. Later, Newt, alongside the other Gladers, emerged to the surface and found themselves in the wasteland called the Scorch, where Thomas noticed an abandoned city a far distance away. Alongside the other Gladers, Newt trekked towards the abandoned city in hopes of finding food and water there.
After hearing a scream from the shack, Newt, alongside Minho, instructed Thomas to investigate. When he returned, he reported seeing Teresa. Alongside Minho, Newt immediately questioned why Thomas did not return with her, but Thomas told them she told him to part from her.
Once inside the shelter they used to hide from the storm, Newt discussed with Thomas and the other Gladers their next course of action. Their conversation was interrupted by the Hispanic leader of the Cranks named Jorge, who questioned the Gladers of their purpose in the Scorch.
After lunch with Jorge, Newt, alongside the Gladers, heard a crash coming from the lower floor of the tower, and they and the Cranks rushed to evacuate. Newt, alongside Jorge and the other Gladers, escaped the tower, but were separated from Thomas and Brenda during the evacuation. Afterwards, Jorge led Newt and the Gladers through the abandoned city and eventually constructed a camp near the outskirts. Newt and the other Gladers spread out to look for Thomas and Brenda after making the tent. During the search, Frypan reported seeing Thomas and Brenda being taken prisoner by a small group of Cranks in an alley. The reported sighting enraged Newt and the others, and Minho immediately began planning out an ambush. Alongside the others, Newt participated in the ambush and fought the Cranks while Minho freed Thomas and Brenda. Eventually, Newt, alongside the other Gladers, succeeded in defeating the Cranks and left.
Alongside the others, Newt watched as a berg brought Thomas aboard to remove the bullet wound he received from the Crank, Blondie. Thomas was then dropped back off to his group and they continued to the safe haven.
When Group B took Thomas hostage, they warned Newt and the other Gladers that if they followed the girls to their camp in the mountains to rescue Thomas, they would open fire on them with bows and arrows.
After finally reaching the safe haven in a snowy valley, Newt, alongside the other Gladers, made an alliance with Group B to confront WICKED. A moment later, the Gladers were reunited with Thomas, Teresa, and Aris, now free of WICKED's corruption. Afterwards, several canisters emerged from the ground and strange monsters emerged from them and attacked the Gladers and Group B. Eventually, Newt, with help from the other Gladers and Group B, destroyed the monsters. Shortly afterwards, a Berg arrived, and Newt, alongside the rest of the Gladers, Group B, Brenda, and Jorge, climbed aboard and escaped. Onboard the Berg, Newt and the other Gladers celebrated their success.
The Death Cure
The Rat Man announced the list of immune subjects and those who had the Flare. Newt was not immune, which was a shock to Thomas, but Newt took the news calmly, even forcing a grin. He was quieter than normal throughout the book, because of how sad he actually felt inside. He got more edgy and irritable by the hour, and Newt and Minho once fought because of Newt's short temper, brought on by the Flare. He was aware that he was slowly losing his sanity, but he tried his best to keep it all together. Newt wrote a small note for Thomas to read "when the time is right".
Alongside Thomas, Minho, Brenda, and Jorge, Newt managed to take a berg to Denver, the place where the Immunes were kept safely. Cranks were not allowed to even walk in the city. When they arrived there, Newt had to stay in the berg while Thomas, Minho, Brenda, and Jorge went into the city to find out about things.
While they were in the city, Newt was alone in the berg. He decided he didn't want to watch his friends watch him suffer, so he wrote a note to them and left the berg. The note said: "They got inside somehow. They're taking me to live with the other Cranks. It's for the best. Thanks for being my friends. Goodbye."
They, especially Thomas and Minho, didn't want to leave Newt like that. He needed to talk to Newt, to take him back with the other Gladers to find a cure. So they went to find the Crank Palace. When they found it and got inside, they found Newt, but he was angry. In a clear moment, he could even appreciate that they came for him, but he didn't want them to see him like this. He begged them to go and leave him to his fate with the other Cranks. As his friends were still reluctant to go without him, he aimed a Launcher at them. With full force, he told them to leave immediately.
