In this episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City, we get loads of information on the principal characters, and we learn about alternative fuel as Croat goes full Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
“People Are a Resource“
I know that I am repeating myself, but I do believe that Dead City will, in the end, be rated one of the best shoot offs from the original show. The desperation for survivors is better served in a city setting. The main question that was answered tonight was what happened to Annie and the baby. We do find out and it ties in with why Negan is a wanted man, but first we need to find out Ginny’s, Amaia’s and Tommaso’s story. Did you ever wonder why the military wasn’t able to protect Manhattan, or the rest of the country for that matter?
We learn from Amaia (Karina Ortiz) and Tommaso ( Jonathan Higginbotham) that the military pushed the walkers into the subway systems underground and into tunnels before blowing up the bridges and trapping survivors on the island. That is what the military does best…blows up stuff, but it didn’t help stop the horde. Amaia’s group survives by hunting the occasional deer that wanders onto the streets. While eating, they make plans, but not everyone is on board to help Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Luther was definitely against this foolishness.
Ginny
We see flashbacks of Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) and Negan and realize that this little girl thinks of Negan as a father figure. When she loses her stuffed dinosaur, Negan backtracks into dangerous territory to find it. He teaches Ginny to whistle as a means of letting him know when she is in danger. Jumping into present time, Ginny rows herself to Manhattan in what appeared to be a barrel. Don’t walkers swim? While in Manhattan, she loses the dinosaur which is later found by a survivor. I don’t think Negan is going to be happy knowing that kid is in danger.
When Maggie is going through a box of family photos which include a drawing of Glenn and her dad’s watch, Negan interrupts by bringing her a baseball cap for when they rescue Hershel. Maggie admits that her relationship with her teenage son was slightly toxic. Is there any other relationship possible with a teenager? This is when we find out from Negan exactly what happened to Annie and his son Joshua. New Babylon is not as friendly as Marshal Perlie (Gaius Charles) wants us to believe. Annie was attacked by five men, and Negan showed the perpetrators just how swift Karma works. He sent Annie and Joshua to Missouri to live while he and Ginny avoided the long arm of the law. I don’t know about you, but this bit of news was the highlight of the episode. I was so worried that Annie and the baby had died on the season finale of TWD.
Alternative Energy
Croat (Zeljko Ivanek) is beginning to look like a worthy adversary. He may be crazy, vindictive, and enjoys torturing people, but he is a scientist, and he knows how to keep the lights on at the stadium for the Zombie Cage Fights…which brought back memories of Mel Gibson’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
What can you use dead bodies for? Methane Gas! Croat is using the bodies of walkers and enemies to create methane gas which then is used as liquid fuel or electricity via conventional technologies, such as chemical conversion…thus the stadium lights shine bright. After capturing Perlie, Croat explains that after he lost his family while they were hiding in a Post Office, that he wanted to create a version of Sanctuary to protect people. Croat may be smart, but he is definitely mad, and quickly dispatches his chef when a worm is found in his meal…but not before having the chef swallow the key to Perlie’s handcuffs.
Conclusion
This episode offered up so many shocking scenes that I don’t know where to begin. Was it the music blasting from a Macy’s Thanksgiving Float that led walkers to the stadium? Was it Negan telling Amaia and Tommaso how Alexandria and the other communities defeated the Saviors without mentioning his part in that event? Was it the fight between Luther (Michael Anthony) and Negan? Was it Perlie’s quick thinking that got him out of those handcuffs? Will Perlie and Croat work together to capture Negan?
Maggie has the stuffed dinosaur given to her by the man who found it on the street…and Maggie knows damn well that Negan will search for Ginny instead of finding Hershel if he knows that child has found her way into Manhattan. Will Maggie burn the toy, or will she tell Negan the truth? We only have three more episodes left to find out.
