The Walking Dead: Dead City – People Are a Resource

By starrymag | July 9, 2023

By: Dawn Inchaurregui-Miller

 

 

The episode begins with a flashback of Ginny (Mahina Napolean) walking through the woods searching for something. She jumps backward when a walker, impaled on a thick branch, suddenly reaches out for her. Just as quickly Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) rushes in from the side before the walker manages to free itself and puts a knife through its head. He begins to raise his voice to her, angry that she doesn’t use her own. He is worried that if she goes off alone and doesn’t use her voice, she could get into serious trouble and he wouldn’t be able to find her. He has been searching for a safe place for her for a while and she always stays by his side so he wonders why she left without even letting him know she was going. She hangs her head low, still unwilling to talk after the murder of her father. Negan, demeanour softening, looks at the walker dead upon the branch. He points out that the man must have tried to rob others just as he had done to them in the night and takes the bag from his back, hanging it over his own. Asking once more what she was looking for she shows him inside her own rucksack the empty, negative space, where a soft toy usually resides. Realizing she has lost it, Negan tells her they will retrace their footsteps and find it.

Back to the current day we see Ginny pushing a motorbike to the edge of the same shoreline where Maggie and Negan had begun their adventure. She searches for a way to cross and spotting a cooler, turns it upside down. With just enough space and buoyancy, she uses a wooden plank for a paddler and crosses the water to manhattan.

Negan and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) are next shown hunching behind a car next to Amaia (Karina Ortiz) with Tomasso (Jonathan Higginbotham) opposite them behind another car. Amaia uses two antlers clicking them together to attempt to attract a nearby deer standing in the street. While it is distracted, Tomasso stands and fires his weapon at it shooting a thick string with a claw to latch into the skin and prevent it from running.

With the deer now hanging upside down by its legs the group of them are inside a shop discussing tactics for taking out The Croat and getting Maggie’s son back. Negan watches Luther (Michael Anthony) putting something on a cut into his shoulder and upon being told that it is beeswax. NHe asks if he can use some for his hand, to which Luther answers a flat out no. Tommasso and Amaia give details on where The Croat’s traps are set and the positions of the walkers, but eventually they begin telling Negan and Maggie about how the apocalypse began for them in Manhattan. Walkers would fall from buildings and come from the ground up as they waited for the military’s help, but when it arrived it was to destroy all access in and all means to escape. Tomasso goes on to explain that they were getting organised and doing ok, until The Croat arrived and began recruiting through lies and fear under the guise of protection, but the methods of torture. Amaia tells Maggie that only one person ever escaped alive. Maggie makes an excuse and leaves the room, all of this too much for her to hear. Amaia and Tomasso realize they may have put too much emphasis on how hopeless this could be, but Negan assures them how thick skinned she is, calling her tough as s***.  In another room Maggie breathes heavily, attempting to pull herself together and steel herself against the challenges so similar to what she faced years before.

Ginny, in her cooler-boat, closes in on the shore eventually reaching it and climbs up a metal ladder. This brings her up into the empty dock where she looks around the derelict buildings.

A view from above shows walkers being led to surround a circular building using an old parade float, slowly driving while playing music. Tomasso says aloud that they have to find a way through the herd to get anywhere near The Croat. Maggie suggests the sewers, but Amaia tells her that the military had shoved bodies dead down there until they themselves ended up dying down there too. Negan brings up the fact that they had told them someone did manage to get out alive, so it must be possible and asks who it was. Maggie notices a look exchanged and realizes it was Tomasso, so she asks him for the story. Amaia offers up that they could show the two of them how to get in and out, but both Luther and Tomasso disagree saying they had all previously decided not to go that way. Negan then begins to tell the story of himself, but as though he was just on the sidelines and not the main act. He tells them that the man showed up offering protection, built a sanctuary and surrounded himself with an army of psychopaths, forcing people to join him and that anyone who refused would die. He goes on to say that eventually people got tired of living that way and fought back. He pauses and Tomasso asks what happened, to which Maggie plainly replies “it worked.” Negan backs her up and eventually Tomasso nods to Amaia, agreeing to talk to the others. Hearing cars below they look down at the street and see several of them speeding past the walkers to go inside.

