by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
I was a devoted watcher of The Walking Dead for a long time. When actors or show runners from the show would come to conventions or panels near where I live, I would be there. The Walking Dead was appointment viewing for me, similar to Game of Thrones. It started to lose its luster during Season Five, when they eventually came to a more civilized society. Like many people, unfortunately, I stopped watching after the events of the Season Seven premiere with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Over time, I’ve tried to get back into The Walking Dead universe with some of the spinoffs. I liked Fear The Walking Dead when Morgan (Lennie James) became a more prominent character. Neither Tales From The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond worked for me. Now AMC is trying to do more with spinoffs directly related to the original show. The new series, The Walking Dead: Dead City follows Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan as they venture to New York City to rescue Maggie’s son from a threat named The Croat (Zeljko Ivanek).
One of my favorite parts of the original show is that it sometimes felt like a road trip show as they drifted from location to location to find a safe haven. Most of the places the group stopped at are more contained areas in rural or suburban settings. I really like the New York City setting. It presents so many more dangers than all the other settings in any of The Walking Dead universe shows. Between the tall buildings where walkers can fall from, and the sewers with all kinds of different threats, New York brings a much needed change of pace. There’s a moment in the sewer where we see a slightly different type of walker, which looks cool. It’s just as dangerous as a regular walker, but the appearance is quite shocking. After all these years, I’m glad the series has new surprises up its sleeve.
Cohen continues to prove why she’s a standout from the original series; I like Maggie’s arc in Dead City. Not only is she on a rescue mission, but she’s also on a collision course with Negan. It nearly breaks Maggie to work with Negan, considering their history together, but they still manage to be civil with one another, and come to some type of understanding. Maggie can’t ever forgive Negan, but their conversations are filled with empathy and some catharsis.
Even with this, I’m struggling with how to handle the Negan redemption tour. Since I didn’t watch a lot of The Walking Dead original show past Negan’s introduction, I’m honestly shocked that he’s lasted this long, considering how disposable most of the characters generally are. It’s difficult for me to reconcile the need for second chances with Negan’s evil and violent acts. He is the reason I stopped watching the show in the first place, so it’s hard for me to see him as protagonist. Morgan is so good as Negan, and he has an arc with an orphan named Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) that I enjoy. Ginny helps to bring out Negan’s paternal side, which is how he was before the walkers. Even I can admit some of the scenes they share are rather endearing. There is a lot of whiplash, though. In one scene, Negan comforts Ginny, or teaches her to do something, and in another scene, Negan kills people. It’s a struggle I will have with any Walking Dead show until his story is finally over.
Meanwhile, the new characters in the show are underdeveloped, unfortunately. The Croat is a missed opportunity, because he is just a wannabe Negan. He’s cut from the same cloth as Negan, but he doesn’t have the same gravity or presence. They also have history together, which is one of the reasons Negan needs to go to Manhattan with Maggie. Although I think Ivanek is good in the role, he doesn’t have enough to do, because his time is split with another character named The Dama (Lisa Emery). I didn’t understand the need to bring in someone else for such a short series, which undercuts The Croat. Because of The Dama’s involvement, the ending of this season is a little muddled, and The Croat’s arc ends a little abruptly.
Two main characters, though, are welcome additions to Dead City. Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles) is as tough as they come with the best characters from the series. He’s on a mission to find Negan, but he also finds some clarity with their conversations. He sees how oppressive the new society is — in the city of New Babylon, which is developed by survivors of the outbreak — even though we don’t know a lot about the town. It would have been helpful to spend more time in New Babylon, but with only six episodes in the entire series, there simply is enough time. The other welcome addition is Maggie’s son Hershel (Logan Kim). As a teenager, Hershel has lived his entire life in the post-walker world. He and Ginny both are more callous and self-sufficient for their age than teenagers in the real world would be. The whole ordeal in New York takes a toll on Hershel, but they leave a lot of questions unanswered as a stinger for Season Two.
The Walking Dead: Dead City works as a spinoff from the original shows. We follow two legacy characters in a fascinating setting with enormous stakes. I’m not a huge fan of how the season ends, as it leaves a lot to be desired in favor of a potential setup for Season Two. The character moments are still a highlight, both for the show and the entire universe. Showing humanity during the zombie apocalypse is what I was always more interested in with The Walking Dead, versus the zombie kills. This is at least a step in the right direction.
Rating: Liked It
The Walking Dead: Dead City is currently streaming on AMC+
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