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Dead City has had some real problems in the past, Season 1 had some cool moments but then they totally screw up on Season 2, felt draggy and without purpose. I would say at last, Season 3 Episode 1 gave the series a real reason to keep Maggie and Negan in the same story, they also instead of just blowing up things gave this episode it small quest to save a baby, and had to first figure out a few more things before doing so. The biggest problem of the series so far is that for too long their whole thing has been the same argument on repeat, guilt, threats and whether or not Maggie is ever going to put Negan down for good, she stab him good but didnt kill him. This episode actually moves past that but makes the entire thing a bit sarcastic and make fun of it. Maggie still does not forgive him and she is not about to trust him with everything, but she admits he can do something she cannot do alone and for Negan that is enough to make the alliance feel real this time, also the episode has this vibe about getting over situations and pass the page. The episode starts with a scene at Ginny's improvise grave is still rough, Negan is still angry that Maggie tried to kill him and could not finish it, and Maggie is just tired of having the same fight over and over, but at least this time they actually say it to each other instead of hiding it, it wouldnt be strange that Dead City turns into something very similar as the other two spin off, after all the end goal is probably have them all come together. For now I have to think words are enough but it will take time to see if Negan is really on Maggie side, same goes for her, it makes them feel like real people facing their problems with anger and acceptance instead of two characters stuck having the same argument every season. Maggie apologizes without expecting him to just let it go, even ask him to stab her if thats what it needs to get this over with, and Negan finally admits he is angry because there is nothing left in his life that feels worth protecting anymore. Its messy, doesnt fit Negan OG character but he has change after all. They are not about to become friends just yet, but its more like they are finally saying what they need from each other.
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Proof that things are moving forward is how Lucille act as a token again, its funny how a weapon of distruction can turn into an icon of peace, there is this moment on the episode where Maggie hands off Lucille to Negan and ask for his help, consider that Negan is just sitting there drinking a beer and there is no reason to be afraid of him so giving him Lucille is literally asking for help without having to worry about it been power, she believes he is the only one who can get them to that last tank in time to give the baby a real shot, but right there I still think he can be dangerous, specially if they find Dama, Negan has this tendency to flip, thats the truth. After his failure from the OG show, watching those close to him die and watching others turn even worst than him, like the Croat, I bet Negan has been wondering if he can lead people again without turning into the monster he use to be and on Season 01 he gave Maggie a leason that he can still be the same savage guy when those he love are in danger. When Maggie actually asking him for help means something because of that, because he does not help because she tricks him or forces him into it, he helps because she flat out says she needs him, and that is a much better reason for the two of them to stay in each others lives. It also makes him walking away from Dillards bar a place that feels perfect, Dillard doesnt look that crazy but lets be honest the guy keeps zombies as entertaiment, that place gave him a strange kind of peace, the humor, the odd food setup, nobody asking him to be a leader or a killer there, he just got offer a beer and that was it. Leaving that behind means choosing responsibility again, but this time on purpose. I also liked that Maggie does not act proud of herself for talking him into it, she knows what she is asking for and what Lucille represents, and the show still treats that weapon as carrying everything Negan has done, none of them will ever forget what Lucille did between them, its more interesting how the show uses that history to show Maggie is willing to take help from a man she still has every reason to hate and kill.
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Just as I mention above of how words are not enough, its because it feels weak too just like too easy, like a cheat code and it happens so fast, so much of it plays out like cleanup instead of something that actually matters of they can base into something Negan did to earn that trust back. Then there is the scene that everything happens all at once with the Croat wipes out the methane operation, Hershel comes back to Maggie, the whole conflict around the Dama basically loses its grip on him, and the leftover methane becomes the new plan to keep the episode moving forward, I had to assume Hershel was with The Croat but they didnt even explain from where the fuck he came. I get why they did it, the old story had Maggie and Negan stuck and the show needed to get them looking forward instead of circling the same enemies. But the cathedral and those methane tanks mattered enough that blowing it all up in one explosion and jumping straight to the hidden prototype makes that whole fight feel disposable. Hershels return has the same problem, Im also glad he admits the Dama told him he would have to kill Maggie and that he does not want to keep living angry, like finally this kid is landing some sense into his head, and the conversation between him and Maggie is one of the better parts of the episode, but his change of thought happens out of nowhere consdiering to be someone with a very mess up head, so why now?, like a bunch of hard steps happened off screen that we never actually got to see. The episode wants a clean restart so bad that it skips over the actual work of getting there, which does not ruin where things are headed but does make the transition feel a little empty for choices that should have taken these characters longer to understand and build up.