When Thomas was out driving with the Right Arm, they met a group of Cranks that came at them. Thomas found a familiar face in one of the Cranks, which was Newt's. He got out of the van and ran straight to Newt. Newt was suddenly begging for him to shoot him in the head, which was what Newt wanted based on the note that he gave Thomas, reading "Kill me. If you've ever been my friend, kill me." Thomas didn't want to, but Newt kept asking him helplessly. He said he didn't want to end up losing his sanity and eat people. He told Thomas how he got his limp, jumping off a Maze wall. He tells Thomas that it was all his fault that Newt tried to kill himself and asks him to kill him to make up for all the pain he caused Newt.
Newt's last words were "Please, Tommy. please." With a heavy heart, Thomas knew it was Newt's last wish, so he pulled the trigger and shot Newt in the head, which eventually lead to Newt's death. Thomas was shown to be deeply affected by his death, as he was described as having a numbing sadness in his body that is equivalent to the sadness he felt when Chuck was killed.
Crank Palace
It starts with Newt watching his friends entering Denver while he has depressing thoughts about the Flare and what it is doing to him. He scribbles down a note that they have "taken him" to live with the other Cranks. He escapes the Berg and finds a bunch of other Cranks roaming around, some past Gone and some in the early stages of the Flare. Some trucks arrive and start stunning people and taking them away.
Newt does not move, prompting a young woman nearby to ask him about it. Her name is Keisha and she has a newborn with her named Dante. Keisha talks to Newt for a bit before they start running away from the city. However, the officials catch up to them and take them to the Crank Palace anyway. There, Newt finds that he is honored by many of the Cranks for what he went through in the Maze and The Scorch. He and Keisha bump into a couple, Terry and Maria. They offer them food, which turns out to be chicken and beef, and they find that Maria is farther along the Flare than Terry, causing her to have a mental breakdown of grief for a moment. She throws herself into their fire and Newt is stunned.
Later, Newt finds that Keisha has a cell phone and that she has found out that her daughter and brother are still alive. She was planning to bribe her way out and leave Dante with Newt while she brings her daughter and brother back here to live with them. However, Newt disagrees with this plan and talks her into a new plan. He tells Jonesy and his gang, who practically worship him for what he went through, their plan, which is to have Keisha live out there with her daughter and brother. They agree and Newt finally has a purpose.
Later, Thomas, Minho, Brenda, and Jorge arrive at the Crank Palace to see Newt. He argues with them for a bit before threatening them with a Launcher for them to go because he can't risk his plan. He feels bad about it but will go through with his plan. Soon, it is revealed that all of the guards guarding the Crank Palace have quit and everyone is going out. The gang takes a few hours to trek to Denver and Keisha's grandmother's house. On the way, she receives messages telling them to hurry. When they arrive, WICKED is there and seizes the whole family and Newt. They take them onto a truck and start driving away. However, there are Cranks in the street blocking them and Newt manages to take control of the wheel. After driving for a while, Newt tells Keisha and her family to get out and get as far away as possible from him because WICKED will be looking for him and he can't risk them finding them. Keisha grudgingly knows he's right and they leave.
The truck soon dies after traveling, and yet Newt is feeling happy. He knows that he is going insane and that he shouldn't be happy, exactly, but he feels it. He pulls out his journal and starts writing about his thoughts and feelings.
In the epilogue, Newt describes the scene right after he is shot. He feels the pain and is drifting away when he hears an angel's voice. It tells him that they tried to save him, but they couldn't, and that Sonya is his sister. It tells him that they will do all their might to save Sonya and will make sure that his journal gets back to Thomas. Newt then dies feeling contented that Thomas will understand.Film
The Maze Runner
Newt is among the Gladers surrounding the Box when Thomas arrives in Maze. He is laughing at him until Thomas starts running towards the Maze, almost convincing Newt that he has what it takes to be a Runner, until Thomas trips and falls.
