Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
No matter what situation they find themselves in, Maggie and Negan somehow prevail.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 7 was no different, serving up a fascinating hour that delved deeper into their complicated dynamic.
There’s always been this ambiguity about how they would react when they left the past behind and focused on the present.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
Maggie spent years on a vengeful mission that did her no favors, and now she’s aware of how much of an asset Negan could be to any community he’s a part of.
He’s loyal to a fault nowadays, but he’s still cunning enough to know when the s–t is about to hit the fan.
Despite the walls closing in after killing Fabian, Maggie knew there was something off about the information Dillard shared.
A season or two ago on The Walking Dead: Dead City, Maggie would have used this as an opportunity to finally end Negan’s life, but she’s gotten to know a very different side of him.
Even though she probably should have thrown him under the bus, she knew she had to get the facts about the situation, and I respect that.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
Dillard being a straight-up psycho came out of left field, but looking back at the rest of The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3, his behavior got a pass because everyone figured he was this eccentric bar owner who kept zombies as patrons.
That’s certainly niche, no matter how far gone the world is, but he became a confidante to Negan and a hub for the residents of Maggie and Renata’s community.
After the cliffhanger of The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 6, I figured Negan sliced Dillard’s face because he was triggered by the infamous Savior Whistle.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Is Headed in Another Direction
It made a lot of sense, and I felt a little bit bad for Dillard, but after seeing how he turned into a psycho after Negan put down his zombies, I was gobsmacked.
I don’t even think Dillard needed to serve a bigger purpose than what he served in the first half of the season, but this hard left turn was a highly effective way to send the season in an unprecedented direction.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
Renata has been a good judge of character all season long, so I was surprised by how she took Dillard’s words at face value.
Maybe her thoughts were clouded by her upset over Negan killing Fabian and practically laughing her out of the bar with threats.
But as a leader of that community, I expected her to look at the situation from a distance. She thought Negan was an immediate threat and couldn’t see anything but red when it came to him.
Rallying up the group that stood in wait outside the bar and giving Maggie less than an hour to bring him in made me feel like I didn’t know Renata as well as I thought I did.
Her last-minute realization that she’d gone too far and calling off the takedown of Negan was too little, too late, in my eyes.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
I get that she wanted to save her community, but waging war on Negan was catastrophic. There should have been a better chain of command, perhaps a council, as we’ve seen in the various other shows in The Walking Dead franchise.
How Renata got the final say undermined the great strides she’d made to take this community into its next chapter.
I theorized back on The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 1 that Renata and Luis were new characters introduced to be killed off.
Maggie, Hershel, and Negan are safe because they’re the connective tissue to the wider franchise.
Every single one of these post-The Walking Dead spinoffs has brought in characters to kill off without a second thought.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
That said, I was surprised that Dillard killed Renata. It was a big, bold swing, but she was no longer useful to him because she wasn’t following his orders.
Luis being knocked out after witnessing his sister’s murder was cold as ice, but I don’t know how he will view a potential romance with Maggie now.
He only just got over the loss of his wife, and there’s every reason to believe that he might think Maggie should have done more to prevent what happened.
Maggie really did have her work cut out for her on this hour because she was trying to save Negan from himself and an army of people who wanted him dead.
The gunfight between the two sides was a lot of fun, but it’s hard to believe that Dillard thought he’d get the upper hand during the gun battle.
(AMC/Screenshot)
He knows a lot about where Maggie and Negan came from and the communities they’d been part of, so he totally underestimated them.
Hershel saving the day and helping Maggie and Negan escape was not on my bingo card, but it’s yet another indication of how far this series has come overall.
The best thing for them to do would be to bail out of Manhattan altogether, but with Dillard holding the community at gunpoint, they’re going to have to come up with a plan that can save everyone.
Will this mean the end of Negan in Manhattan? I’m not sure, but these three will spring into action to try to save everyone.
It feels like an impossible task at this point, but stranger things have happened in this universe.
(Robert Clark/AMC)
What are your thoughts on how Dillard became this villain?
Do you believe Renata’s death had to happen?
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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On The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 7, Maggie springs into action to save Negan. Read our full review.
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The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 7 promises a battle for the ages. Check out our exclusive clip.
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