The scene changes to the viewpoint of those cars as they enter The Croats facility where the marshal is dragged from an ambulance that they use to move prisoners. The Croat (Željko Ivanek) greets the disgruntled marshal before he goes past tubes, gas cylinders and people stuffing bodies into glass vats of liquid. He is taken along a balcony where he can see a small caged arena in the center of an empty stadium with cars and people bustling around.

Tomasso draws a map while explaining what he went through to Maggie and Negan. He states that he was kept in a room where every day a door would open where he would be offered food and medicine for information on their group. However, knowing that he would be killed if he gave everything up anyway he refused. He said eventually the door would still keep opening but it wouldn’t be to give him food or medicine. It’s at this point that Negan notices the scars across his back. He goes on to explain how his family knew about some work that had been done in the tunnels so he knew ways through that The Croat’s men didn’t. Luckily, a walker got in while they were cleaning old blood from his cell and he escaped past them through the tunnels. Maggie asks where the cells are and Tomasso shows them, but Negan says that after Tommaso had escaped he doubts that they would still be keeping prisoners there. When asked how he knows, Maggie says it is because that’s what he would have done. She goes on to share that Negan knew The Croat some time ago and though they aren’t friends Negan still knows how The Croat thinks. She also tells them how Negan took a shot at him, taking off his ear. Thereore, they can use Negan to bait The Croat in order get him to tell them where her son is being held. Amaia says that they will take care of his men so they cant cause a problem, but Luther asks that if Negan shot off The Croat’s ear why is he going to want to see Negan. Negan explains that The Croat is obviously going to want payback, but Luther still doesn’t see the point in the plan or think it will work. However, when Maggie says the point is to get her son back Luther shouts that her son will already be dead. Maggie keeps her eyes locked on Luther even after Negan suggests they all take five. Negan comfortingly puts his hand on Maggie’s, arm but she instantly pulls it back.

Within the walls of the arena Perlie (Gaius Charles) is handcuffed inside a viewing room that acts as a private suite for The Croat. One of his men brings food with servings platters and dome metal covers for the plates, intended to make Marshal Perlie Armstrong realize the full scope of The Croat’s power. A record player is turned on and music crackles through the needle upon the old vinyl until The Croat enters and points out the low temperature of the room, putting on a space heater. The point of all of this, as mentioned, was to show that The Croat has power. Not just because he leads an army, but literally to show off that he has found a fuel source to generate electricity. He holds up the marshal’s badge and says that the “prison cell” he is being kept in probably has a lot more than what he has at home, listing all the things that the room has due to electricity. He asks if the marshal is hungry, lifting the lid and smelling the food to tempt him. He goes on to explain that the electricity is through science and that alternative energy had been his profession. He notes how the bodies of the dead in the sewers produce methane as they break down and then that the gas can be pressurized into a liquid fuel. Much as Negan had years before, he refers to his small corrupt empire as a sanctuary and that until he knows why Perlie is there and who he brought with him he cannot offer him refuge. As The Croat talks he goes to eat the food, but drops the cutlery down when he sees maggots inside the meat. He begins explaining how deadly it is and turns to his man demanding to know why he had served him rotten meat. He tries to argue that he only brought it up, but The Croat cuts him off and gestures for quiet. He stands, taking the key to the handcuffs that Perlie is wearing and twiddles it between his fingers as he paces towards his guard. Making sure Perlie sees the key, he tells the guard to open his mouth and forces him to swallow it. Once he has he takes the back of his head and begins smashing it into the bannister. Once The Croat is sure that his man has died, he throws the guard over the edge to be allowed to turn. Perlie sits in silence, having watched the grotesque spectacle and seeing how unstable his host is actually. Perlie is then left alone in the room.

Sat down in what used to be a restaurant Maggie sits next to stacked chairs and takes a metal tin from her bag. She opens it and begins to slowly work her way through old photos of her family, including her father Hershel and a picture of her son who bears the same name in his honor. Further into the tin is a drawing of her husband Glenn who died at the hands of Negan, just as so many are now dying at the hands of someone who once followed him. Maggie is caught up in memories when Negan interrupts her train of thought. He shows her a baseball cap that he had found and, remembering that Hershel used to wear them, Negan offers it for Maggie to give to him. He tells Maggie that Luther is wrong as Maggie’s plan will work and that if she wants they can talk about it.