Newt is later properly introduced to Thomas, where he is mentioned to be in charge when Alby wasn't around. When Gally stops Thomas from walking into the Maze, Newt joins Gally and the other Gladers in stopping Thomas from walking into the Maze. At the bonfire, Newt talks and explains a lot about the Maze, the shifting walls, Grievers, and Runners to Thomas. Thomas wrestles with Gally before Gally sends him down to the ground, causing him to remember his name. The next morning, while Thomas was working in the garden, Newt answers Thomas' questions about the escape routes and sends him to get fertilizer.
After Alby got stung by a Griever, Newt is officially in charge. He has to call a Gathering in order to decide what to do with Thomas, who broke Rule Number 1 and ran into the Maze without being a Runner, but who also survived a night in the Maze what had never been done before, killed a Griever (likewise), and saved Alby's life. After hearing the opinions of the Keepers, he sentences Thomas to one night in the Pit and appoints him as a Runner.
In the night of the Griever attack, Thomas uses a Griever stinger to stab himself in the thigh in order to remember. He wakes up in the Pit, observed by Newt, Teresa, and Chuck. He confesses that he really has been a member of WCKD and the one who set up the Maze, alongside Teresa. He has done all this to his new friends. Newt considers this and finally tells him that nothing of the past matters anymore. ("What matters is who we are now, and what we do right now.")
Meanwhile, Gally has taken command over the Gladers. But when he attempts to offer Thomas and Teresa to the Grievers in order to restore peace to the Glade, Thomas breaks free and insists on leaving the Glade and escaping the Maze. Most of the other Gladers join him, Newt, Teresa, Minho, Frypan, Chuck, Winston, Jeff, Jack, and many more, while Gally chooses to stay with his own group of Gladers in the Glade.
They make it to the Griever Hole, and while Newt and the others fight off the Grievers (many losses), with Jeff letting himself be killed in an act of self-sacrifice to save Minho from them, Teresa and Chuck enter the code and open the door.
The surviving Gladers find themselves in a corridor. They explore the building and find a room full of presumably dead scientists, a lot of screens showing them and their fellow Gladers and a video message by Dr. Ava Paige who tells them about the Flare before shooting herself. They are still stunned by these pieces of information and get ready to leave when Gally, having been stung by a Griever while pursuing Newt and his group of Gladers, which restored all his memories, appears with a gun, insisting that they will never be free. He fires a bullet at Thomas, but Chuck takes the bullet instead in an act of self-sacrifice, giving Minho a chance to throw a spear at Gally, causing it to impale him in the chest, but the spear only impaled Gally's left lung. However, it still shattered Gally's composure, causing Gally to drop to his knees, drop the gun, and collapse on his right side on the floor. All the remaining Gladers break down crying over Chuck, who dies in Thomas' arms. Suddenly, uniformed people enter the place, pulling them out and into a waiting helicopter. They tell them that they are safe now.
The Scorch Trials
The Gladers are brought to a big WCKD building, welcomed by Janson, who lets them take a shower and gives them food and real beds. Like most of the other Gladers, Newt is rather pleased by this new comfort in their life and questions Thomas, who, restless and suspicious, investigates with Aris, the only boy from Group B. Even so, Newt and the other Gladers follow Thomas when Thomas and Aris discover that WCKD harvests the immune children, even before he is able to explain their immediate escape. They rescue Teresa and fight their way out of the building. Still, Newt is upset with Thomas for making them escape from WCKD without even having a plan where to go. Under his pressure, Thomas remembers having heard someone talking about the Right Arm, some rebels living in the mountains. Newt is not really satisfied by this answer, which is shown by his sarcastic comment, but follows Thomas anyway. ("People in the mountains. Mountain people. That’s your plan?")
After escaping, they find shelter in an abandoned mall where they split up to find supplies to go through the Scorch. Here, they have their first real contact with Cranks, who hunt them; but they manage to escape again. One or two Gladers get killed (Jack), but no one seems to be very concerned about them. Winston got hurt by a Crank and is helped on and finally transported through the desert by the others. He gets worse quickly, finally coughing up black blood, telling the others that he won't make it. He asks them for help; he does not want to become one of the crazy Cranks. Newt understands and puts a gun in his hands. They all take their leave from Winston and go on. After a while, they hear a gunshot. Winston has killed himself.
