Critic’s Rating: 3.25 / 5.0
3.25
If you’re looking for an epic battle between different factions for Manhattan, then The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 was the episode you’ve been waiting for.
For some reason, Maggie and Negan’s paths are continually intertwined, and there’s a good chance they’ll be fighting on the same side again by the end of the season.
We’ll start with Maggie and The Bricks because a lot has happened since The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 1 Episode 6 wrapped on a hopeful note for the community.
The revelation that Perlie forced The Bricks was surprising because it harkens back to The Commonwealth on The Walking Dead Season 11.
Maggie is the last person to want to be part of something like New Babylon after the physical and mental torment her people went through at the hands of The Commonwealth.
Dictators are everything Maggie is against, so it’s hard to believe she rolled over and allowed Perlie, Charlie, and Lucia to strong-arm her into joining them.
It’s frustrating for viewers of the wider franchise that Maggie hasn’t contacted Carol, Rick, Michonne, or even Morgan for assistance.
She has all these people tied to big communities who would show up with an army to help her if needed, so why isn’t she asking them for assistance?
The Walking Dead: Dead City Is Dumbing Maggie Down
The only excuse is that something more significant happened with her after she left The Commonwealth, because the other is bad writing.
I get that spinoffs need to set themselves apart, but doing so at the expense of logical storytelling is never a good idea.
Maggie is a heroic figure who wants to do right by the people who look up to her, so her decision to go instead of 20 of her people to join this fight for methane was right on brand.
But it must have been difficult for her to agree to it because she knows how much deadlier Manhattan is than anywhere else that she’s been during her time in the apocalypse.
With the dense population, there are walkers everywhere, and it’s also allowed different factions to form, for better or worse.
Maggie is understandably livid with Perlie for everything he’s done to her, but I still think she’ll work with him to help keep up this lie about him killing Negan.
Perlie’s issue is that Negan will probably be the face of the opposition, so if a war does kick off, there’s every reason to believe Perlie’s lie will come to the forefront.
Lucia strikes me as the type of person who can smell a rat, and her no-holds-barred approach to following the New Babylon code means that she’ll react with fury when the truth comes out.
But that also makes her the character who will be killed off when we least expect it. Perlie knows there will be an opening for another promotion if he takes her out of the equation.
Then again, I wouldn’t put it past Lucia to kill Charlie and take her power because there already seems to be a wealth of unrest between the two women.
Lucia is more brutal than Charlie, so she’d be a much more unpredictable leader, which in theory could make her a fantastic villain.
Dascha Polanco Is A Great Villain
Of course, Dascha Polanco is best known for playing Daya on Orange Is the New Black, but it’s clear she’s relishing playing this much different character.
I can’t wait to see what happens next in her storyline because I want to know more about how Lucia got into this powerful position.
Then there’s the Dama. I’m still not completely sold on her having this robust regime in Manhattan that people are forced to follow.
Having Negan as the face of the operation is smart because he’s well-known thanks to The Croat’s chatter about him.
Something is fitting about Negan being forced back into the role he’s tried so hard to shed in recent years, but I hope this newfound power doesn’t rub off on him.
The last thing I want is for him to regress as a character for the sake of this war, because doing so would diminish everything he’s accomplished since being imprisoned.
The upgrades to Lucille were pretty neat and set the stage for coming events. It was a resounding success if the intent was to scare the different factions into following Negan.
It’s just a shame it came at the expense of Christos. Jake Weary isn’t the kind of actor you bring in for one episode and kill off, so that was pretty poor.
Circling back to the Dama for a minute, my best theory is that Maggie will want to kill her because of her profound impact on Hershel.
Is Hershel Going to the Dark Side?
Hershel is going through the typical teenage years and doesn’t fully trust his mother, but my best guess is that he was more concerned about Maggie meeting the Dama than the potential danger she could be in.
I hope that we’re not headed for a moment in which Hershel chooses the bad side over the good because it seems like too much of a departure for such a legendary character.
All told, the next few episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 will determine whether it will be a good or bad season.
There are some encouraging signs, but so much could go wrong, too.
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What are your thoughts on the premiere? Do you think it lived up to the hype?
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Watch The Walking Dead: Dead City Online
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