When he sits Maggie begins to tell him how when The Croat showed up the last words between Hershel and herself were an argument. That he would always do the opposite of what she asked and that she felt she had screwed up so many times as they fumbled through by themselves. She tears up as she talks of her loved ones that reside nowhere in the world anymore, except inside her metal box. Negan, saving her from feeling vulnerable, offers his own heartache. He begins to explain both the reason for his family’s absence and the reason the marshals are looking for him. Negan was living outside of New Babylon in a cabin with his wife and child and one day his wife Annie decided to go into the town to trade. He ended up having to search for her when still hadn’t come home by nightfall. When he found her she had been robbed and beaten by five men. He chokes up while leaving a lingering “and” in the air that implies a brutal rape. He explains that she begged him not to do anything stupid, but he tracked them down and killed them all. After that he put Annie and their kid on a train and told them he would be behind them, but not wanting them to be chased or hurt alongside him he stayed behind and hopes every day that they are safe. He says that maybe he doesn’t deserve it, but hope is all he has. When he finishes talking Maggie, clearly moved by and understanding the horror of his own story, doesn’t know how to respond. She tells him she thought he knew how to shut up, but reaches for the hat that Negan found for Hershel in a moment that shows a flicker of empathy without having to say anything.

Running through the city, unsure where to even begin looking, Ginny tries to avoid the walkers who fill the streets in every direction. She finds herself falling to the floor when one reaches for her leg, but manages to get herself free, only to realize her dino teddy is on the floor beside the walker.

The scene then changes to the day that she and Negan were in the woods looking for her teddy. Negan tells her she has to start speaking and that he has to find somewhere better for her. He goes on to say that she could have gone to a doctor back before the world fell apart, but they don’t have that luxury anymore and she needs to move past her trauma to survive. After raising his voice to her he softens and playfully tells her that they need a good lead or that maybe the leads were around them all along.

Switching back to the current day Ginny is still looking at her teddy on the floor when someone comes in from the side, kills the walker and picks up her teddy and places it in their bag. When the stranger moves on, Ginny follows hoping it will lead her to Negan.

Inside the restaurant that they are using as a hideout the city natives and newcomers alike sit for a meal together. They lay offerings on the table – belongings of their dead to be remembered. They take hands and Luther begins to hum a haunting tune. Meanwhile, across the city The Croat prepares to make a show of the marshal. He talks to his men proudly about them living on after death by becoming fuel for the rest of them in a twisted version of Negan’s old motto “people are a resource.”

Back to the gentle humming of the group, Negan closes his eyes and bows his head out of respect. Seeing Negan embrace this, Maggie reaches into her pocket for the picture of Glenn and holding it closes her eyes. When the humming stops, they all begin to eat.

Back over on The Croats side though, the celebration of death is much more grotesque as several of his men breathe in the fumes created from the dead bodies of their fallen comrades. Perlie is dragged out from the side as the crowd quiets down and The Croat offers him one more chance to tell him what he wants to know. After he is met with silence from the marshal, The Croat puts a gas mask on his face, forcing him to breathe methane fumes that instantly causes the marshal to become dizzy and disorientated. He is thrown into the cage in the center of the arena and handcuffed to a pole. With his vision and hearing still muffled, he attempts to remain present for whatever comes next. The Croat calls out for them to begin while Perlie coughs and tries to catch his breath. Looking up he realizes they have led a walker inside the cage and it doesn’t take long to recognize him as the man The Croat had murdered in front of him. As it lunges forward Perlie tries to free his handcuffed hands from the pole and has to keep moving and kicking it out of the way. Eventually, he gets hold of the walker and uses the handcuffs against its throat to slowly begin decapitating it,while The Croat, maintaining eye contact, seems to enjoy the show. People begin throwing bottles inside the cage and Perlie uses one to push it into the walker’s stomach, in search of the key he had previously been made to swallow. As he digs for the key and hurriedly undoes the handcuffs, more walkers are released into the fenced stage as people cheer for the carnage. Perlie tries to escape through the door on the other side, but he figures out there is only one way out of the cage. Therefore, this turns into fight. He is forced to use whatever means he can and reaches down to his boot but hesitates over which one to take off, sparking a curiosity in The Croat who determines that there must be something worth hiding. Using his other boot, now in hand, he fights off the walkers and stands triumphantly looking into the impressed eyes of The Croat.