A thunderstorm surprises them one night, and they can barely make it to the next city. None of the Gladers are killed in this storm, but Minho gets struck by a lightning. They find themselves in a warehouse, surrounded by chained Cranks. Brenda appears and brings them to Jorge, who runs this camp (of not-yet-infected Cranks). When WCKD forces surround and take over the place, Jorge escapes with the Gladers via zipline. Newt makes it with Jorge and the other Gladers, but it's too late for Thomas and Brenda. They have to find another way out.
They are reunited inside the house of Marcus, who had forced Thomas and Brenda to join his party and had them drugged in order to sell them to WCKD, Jorge forces Marcus to tell them where to find the Right Arm and to give them his car, "Bertha".
In the mountains, they find their road blocked. Unseen people shoot at them. It's an ambush. Two heavily armed girls with their faces hidden with scarfs threaten them, but then they recognize Aris and immediately drop weapons and veils. They are Sonya and Harriet, the two leading girls from Group B, who now belong to the Right Arm. They bring the group to their camp and introduce them to Vince, the leader of the Right Arm.
Brenda suddenly collapses. Vince discovers that she had been bitten in the leg by a Crank. He immediately aims a gun at her in order to put her out of her misery, but Thomas and Jorge intervene. Mary Cooper, a doctor, is able to help Brenda. Newt, Thomas, Minho, and Frypan share a moment of peace, but Teresa gives their position away to WCKD. In a disastrous battle, WCKD destroys the camp. They take Minho, Aris, and Sonya with them, while Janson kills Mary. In the very last, hopeless scene, Vince says that he will make a new start somewhere else and build the Right Arm up again. Newt and Frypan are without a plan and without much hope. However, when Thomas announces that he will find and rescue Minho, Aris, and Sonya and fight and possibly destroy WCKD, all of the others look up to him, accepting his leadership.
The Death Cure
Newt, alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, Jorge, Vince, Harriet, and the Right Arm, rescue and bring Aris, Sonya, and the Immune children to their new hideout.
At night, when Thomas leaves the hideout to go to the Last City to rescue Minho, Newt, alongside Frypan, join him.
The next day, Newt, alongside Thomas and Frypan, drive into the sewers, where they are attacked by Cranks. Brenda and Jorge arrive to rescue them.
Newt, alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, arrive in the Last City. While walking to the walls of the Last City alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, Newt notices a crew wearing gas masks following them and alerts Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge to the crew's presence. WCKD aims turrets at the crowd, forcing Newt to run alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge to avoid being attacked by the turrets.
Newt, alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, run into a building. Newt encounters the crew, who forces him into a van alongside Frypan and Jorge and Thomas and Brenda into another van. The crew drives Newt, Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge to a hideout.
At the hideout, one of the crew members takes off his mask and reveals his true Identity as Gally, who says to Thomas "Hey, Greenie". However, instead of accepting Gally's greeting, Thomas, still consumed by ferocity and savagery over Gally killing Chuck during the escape from the Maze, and despite Gally's genuine pleas out of fear and terror for Thomas to not throw a punch at him, subjects Gally to a punch in the face as revenge for the punch in the face that he was subjected to by Gally after the Grievers' attack on the Glade, with the punch sending Gally to the ground, shattering Gally's composure. However, Thomas stops himself from throwing another punch once Gally is overpowered and incapacitated. Despite this, Thomas finally loses control of his ferocity and savagery, gets on top of Gally, and subjects him to a far more ferocious and savage beatdown, finally damaging Gally and also damaging Thomas, but Thomas ferociously and savagely refuses to care about himself and Gally being damaged, just caring about subjecting Gally to karma, further shattering Gally's composure and reverting him to just pleading and begging out of fear and terror for Thomas to stop, which fail to get through to Thomas. After Thomas finishes beating Gally, Newt rushes over to stop Thomas from beating up Gally. Thomas reminds Newt of when Gally killed Chuck. Newt replies that he remembers that Gally killed Chuck because he was stung by a Griever and half out of his mind. As a result of this, Thomas finally complies and gets off Gally, allowing Gally to stand up, but Gally's composure is still shattered. Newt asks Gally how he is still alive, as he, Thomas, and Frypan watched him die. Gally replies that he, Thomas, and Frypan left him to die, then explains that they, Brenda, and Jorge would have been killed by the turrets if Gally and his crew hadn't rescued them. Newt explains to Gally that Minho is being held in the WCKD Tower and that he, Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge are looking for a way in. Gally offers to help them get into the WCKD Tower. Thomas, at first, insists that that he will not follow Gally, but Gally replies that he can get him, Newt, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge through the walls. As a result of this, Thomas finally gives in.
