The Walking Dead fans rejoice! AMC’s beloved zombie franchise returns with a bang as unlikely duo Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) head to zombie-infested Manhattan, long ago cut off from the mainland. What makes them head into the big city? Why are Maggie and Negan working together? Episode 1, “Old Acquaintances,” answers all of these questions and more. Behold our review!
As always, here’s your SPOILER warning!
The series doesn’t waste time in reintroducing viewers to Maggie and Negan. Despite being set years after the conclusion of the main show, we’re thrown right into the action.
It begins with Maggie watching over a desolate Manhattan, and plotting. She’s clearly going through an emotional rollercoaster. Right away we’re told that her son, Hershel, has been kidnapped and that he’s being kept hostage inside Manhattan. The main plot here is pretty straightforward: she wants Hershel back.
So how does Negan come into it? Well, in the surrounding area of Manhattan, there’s a community called New Babylon, and Negan has been falling back into his old habits. We learn that he’s got into some trouble with the residents of this community and they’ve put out a bounty on his head. This whole thing gives off heavy Western vibes. We don’t know what Negan has against the people of New Babylon, perhaps there’s some history there to be explored in a later episode.
We’re also introduced to Ginny (Mahina Napoleon), a young girl who he is basically a father figure for. He really cares about her.
There’s not much of a mention of Negan’s wife Annie and their kid which I found strange. Their relationship was a big part in the final season of The Walking Dead — it’s been pushed aside for this show. Maggie briefly asks about them but Negan promptly changes the subject. Again, I expect there to be hints about what happened further down the line. For now, the show is holding its secrets very close.
Maggie seeks out Negan because he has experience with Hershel’s captor, a man known as the Croat — the nickname reflecting his Croatian heritage. Turns out, the Croat is a former member of the Saviors, who has gone on to form a community of his own in Manhattan. Negan remembers the guy, recalling him being an “exceptionally insane son of a bitch.”
Naturally, Maggie’s reasoning for having Negan assist her is because she believes he still owes her for, you know… their past. Plus, as something as a bonus, she promises to give Negan’s new friend Ginny sanctuary in her community, the Bricks, while he travels with her. Negan obliges, granted, he doesn’t have much choice in the matter.
Maggie and Negan’s partnership continues pretty much exactly the way we expected. They both still hate each other. Negan even makes a few quips towards her at times. You’ve got to love his one-liners, which are rife throughout the premiere!
The show doesn’t let us forget the troubled past between these two characters. In fact, there’s an entire flashback sequence once again showing us the traumatic past of Negan killing Glenn. The flashback is portrayed in Maggie’s dream, showing that she stiff suffers from the fallout of that horrific experience.
Another side character is Jano (Trey Santiago-Hudson) — a deputy for the New Babylon patrol — who is taken hostage by Maggie and Negan and follows them on their journey. His role wasn’t too significant, but I did like how much Negan taunts and plays with him in classic Negan fashion; threatening to throw him over the side of the boat, etc.
We don’t get to spend much time in Manhattan in this episode — I’m sure the chaos is reserved for the rest of the season. That said, we do see them sail off to the island since all bridges and tunnels were destroyed right at the beginning of the apocalypse as a safety measure to control the zombie virus.
The setting of Manhattan is the real MVP of the show so far. It’s such a far stretch from anything we’ve seen since Rick woke up in Atlanta. The decaying skyscrapers; the floods of walkers; the collapsed bridges. It’s a visual feast! I like one scene in particular, where walkers fall from atop the skyscrapers. Yes, it quite literally rains walkers. What’s not to love?
They’re not alone in Manhattan, however. They were followed by some New Babylon patrol, still hot on Negan’s back, and curious as to who Maggie is and what she wants with Negan. The leader of the patrol is a bounty hunter by the name of Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles). I like Perlie, he’s like a classic Wetern badass. Poised to be a series regular, I can’t wait to see how his story develops.
At one point they get into a scuffle, and the Jano is eventually killed — did he not serve a purpose after all? Moreover, Perlie is left injured. We can’t fault this episode for lack of action, that’s for sure!
We also get a brief look at the Croat. Hidden away in a Manhattan building, he holds Hershel hostage. Stoic and unpredictable, he gives off true villain vibes. Hershel isn’t the only one he holds captive, either. There’s one guy — all cut up and bruised — who manages to escape by means of a zipline. I mean, he would’ve escaped for good had the Croat not cut the line, making him plummet to a nasty death. He’s one horrible piece of work — I can’t wait to see more of him.
Verdict
This is a pretty solid premiere. It gets straight into the action. The new characters seem intriguing enough, while Maggie and Negan will always be an entertaining duo. The setting of Manhattan is fantastic. With the towering buildings and narrow streets packed with walkers, it’s got a claustrophobic feel to it, especially with enemies (both dead and alive) lurking around every corner.
Episode Grade: B
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