Here we are at the season one finale of Dead City. Six episodes feel like they just flew by there, and there were a few storylines or moments that felt unnecessary, but the way it all unfolds feels like it was worth the ride in the end. This being the first spin-off, using some of the original cast, felt like a trial-by-fire kind of case whether die-hard TWD fans were going to like it or not, but ultimately it felt like a great fun ride with plenty left in the tank for what’s to come. So let’s jump right into “Doma Smo.”
1. Time To Go Home
The Ginny storyline is quickly resolved, thankfully, it was an acceptable side part of this season, but with this being the finale of season one, it had to be taken out immediately. At the end of the last episode, Ginny shot off a flare alerting not only Negan but also Maggie and anyone else who could see where she was. Once Negan reunited with her, it wasn’t the reaction she had hoped for. Negan was upset that she’d left the safety of Maggie’s city that he’d negotiated for to ensure her survival while he went on this dangerous mission. Ginny finally breaks her vow of silence to try and warn Negan about why Maggie brought him along, but instead, he shuts her down by admitting that he was the reason her father was dead and never came back for her. It’s unclear whether he said it to get her away from him and back to the town’s safety or if it was true. Regardless, he knew it would get her far away from him…possibly for good. Marshall Armstrong takes her back while Maggie and Negan stay back to rescue Hershel.
2. Truth Time
Back to the mission at hand, Maggie and Negan are inside a warehouse where they think the Croat will be when they start talking about Ginny. Negan wonders what she could possibly decide to say or try to warn him about since she hasn’t spoken a word in months. Maggie thinks it could explain why she was there in the first place, and somehow that sets the fight between them in motion. It’s not a bad fight, but it’s clearly choreographed, and they’re both pulling back their punches. Whether it’s because it was a rough shoot or because they both see how grey the truth is between them. Maggie realizes that despite what happened to Glenn, he has grown and learned from his mistakes to become different. Yes, he still has that switch inside of him, but it’s not something he enjoys as much as he used to. Negan realizes along the same lines that no matter what he does, she will never forgive him for taking away her true love, and maybe she shouldn’t. What he did was cold, ruthless, and disgusting; no matter what happens, it will never bring Glenn back. Negan gains the upper hand and has a knife to her throat before dropping it to the ground to accept his fate as the Croat and his army come to take him away. Negan realizes that he was the trading piece the whole time.
3. Tell Her How You Really Feel
I don’t know if it was intentional, but from a viewer’s perspective, neither of the reunions is what was expected. Hershel and Maggie are back to being tense and fighting, it’s not as if she’s pretending nothing had happened, but she’s trying too hard to move forward. It’s almost dismissing his entire kidnapping. She tries to offer him a gift, an NYC hat, as a sign of affection and a reminder of Glenn’s hat he used to wear when he was younger, but he only sees it as a “souvenir of being kidnapped.” That’s when he finally says what’s been eating at him for years, and it’s clear to him that she has this obsession with Negan that is almost more than she loves him. Since he was a kid, he could sense her trying to protect him like Negan was behind every corner, so she would easily jump at the chance when he was used as bait to draw Negan out to New York. Maggie can’t even respond, and it eats at her for the rest of the episode because she knows it’s true. The sacrifice of Negan was what she’d been dreaming about for years, and now that it’s happened, she’s not even sure she can live with herself.
4. One Mission At A Time
Marshall Armstrong returns to New Babylon to tell the higher-ups about what happened in Manhattan with Negan. He lies to them and says that he tried to arrest and detain him, but when he moved to escape, Armstrong had no choice but to shoot him rather than bring him in alive. The woman in charge listens and is proud of Armstrong for his actions, but before he can even attempt to leave, she mentions that she and her crew made sure to take care of his family while he was out of town. Then she immediately asks him to repeat his story along with how the Croat had been able to manufacture and utilize methane. This line of questioning immediately opens the door to another avenue for Armstrong and New Babylon: his story is far from over in this new spin-off. His character was given a quick change of heart, so for him to walk into the sunset, especially built on a lie of Negan’s death, didn’t seem right to me, so for him to be strong-armed into a new mission seems to fit.
5. Not A Death Sentence, But A Prison Sentence
After Negan is left behind with the Croat, per the exchange for Hershel, he’s handcuffed and escorted to a different part of the city. The twist is that the Croat is just basking and reliving the old days of the Sanctuary and talking about what a great leader he was. He even mentions to Negan how much he loves and appreciates being a part of the Sanctuary’s inner circle. He apologizes and admits his mistake of killing a young, innocent girl. Now watching this interaction, I couldn’t help but feel like this is some next-level twisted-minded stuff before torturing Negan or something else is happening. It turns out it’s the latter; the Croat has been delivering Negan to the real big boss of this place, and it’s The Dama. She knows the Croat has been helpful and smart in controlling the city, but she also understands that he’s more of a soldier than a leader. The Croat gets things done, but it can end up messy or create more chaos for her. All of the stories she’s heard about how he ran the Sanctuary, she wants that Negan back in action. The psychotic, ruthless, and homicidal man can lead with an iron fist and get things done right. Negan is taken aback at the proposal, but once he opens his gift from her, Hershel’s toe, he realizes that she’s not offering him the position; she’s forcing him into it. It was her reminder that she could go and get him, Maggie, and anyone else he may have some connection to if he doesn’t deliver on what she wants. This twisted final moment of the debut season opens up future seasons to a dark, twisted road that will force Negan into old habits while trying to get out and maintain the sanity he’d built over the years.