While following Gally to Lawrence's hideout alongside Thomas, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, Newt is told by Gally that after he, Thomas, Frypan, and the other Gladers abandoned him in the WCKD lab to die, he was found still lying on the floor with the spear still in his left lung by Lawrence's crew, who, after discovering that he is immune to the Flare, pulled the spear out of his left lung and took him to the Last City to meet Lawrence, who healed Gally of the spear wound, cured him of the Griever sting, and convinced him to join his crew. Newt is told by Gally that Lawrence's crew is working to destroy WCKD. Newt is warned by Gally not to stare at Lawrence.
Newt, alongside Thomas, Gally, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, arrive in Lawrence's hideout. Thomas tells Lawrence that he, Newt, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge need to get into the WCKD Tower, as Gally said that he can get them through the walls of the Last City. Lawrence replies that the way into the WCKD Tower is impossible. Gally replies that the way into the WCKD Tower won't work without Thomas. When Lawrence asks Thomas why he should trust him, Thomas replies that WCKD has something they both want. Lawrence tells Thomas that Newt can go with him and Gally can go into the Last City while Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge stay behind with him. Thomas agrees and shakes Lawrence's hand. As Jorge advises Thomas to be careful going with Newt and Gally into the Last City and Frypan advises Gally to take care of Newt and Thomas, Newt sits down to adjust his pant leg into his shoe, but notices his right hand twitching, making him realize that he has been infected by the Flare.
Newt, alongside Thomas and Gally, walk through the tunnels where Gally uses a generator in the tunnels to turn on the light bulbs so he can lead Newt and Thomas through the tunnels.
At night, Newt goes on a tour of the Last City alongside Thomas and Gally. They hear an announcer telling everyone in the Last City to return home. With that, Newt, alongside Thomas and Gally, decide to return to Lawrence's hideout. On the way back to Lawrence's hideout, Newt, alongside Thomas and Gally, hide from the WCKD soldiers.
After Newt, alongside Thomas and Gally, return to Lawrence's hideout, Gally uses a telescope to look at the WCKD Tower and tells Newt and Thomas about its security system. When Thomas asks Gally about the way in that he had mentioned before, Gally urges Thomas to look through the telescope. Thomas complies and sees Teresa working in a lab. Gally reveals to Thomas his plan to use Teresa to get into the WCKD Tower.
The next day, in Lawrence's hideout, Newt, alongside Thomas, Gally, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, go over plans to use Teresa to get into the WCKD Tower. Thomas is reluctant to use Teresa as their way into the WCKD Tower. Newt becomes consumed by ferocity and savagery over Thomas' reluctance and screams at him, accusing Thomas of still having feelings for Teresa. Remorseful over lashing out at Thomas, Newt apologizes before leaving.
Upon being approached by Thomas on a rooftop, Newt shows him his infection, as shown by the black veins on his right arm. Newt explains that the reason WCKD put him in the Maze was because they wanted to tell the difference between immunes like Thomas and people like himself. Thomas tells Newt that he can cure him. Newt replies that curing Newt will happen once they rescue Minho, to which Thomas agrees. Before they plan the mission, Newt secretly writes a letter, intending to give it to Thomas should he succumb to the Flare.