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The Croat dying creates a similar problem in a different way, like how he got bitten?, the idea of blowing the thanks is not a crazy one because it could have been proud or the fact he was dying and said screw you all. There is this last scene with Negan that was very convinient but makes sense because so much of who he became came from what Negan taught him, the Croat even call him his teacher one last time, so dying next to the guy he used to follow gives that relationship a real ending, putting the Croat behind but also uplifting Dama and The New Babylon Federation. It also says something about Negan, that he is not only mourning the Croat, he is looking at what his own leadership made. Thats reason enough for Negan to break down, especially right after admitting he wanted Maggie to kill him, not only because he lost Ginny but also because everything that happen in New York is because of him, Dama, The Croat, Maggie going to New York, everything and everyone wanted a piece of Negan for one reason or another. The show gives the Croat this quiet, almost peaceful final moment right after showing us this scene where he use to terrorized Renatas whole community and killed people just to keep them in line, and how the entire saving the baby story came to be. I think his death was too peaceful for someone like him and one useful thing at the end does not cancel out everything he did before it, should have kill him but he was the only one who knew. The worst part of the Croat death is that Negan had to take the bullet, because the show make it looks like The Croat didnt know any better than copy Negans old methods, used murder to teach a lesson, and left other people to deal with the damage. That should have stayed part of how his death felt instead of the goodbye leaning so hard on Negans pain that everyone the Croat actually hurt basically disappears from the moment, and I understand why Negan cries about it, I just do not think the Croat needed that soft of an exit.
New characters with some context is what really help this clean up episode, and they give Maggie and Negan an actual reason to thin they can have a life in Manhattan instead of going somewhere else, Negan is going to make Dillards bar his home for sure, I only wonder if Dillard is twisted too and come up with any dark surprises. Renata and Luis are easy to root for on this episode because what they need is simple, methane to power an incubator and keep a baby alive, and that gives the episode a real human problem to solve, a problem outside of the main characters that lets Maggie choose hope and its a noble cause, they could have easily walk away but who could, probably old Negan but not them now. She helps because the mother and the baby matter to her, but she is also thinking about what a stable place in Manhattan could mean for Hershel, although she still thinks about going back to the bricks. Hershel had this real bonding patching up a wound and Luis background in emergency medicine gives him something to actually work toward, which stear him from been angry at Maggie for another season and he might turn into a medic as Luis, its just purpose for the kid. Dillard brings some of that break the ice humor too without taking over the episode, his bar, his chained walkers, that strange food system, all of it shows survival in the city can look different than the same old camps and armed groups. The last scene with the Dama is the part that worries me though, it makes it pretty she is not over with any of them and I really do not want the season to rebuild the same problem right after spending a whole episode clearing it out of the way, Im fine with the show keeping her in the background and probably turn her into a minor danger latter on but not the main one. Even with Dama still lurking around, I think this season had a good starts as it focus on the right place to get the story out of that circle where it was stuck, Maggie and Negan have an alliance based on an actual choice now, Hershel has something like a future probably a profession, and the irony in all this is that Manhattan can finally be more than just a place they keep trying to escape from.
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#walkingdead, #deadcity, #trillium, #maggie, #negan, #hershel, #croat, #lucille, #methane, #manhattan, #zombies, #walkers, #television, #episode, #premiere, #alliance, #survival, #leadership, #forgiveness, #grief, #community, #dillard, #renata, #louise, #dama
Rating: 75/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.
