The Walking Dead: Dead City is back, folks! This time around, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield from the outset. A war is brewing in Manhattan. It's a war literally for power itself, with Manhattan able to be powered by the Croat's walker-infused methane power invention.
Season 2 kicks off with Negan back behind bars, having turned down the Dama's offer to place him back into a position of power. But naturally, his ardent denial to get in on the action doesn't last long, especially after the Dama blackmails him by mentioning that they are tracking his wife Annie and son Joshua.
So not only is Negan thrust unwittingly back into a leadership position, but he's also reunited with an all-new version of Lucille. Gifted to him by crazed scientist leader the Croat, 'Lucille 2.0' has a little modification to entice Negan. This time the barbed-wire covered baseball bat has the power to electrocute people. Seriously. It's a cool feature, sure, and also a bit of a gimmick. Is this the writers' way of making death scenes with Lucille much less gruesome and cheaper to film? By acting out an electric shocks, much less fake blood is needed. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this. The symbolism of Negan burning the original Lucille in The Walking Dead seems to have gone out the window.
It's Negan's task to unite the various groups residing in Manhattan against one common enemy: the New Babylon community, where Maggie is based. Uniting the groups is not as easy as it sounds, but Negan has his ways of bringing people together. The highlight of the episode for me is his speech to the various groups within Manhattan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan never misses; his presence is phenomenal and I found myself absolutely glued to the screen every second he was there.
Despite initially being unwilling to step into a leadership position, you can see the wry smile on Negan's face. He secretly enjoys being the dominant figure.
Maggie and her relationship with Hershel
Back in The Bricks — Maggie's base within the New Babylon Federation — we catch up with her and Hershel. Hershel has always been a bit of a background character. Despite being the main plot device of season 1, his character was never really at the forefront. In just one episode, Dead City season 2 builds on his relationship with Maggie as much as it has ever done.
We see how Maggie and Hershel live together and the close bond they share. Previously, especially in the season 1 finale, Hershel was portrayed as an annoying, know-it-all teenager. While that aspect of his character is still there (often in abundance), we also now see a more mature and vulnerable side to him.
We learn that the New Babylon Federation is planning to scount Manhattan in anticipation of an invasion. They want to flood out the lawless anarchy and restore Manhattan to its former, pre-apocalypse glory as the cultural centre of the world. Similar to Negan with the Dama, Maggie is initially unwilling to join in on the invasion. However, given that she's already got experience there, she ultimately finds herself with no choice but to join the draft.
Will she encounter Negan in Episode 2? It's worth mentioning that the people of New Babylon (besides Maggie and Perlie) think Negan is dead; how will they react when they find out he's alive?
This was a pretty decent premiere, opening the door for lots of conflicts in the coming episodes. The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 continues weekly on AMC.
Episode Grade: B+
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