The next night, while Thomas and Gally go into the Last City to capture Teresa, Newt, alongside Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge, go to an abandoned church. Thomas and Gally take Teresa to the church where Newt, Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge are. Teresa tells Newt, Thomas, Gally, and Frypan that Minho is in Sub-Level 3 with the Immune children.
After Gally and Frypan get their trackers removed by Teresa, Newt approaches them and gives them WCKD soldier overall uniforms and face-masking helmets.
Disguised with WCKD soldier overall uniforms and face-masking helmets alongside Thomas and Gally, Newt goes with them and Teresa to the WCKD Tower, while Frypan climbs up a crane, Brenda goes to a parking lot to steal a bus, and Jorge returns to the Right Arm's hideout.
While Gally enters the WCKD Tower through the parking garage, Newt, alongside Thomas and Teresa, enter the WCKD Tower through the main entrance.
Newt, alongside Thomas, Teresa, and Gally, arrive in a stairwell. While Thomas talks to Frypan and Brenda on a walkie-talkie and Gally plugs a jamming device into the electrical box, Newt starts coughing due to his infection while leaning over the stairwell railing as Teresa, who is sitting on a step, looks on.
Newt, alongside Thomas, Teresa, and Gally, arrive in Sub-Level 3 where Newt, alongside Thomas and Gally, shoot the WCKD guards using Launchers. While Gally drills into the door of the vault, Newt works with Thomas to let the Immune children out of their cells.
After learning that Minho has been moved up to the medical wing, Newt, alongside Thomas and Teresa, goes to find him, while Gally takes the children and the vials of serum that he had taken out of the vault to Brenda.
Newt, alongside Thomas and Teresa, take the elevator to find Minho. Janson joins them in the elevator and talks to Teresa, but then realizes that Newt, alongside Thomas, are in the elevator, but Newt manages to escape alongside Thomas and Teresa. When Thomas asks when the Flare will stop, Teresa replies that it stops when WCKD finds a cure. Thomas angrily retorts that there is no cure. Janson holds them at gunpoint, but Teresa manages to let Newt go to find Minho alongside Thomas while she goes to do a blood test on Thomas' blood.
After reuniting with Minho, Newt runs with him and Thomas to escape from Janson and the WCKD soldiers. Newt manages to lock himself in a room alongside Thomas and Minho. Thomas and Minho manage to shatter the window and they, alongside Newt, jump out of the window and into the pool. When they climb out of the pool, four WCKD soldiers appear, ordering them to surrender, but one of them shoots the other three, then takes off his helmet and reveals his true identity as Gally. Minho is shocked to see that Gally is alive, while Newt and Thomas already knew, and Gally tells Newt, Thomas, and Minho that they are nuts. Newt reassures Minho that he, Thomas, and Gally will explain how Gally is alive later.
While hiding from the WCKD soldiers alongside Thomas, Minho, and Gally, Newt is asked by Minho how he is feeling. Newt replies that he feels terrible. While Minho and Gally talk to each other, Newt is carried off into the Last City by Thomas.
While heading with Thomas, Minho, and Gally to meet up with Frypan, Brenda, and the Immune children outside the walls, Newt sees the walls exploding as a result of Lawrence sacrificing himself to destroy them and allow the Crank army to storm the Last City and battle the WCKD soldiers, but chooses to continue on alongside Thomas, Minho, and Gally instead of worrying about that.
While hiding behind garden beds alongside Thomas, Minho, and Gally, Newt sees the battle between the WCKD soldiers and the Crank army. Unwilling to watch the battle, Newt is forced to escape alongside Thomas, Minho, and Gally.
Newt is unable to get to the berg due to his infection, prompting Minho and Gally to run to the berg to get the serum from Brenda. Newt gives Thomas his pendant before passing out. While carrying Newt into a train station, Thomas hears Teresa telling him that his blood can cure Newt like it did Brenda. Newt becomes a Crank and attacks Thomas. Thomas fights Newt and stabs him in the chest with a knife. Minho, Gally, Frypan, and Brenda arrive and see Newt's dead body. While Thomas walks off to the WCKD Tower, Minho and Frypan kneel at Newt's dead body, with Gally and Brenda watching on.
