Spoilers below for the sixth and final episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!
After six episodes, The Walking Dead’s latest spinoff wrapped up its initial arc in a way that obviously paved the way for the upcoming second season, whose renewal was revealed timed to this year’s Comic-Con. “Doma Smo,” a Croatian phrase meaning “We are home,” delivered temporary conclusions for Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan that offered up more surprises than I expected for a season that has retread a lot of the same storytelling ground as the flagship drama. Let’s take a closer look at the finale's biggest surprises below.
A New Reference To Maggie’s Mom Josephine Greene
Within the Season 2 timeline of The Walking Dead, Maggie’s birth mother Josephine Greene was alluded to largely through photographs within the family home, with Hershel confirming her fate in the episode “Judge, Jury Executioner,” without further detail. Bafflingly enough, seeing a Macy’s storyfront sparks Maggie to share a childhood tale with Negan that started off with a super-rare instance of the late matriarch’s existence, even if the story itself was technically way more about Maggie’s own childhood dreams. Here’s the story, which was perhaps unfortunately interrupted by opposing forces driving by:
When I was young, after my mom got sick, I crawled into bed with her and she’d tell me stories. About Santa, the real Santa. Sometimes he’d come down from the North Pole to the Macy’s store in Manhattan and visit all the kids. And I used to daydream that one day I’d go to New York, walk into that Macy’s, become best friends with the real Santa. He’d take all my toys that I’d lost, or that’d been broken, and he’d find a way to replace them. And there it is.
Now we know that Josephine Greene died from some kind of sickness that had her bedridden long enough for Maggie to remember it being a time for stories. Given the way Hershel kept his second wife cooped up with others inside his barn after everyone went the way of the walker, I’m still not sure which woman had it worse.
Negan And Maggie Finally Brawled, Though Not For Long Enough
Over six years have passed in real-world time since Negan arrived and shattered Glenn’s skull with Lucille, and it’s been even longer within the fictional timeline, so seeing him in a flat-out brawl with Maggie has been a long time coming no matter how you look at it. And while The Walking Dead: Dead City obviously couldn’t spend a fourth or more of its finale dedicated squarely to cathartic fisticuffs, Negan and Maggie’s fight sequence was indeed fun and badass enough to make me wish that the sequel series had built in an episode that was one long and brutal clash.
That big drop helped put it over, too, even if it wasn’t quite on the level of a hardcore WWE match from the late ‘90s. If Negan would have landed a flying elbow drop on Maggie from that height (which would potentially break her neck clean off of her body), it would have been the greatest TWD moment that could ever exist. Here’s hoping for a longer Round 2 next season, and for Negan to start wearing "Macho Man" Randy Savage's color scheme.
Maggie Came Out Victorious Only To Feel And Be Treated Like A Shitty Mom
Throughout the season, it’s been clear that Maggie’s hunt for Hershel was more complicated than just her being a worried mother. But when they finally came eye to eye again during the ep, even I was shocked by how palpable the lack of warmth and love was between them, with Hershel offering up pure facial disgust at the idea of being traded back to his mom for the dude who slaughtered his dad. And their conversation was all the more troubling, as he revealed that in the years prior to Dead City’s timeline, that Maggie was in a constant state of worried aggression over the idea that Negan might show up again, enough so that it strained their relationship to a possible breaking point. It also didn’t help that Hershel voiced his preference for being the Croat’s prisoner rather than returning back to their community where risks were high and supplies were in short supply.
So for all that fans have been watching this season with the hopes that Maggie would be reunited with Hershel, the actual reality is that they’ve evolved into something more jagged than the mother-son combo we were used to. I mean, the happiest Maggie may have looked all season was when delivering the aforementioned Santa Claus story, and that was fucking depressing in and of itself. This woman needs a victory in every which way, including loose.
Negan Was Being Vetted For Leadership By A New Loony Antagonist
The Negan twists kept on coming in “Doma Smo,” after previous reveals about his past with The Croat, as well the latter’s reason for kidnapping Hershel being solely to force Maggie into tracking the elusive Negan down. But the former Savior isn’t the head honcho in this violent organization either, and answers to the beck and call of The Dama, as portrayed with off-kilter lunacy by Ozark’s Lisa Emery. And what is her deal? Why, she’s heard a lot of stories about how fucked up Negan used to be in his leather-wearing heyday, as well as how quickly he can return to that unabashedly horrifying behavior when need be.
The Dama wants to put those particular skills to work going forward, as she is anticipating war on the horizon over resources that remain unique to the island. Just such a future was hinted at during Marshal Perlie’s debriefing in New Babylon, when he was asked quite dramatically about “THE METHANE!” And so who better to have leading a charge than the most psychotic dude in the building? Only Negan’s not really that guy anymore, which is going to no doubt lead to some ethical dilemmas in Season 2.
Hershel Totally Had One Of His Toes Cut Off
The Dama already came off as a bit mentally untethered during her sit-down with Negan, but then went ahead and pulled out an arrow pointing to her face with a picture of a screw next to a picture of a ball. Or, more literally, she teased Negan with the “keys to the kingdom,” and then had him unlock a container with another box inside that had a severed toe in it, as if it were a piece of squishy jewelry. I dunno the sanest way to give someone a toe, but that’s not it.
Anyway, The Dama revealed she had one of Hershel’s toes removed (and then presumably had legit medical workers fix him up), but not because she wanted to torture the kid to get information out, which was precisely the kind of act that caused Negan to cut ties with The Croat. No, she permanently disfigured Hershel simply as a message telling Negan not to screw things up, knowing that threatening the boy would strike a chord with Negan’s particular sense of protectiveness. To put it another way, she cut off Hershel’s toe fully keeping in mind that she might need to have him kidnapped again in the near future. That’s some dark shit, and speaks even more to the teen’s situation that he would have preferred staying there than going back with Maggie. The fact that he drew The Dama’s portrait was a little overboard, but intriguing in a Stockholm syndrome kind of way.
Ginny Seemed To Have Had Zero Impact On The Main Story
Mirroring Maggie and Hershel’s awkward reunion was Ginny and Negan’s, as she offered up high emotions and even spoken words, only to be met with his disappointment, anger, and the admission that he’s the one who killed her father. At which point she was then taken back to mainland civilization by Marshal Perlie, even more traumatized than she was when she first left for Manhattan. And no fault to Mahina Napoleon’s expressive performance, but I was rather surprised that her entire arc to this point didn’t functionally impact the core narrative, and essentially little would change if she were taken out completely.
Obviously, Ginny’s story adds a layer to where Negan’s life was at going into Dead City’s timeline, but considering we found out he shipped his actual wife and child off to live without him, I never really felt like they had a parent-child bond going. Which worked out, with Negan breaking her heart by saying he was only tracking her to begin with because of what he’d done, despite any paternal feelings he might have sprouted for her during the time together. But take all of that out, and I don’t think Negan’s story would have suffered at all. Here’s hoping the next six episodes change that up, presumably with Ginny being on New Babylon’s side in the impending war.
Now the wait is on for Season 2, which may or may not be impacted by the recent WGA writers strike and the SAG-AFTRA actors strike. While awaiting updates, watch all episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City and other shows in the franchise with an AMC+ subscription, which can be used to watch all of the upcoming Walking Dead franchise shows as well.
