Walking Dead: Dead City season finale sets up confrontations for season 2

AMC announced a second season of The Walking Dead: Dead City at SDCC 2023. This wasn’t a surprise to those who viewed the season finale early on AMC+ on July 20, as the first season concludes with the set up of many new confrontations.

This article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City season finale, “Doma Smo.”

The season finale of Dead City appeared to lead to some happy endings for some of the characters, but midway through, viewers realized this wasn’t the case. The episode was created to transition into season 2 and did a fantastic job giving viewers enough information to anticipate the next chapter in Dead City. 

How did The Walking Dead: Dead City end?

Maggie (Lauren Cohan) was hell-bent on two things in this series. The first is exacting revenge on Negan for killing her husband Glenn (Steven Yeun), and the second is assuring her son Hershel (Logan Kim) was rescued after being abducted. While she has been so preoccupied with focusing on Negan, she has neglected her son, who has become bitter towards her, feeling unseen by his mother. By the end of the episode, she tells Hershel she is ready to finish things with Negan so she can let it go. Does this mean she will attempt to rescue him to make things right so she can move on?

Hershel (Logan Kim) is in a difficult spot. He is very angry with his mother and has felt the effects of her lust for revenge. How this will affect his actions in season 2 will be interesting to see. He experienced significant trauma at the hands of The Croat and Dama, which will also influence him moving forward.

Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was betrayed by Maggie as she had always intended on trading him for Hershel. The thing is, Negan would have likely done this willingly to protect Hershel. Now he is the presence of The Dama, who desires to make him a leader within her organization. She wants to take over the island and needs leaders like Negan to make this happen. Season 2 will reveal Negan’s plans as he is no longer the man who led the Saviors. It is doubtful he will roll over and do her bidding.

Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) latched on to Negan after her father’s death, leaving her so traumatized she could no longer speak. When she learns of Maggie’s deception by finding the grain at The Bricks, she makes her way to Manhattan to warn the father figure in her life. Upon reuniting with Negan, who was angry that she put her life in danger, he lashes out and reveals he is the one who killed her father. He is overly cruel to her, which likely broke his heart, and allowed Perlie Armstrong to take her back to The Bricks.

Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles) changed his thoughts about Negan after hearing the truth of what happened when Negan killed the five men from New Babylon. He volunteers to take Ginny back to the safety of The Bricks on his way back to New Babylon. You can see that his experience in Manhattan has altered him, and he tells the leader (Jasmin Walker) of that community that he killed Negan. She was disappointed as she would have liked to place him on display to make a statement. She is also very interested in The Croat’s methane, and from her tone, Armstrong realizes she is very serious about it, and this will likely be a key storyline in season 2. Was her mention of his daughters a subtle threat?

The Croat  (Željko Ivanek) has been overjoyed to be back in Negan’s presence but was disappointed to see his hero has changed since they last knew one another. But believing he can still bring Negan to his side, he brings him to The Dama, who is really the one in charge. He believes Negan to be the key to carrying out The Dama’s plan to take over the island of Manhattan.

The Dama (Lisa Emery) is a wicked woman who is calm and calculating and commands respect. She lays out her plan to Negan, and then, to add weight to her request that he join their ranks, she shows him that she took Hershel’s toe and informs him that she can always return to take more if needed. This threat will likely tip the scales for Negan to do as requested by The Dama.

The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2

Overall, Dead City’s first season was outstanding. This series did a fantastic job of keeping some of The Walking Dead vibes while creating a world of its own. Viewers learned much more about Maggie and Negan and watched their relationship change.

This series also introduced a new cast of interesting characters, and it will be fascinating to learn more about them.

Season 2 will continue the story, with the methane likely being a central focus for New Babylon. Maggie will probably set a plan in motion to aid Negan while The Dama wreaks havoc in Manhattan for the other groups she mentioned in her conversation with Negan.

The Walking Dead: Dead City will return for season 2 at a later date.

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