Sometime later at the Safe Haven, while Newt's name was engraved on the Memorial Rock by Minho, Thomas discovers that the pendant Newt gave him contains a note. Thomas reads the note, in which Newt tells him to look after himself and everyone, before thanking Thomas for being his friend.Physical Appearance & Personality
Newt was generally kinder than many other Gladers, though he could still be rough when he had to keep order. He always tried to look out for his friends and seemed the most upset by the deaths during The Scorch Trials. Newt had a strong accent (either English or Scottish, according to Dashner) and frequently used British curses, most notably "bloody".
Newt was described as being rather tall and muscular with blond hair that came down over his shoulders and a square jaw. He had a limp from his attempted suicide, during which he climbed one of the walls in the Maze and leaped off it. In the books, Newt is often "the older boy", hinting that he's at least older than Thomas.
Newt and Thomas in The Death Cure
In the film adaptations, Newt is portrayed by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, with short hair and a distinctive English accent.
Powers & Abilities
Powers
Crank Physiology: After being infected by the deadly Flare virus, Newt's body and mind started to change, giving him some traits of a Crank:
- Feral Mind: When Newt's veins turned black, the Flare virus affected his brain, making him extremely aggressive and wild towards anyone nearby. He even tried to bite them.
- Pain Resistance: Another trait of being a Crank allowed Newt to ignore pain. When Thomas pushed him down and hit him hard multiple times, Newt didn’t slow down at all.
Abilities
- Leadership: In the film adaptation of the books, Newt is portrayed as a neutral leader. When Alby was absent, he took on the role of second in command. After Alby’s death, Newt supported Thomas in leading their group to freedom. He often served as the voice of reason, especially when others, including Thomas, felt like giving up. Newt encouraged them to keep pushing forward and maintained the strong connections they had built together. In the film The Death Cure, Newt expressed his commitment to follow Thomas in rescuing their friend Minho. He even promised to give up his life for Minho's sake, despite having a chance to get a serum that could save him from dying due to the Flare virus. In the end, Newt wrote a letter to Thomas explaining that since they became friends in the Maze, he never feared facing the unknown with him. He reminded Thomas that their future depended on him and urged him to look after their loved ones if anything were to happen to him.
"Newt whacking an infected Ben off of Thomas with a shovel."
- Athletic Human Strength: Newt was a strong boy with a muscular build that gave him impressive athletic abilities for his height and size. He could swing a shovel hard enough to hit an infected Ben on the head, causing him to bleed. After that, he helped Thomas break through a glass window and kept a Crank from biting his face by physically holding it back. In the film adaptation of The Death Cure, Newt showed fierce determination when Thomas hesitated to use Teresa to save Minho. His infection from the Flare virus seemed to boost his strength, allowing him to pin Thomas against the wall.
"Newt and his friends jumping out of a 20th-floor window and land safely in a pool."
- Peak Human Durability: After Newt shares with Thomas that he tried to end his life by climbing the wall and jumping into the Maze, which resulted in a broken leg, Minho discovers Newt and brings him back to the Glade. Even though Newt has a limp, he can still move quickly on his own without needing anyone's help or showing any signs of struggle. In the adaptation of The Death Cure, Newt jumps out of the 20th floor window of the WCKD lab with Thomas and Minho, landing safely in the water.
"Newt's determination to fight off the virus's effects."
- Strong-Willed: When Newt shares that he got infected with the Flare virus, he starts to lose part of his sanity. This change makes him act a bit more aggressively. However, thanks to his strong willpower, he manages to fight off the virus's effects for about six months after receiving the WCKD enzyme called Bliss. Eventually, though, the virus takes over, and during a struggle with Thomas, he begs him to end his life before it completely controls him.
"Newt quickly aiming his Launcher at a WCKD guard who was ready to fire at him."
- Peak Human Accuracy & Weapon Proficiency: Newt demonstrated exceptional precision when hitting distant targets and showcased his skills with projectile weapons, including a dagger in close fights. In the film adaptation of The Scorch Trials, while WCKD ambushed the Right Arm headquarters, he displayed impressive hand-eye coordination using a rifle against numerous WCKD soldiers. He even shot one right in the face. Later, in The Death Cure film, he used his Launcher against every opponent coming from different directions, targeting their chest areas. When a guard tried to draw his pistol on Newt, he was unable to fire it, which left Newt safe and unharmed.