It’s night time outside so candles are used to light up the restaurant. Tomasso joins Maggie who is still awake as others around the room are sleeping. He talks about his desire to have children, though Amaia has told him she doesn’t feel it is safe. He passively says it’s probably true, leaving Maggie to agree with Amaia’s answer. It definitely isn’t safe, so you have to make it safe however you can. Behind them Amaia calls out to Tomasso, announcing the arrival of a familiar face Pilleuse (Aixa Kendrick) back from a scavenging trip, carrying a toy that is familiar to Maggie. Her eyes open wide and she begins to hastily inquire about where and when it was found, claiming she knew a little girl who liked stuff like it. Pilleuse kindly passes the green dinosaur toy to Maggie, telling her to keep it.

Back inside the same room that he had been kept previously, Perlie has a towel thrown to him as The Croat enters the room. He announces that Perlie had given the best show that they have had in years. He begins to tell a silent Perlie that at the beginning of the collapse, his wife and children had been hiding with him inside a post office, but became so hungry that he was forced to leave them to find food. When he got back, he found his wife, son and two daughters who had been killed and eaten by other people. Though he was distraught, it was very soon after that he met Negan, who not only prevented him from killing himself, but became a brother to him. He goes on to explain that Negan taught him to protect the things that matter to him and likens it to whatever the marshal is hiding inside his boot. The Croats men hold onto him while another takes his boot off and retrieves a letter from inside. Perlie tries to reach for it but The Croat pulls away and begins to read. The unknown author tells Perlie that they have only just realised everyone has changed their numbers and laughs at the messages that strangers must have been hearing on their phones. They go on to ask for help, struggling to fix their problems on their own and not liking where they are. Perlie cries as the intimate letter is read out aloud, but when the pain gets too much, he calls for The Croat to stop. He tells him he’s alone as the other two marshals previously died on the island while they have been searching for a wanted man. Gesturing around, The Croat asks who would be worth following to the island and after a pause, Perlie tells him the fugitives name is Negan.

Negan works his way around the kitchen in the back of the restaurant, looking for weapons and humorously settles on a cheese grater. Negan jumps when spots Luther standing behind him and explains that he is looking for weapons and acknowledges that Luther doesn’t like him. Luther tells Negan that he and Maggie will be leaving tonight and holds up the poster with Negan’s face saying “Wanted.” He reads out the list of his characteristics, such as above average intelligence and charisma but also violent and warns people not to trust him. Negan tries to explain that he has people depending on him and that they are not going anywhere, but Luther responds that he does too. Negan attempts to walk around him, but Luther edges intentionally in front to prevent him from passing. Negan calmly takes a breath and, trying to avoid violence, tells him he is going to walk around him again hoping that the situation does not unnecessarily escalate. Luther stands once more in his way, preventing Negan from passing. After a quick pause Negan hits him with a pan, but Luther blocks it, picking Negan up instead and begins to squeeze his whole body. Luckily, Negan is able to get the cheese grater and delivers one of the best moves ever used in a fight sequence – he grates Luther’s head, one side to the next. With blood leaking out over his eyes, he loses balance, falls back and impales his head on a pipe sticking out of the floor. Luther tries to call for help, so Negan bends to his knees and pushes Luther’s head further onto the pipe killing him.

Outside Maggie places the dinosaur teddy onto a barrel and lights a match, with the intention of setting it on fire to hide it from Negan, so as to prevent him giving up on the mission. Ginny; however, is there watching from behind a car having followed the scavenging stranger straight to them.  Back to her memory of being in the forest with Negan, he asks her to check her bag, suggesting that maybe the thief took the teddy and that she had him all along. When Negan opens the bag he smiles as he pulls out the teddy, but pretends to be a doctor and wraps a bandage around the dinosaur before handing it back. When he does he asks Ginny to listen to him and shows her a short whistle that his first wife, Lucile, used when she was sick to let him know that she needed him. Ginny mimics the whistle and Negan tells her that if she does that he will come running. He smiles as he tells her that talk is cheap anyway. She hugs him as he tells her that it doesn’t matter what people say, it only matters what they do.

The scene then changes back to Maggie holding a lit match above the teddy considering if she can really just pretend she isn’t aware that a child is alone on the island, putting her own child above the safety of another. Negan stands up from Luther’s body as he lays lifeless on the kitchen floor from a fight that was avoidable, but will weigh on Negan regardless.

Both of their paths were forever changed the day the bat came down on Glenn, with their intertwining lives growing more similar each day.