The Walking Dead: Why did Maggie negotiate with Gregory?

Rick Grimes may be the leader of Alexandria, but Maggie Greene was tasked with meeting with Gregory, the leader of the Hilltop on AMC’s The Walking Dead.

When the people of Alexandria were taken to The Hilltop on AMC’s The Walking Dead, it was to try to help out both communities. Jesus had told them that his community had resources that theirs didn’t and vice versa, so trading would be of a big benefit to both settlements. But when it came time to negotiate a trade with The Hilltop’s leader Gregory, it was Maggie Greene who did the talking, not the leader of Alexandria, Rick Grimes.

This might seem odd at first, but after consideration it makes perfect sense. Maggie was the #2 in Alexandria under Deanna Monroe and knew the situation better than Rick did. She had the numbers and information as well as the experience to know exactly what her fellow people need and what they can afford to give up to get it.

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However, Rick’s group couldn’t have expected the kind of response that Gregory gave them. After telling the Alexandrians to take showers and clean up, he announced that one member of the new group could speak to him about a trade.

Rick and Maggie had a quick conversation on the steps to the showers which was very telling about how Alexandria is run. Instead of Rick going in there, he was willing to let Maggie do this important task. Here is how the conversation went:

"Rick Grimes and Maggie Greene – The Walking Dead, AMCRick: “You clean up first, you talk to him.”Maggie: “Why?”Rick: “I shouldn’t…”"

Later on, Rick had a little more to say to Maggie. He let her know that “you better start doing these things.”

For Rick, this had to be a challenge to give up this kind of power. In the history of The Walking Dead, he’s always been the man with the plan, the guy everyone went to with their big problems when looking for an answer. Delegating this work to Maggie not only makes her a more valuable part of the group, but it helps keep the checks and balances of Alexandria.

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Luckily for Rick, Maggie is one heck of a negotiator. After a failed first attempt at working out a deal, Maggie fleeced Gregory for half of everything they have in The Hilltop following his stabbing. But sadly, now Rick’s people will have to go head-to-head with The Saviors in a future episode of The Walking Dead, which is something that there is no way they can be adequately prepared for.