"Newt taking out his dagger while he was a Crank."
- Brawling: Newt was a skilled fighter, as shown in the film adaptation of The Maze Runner. He used a shovel to hit an infected Ben to protect Thomas and elbowed a Glader to bring him down. In the Death Cure book, he helped trip an armed WCKD Soldier while Thomas kicked above after they quietly approached him together.
- Stealth Mastery: He also had smart stealth tactics. In the film adaptation of The Death Cure, he successfully followed Thomas and Gally to sneak into the WCKD facility while disguised, without anyone noticing.
Reception
Newt's character has received overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and is often considered the best character in the series. He is praised for being one of the most likable characters, as well as one of the most human and complex. Newt's backstory has also received acclaim from readers for its emotional depth. On TheTopTens, Newt is ranked #1 on the site's list of Best Maze Runner Characters, as well as #1 on Movie Characters We Didn't Want to Die and #27 on Best Young Adult Book Characters.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster's portrayal of Newt has received a significant amount of attention from fans, particularly in the final film, for his charm and earnestness in the role, as well as for bringing a lot of emotional complexity in the final film. Audiences have noted his dedication to the role, putting a rock in his shoe to master his character's limp and writing several of his lines himself. He also wrote the note that Newt gave Thomas for the movie. Character and actor have also received generally positive reception from critics, with critics often calling him one of the better characters. Newt's character arc in the final film received praise, with many noting that it gave Thomas Brodie-Sangster more meaty material to work with.
Trivia
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster admitted that when he played Newt, he knew nothing about him except that he was a nice guy, had an English accent, and that he has a partial limp.
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster also says that Newt hangs out in the garden mostly, doing his own thing.
- According to a Twitter short written by James Dashner, Newt had a sister, a dog, and a best friend, before he was taken by WICKED.
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster put a pebble in his shoe to remind himself that his character had a limp.
- In the film adaptation of The Death Cure, there is a deleted scene where Newt tells Thomas about his suicide attempt in the Maze.
- In the Crank Palace book, Newt is revealed to have a sister, who turns out to be Sonya (originally named Elizabeth, or Lizzy, as Newt called her) from Group B in the Maze Trials.
- James Dashner has confirmed that Newt is gay. (Book canon)[1]
- In The Maze Cutter, Newt was revealed to have been the cure for the Flare.
Quotes
- “I don't know who you people are, but I hope you're happy. I hope you get a real buggin' kick out of watching us suffer. And then you can die and go to hell. This is on you.” The Fever Code
- "You all know the plan. After two years of being treated like mice, tonight we're making a stand. Tonight we're taking the fight back to the Creators, no matter what we have to go through to get there. Tonight the Grievers better be scared.” The Maze Runner (Book)
- "All right, it's like you've heard, yeah? Every month, the Box sends up a new arrival... but someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade alone. That was Alby. I mean, it can't have been easy... but when those other boys started coming up, one after the other, he saw the truth. And he learned that the most important thing is that we all have each other. Because we're all in this together." The Maze Runner (film)
- "She's the last one... ever. What the hell does that mean?" The Maze Runner (film)
- "Great, we're all bloody inspired." The Maze Runner
- "It doesn't matter... any of it. Because the people we were before the Maze, they don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now and what we do right now. You went into the Maze and you found a way out." The Maze Runner (film)
- "Thomas, listen to me. I've known Minho for... well, as long as I can remember. So if there is any way that we could help him, trust me, I would be up there standing next to you. This, what you're talking about... is impossible." Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
- "Well, we started this together. May as well end it that way, too." Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- "Funny. Spent three years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in." Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- "This is a long way from the Glade." Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- "Yeah, we're all bloody inspired." Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- "Please, Tommy. Please." Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- "Kill me. If you've ever been my friend, kill me." The Death Cure
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