Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 4.
After a slow start to Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, business picks up in the third episode, “Why Did the Mainlanders Cross the River?” Until that point, the first two episodes had been little more than having to accept the contrived reasons that brought Maggie (Lauren Cohan) back to New York City, while Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) moped around while barely saying a word. Episode 3 contains a bit of a twist that finally takes the story away from the Maggie and Negan drama with the aftermath of Maggie’s obsession with Negan as well as her refusal to let go of her overwhelming grief for Glenn (Steven Yeun). This has allowed the Dama (Lisa Emery) to manipulate a lonely Hershel (Logan Kim) into believing that she’s the only one who truly sees him. With that, she’s getting Hershel to help her envision what New York could be, and she’s going to need him to make sacrifices for it to happen. As Episode 4, “Feisty Friendly,” begins, Maggie might need to fear her own son.
The Dama Knows About Hershel

The episode opens with Bruegel (Kim Coates), one of the leaders of the New York groups, talking to a chained-up walker about his excitement to see the city lit up again. Negan, the Croat (Zeljko Ivanek), and the Dama are there to make nice so they can convince him to help fight New Babylon. Benjamin Pierce (Keir Gilchrist) is with them too, having been brought along in the trunk. The Dama tells Negan not to mess things up today while she hopes aloud that his family is still safe during their travels. Without being too explicit, she is threatening Negan into submission.
Bruegel meets the Dama’s people in the museum he lives in, and she’s brought some walker-produced methane with her as a gift. Everyone’s being way too nice as Bruegel takes everyone on a tour. He tries to impress the Dama with his famous art collection, including a painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware. The Croat changes the subject, talking about Bruegel’s champion walker fighter, who has won 26 fights in a row. He questions how this could be, which makes the Dama nervous, but Bruegel invites the group to watch his fighter compete in person.
Bruegel and the Dama’s people sit around a large table watching a walker fight, but the Croat isn’t pleased by what he sees. It doesn’t help when Bruegel also makes fun of his accent. Meanwhile, Benjamin Pierce does himself no favors when he suddenly remembers who the Dama is. She used to be a famous critic, but later attacked a writer who made a play mocking her. The Dama looks embarrassed, but Negan loves it. She changes the subject to Hershel and his drawings. The Dama knows it was he whom Negan was trying to save.
Bruegel Joins the Dama’s Alliance Against New Babylon

Hershel tells Maggie and Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles) about seeing Negan in Central Park. That’s bad for Perlie, seeing as how he told everyone that he killed Negan. Hershel mentions the gun he found in Ginny’s (Mahina Napoleon) bag, too. New Babylon, still staying with Roksana’s (Pooya Mohseni) people, is ready to take a small group to look for the methane being held by the Dama. Narvaez (Dascha Polanco) isn’t happy about it, but Perlie is in charge now.
Maggie, Hershel, and Perlie head out for the museum. Maggie reminisces about a memory of Glenn, which only makes Hershel uncomfortable, as he says he doesn’t see what was so great about the old world, which was full of fighting and killing. In a quiet moment, Maggie tells Perlie that she knows she seems hard on the outside, but she’s terrified all the time. Perlie understands, and he wonders if they’re trying to bring back a world that their children don’t even want. Are they just doing this for themselves? Meanwhile, Narvaez has found Ginny’s gun, and she questions why she’s there. Ginny has no problem saying that she’s there to kill the man who killed her father. The gun was stolen from Narvaez, who speaks about law and retribution before giving the weapon back to Ginny. She knows Negan is the man Ginny is looking for.

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Back at the museum, Bruegel and the Dama have now come to an alliance, which is celebrated at a dinner. Bruegel wants a small change, though, in the form of a second methane factory built in his museum. The Croat finally snaps, yelling that they hold all the cards, and again accuses him of having a walker fighter who somehow cheats. Has it been injected with drugs of some sort? Bruegel is offended, but Negan steps in. He proposes a walker fight between Bruegel’s champion and one of their choosing. If Bruegel wins, he gets his methane factory. If their walker wins, he joins the alliance without any addendums. Bruegel agrees.
Negan Warns Maggie About Hershel

Image via AMC

Maggie talks to Hershel on a rooftop about a memory of him chasing fireflies when he was little. He remembers it well, because his mother was very sad and crying, and he wanted to cheer her up by catching a lightning bug. She apologizes to her son, but before she can say more, Perlie catches a glimpse of Negan and others catching a walker and taking it with them without killing it. The trio then finds a way to sneak into the museum, with the plan being to create a distraction to get Negan alone.
Inside, Bruegel and Negan get their walker combatants ready, with Negan’s being much smaller than the champion. As they’re preparing, Bruegel is alerted that his Washington painting is on fire. The Croat likes it, but with the smile on Negan’s face he seems to know they’re not alone. He excuses himself and finds Maggie in another room. She tells him that she didn’t come back for him. Perlie is there too, wanting to know about the methane operation. Maggie asks to speak with Negan alone, telling him that she wants to get Hershel back home as soon as possible. Negan can’t help her though, because of his family’s safety, but he does give her an address. He also warns Maggie that the Dama has got to Hershel somehow, and he can’t be trusted. On cue, Hershel runs into the Dama, who is surprised but happy to see him.
With the walker battle about to start, Negan pours oil on his to make it slippery while Maggie hides behind a column. Wanting to create a diversion, Negan jumps into the cage, allowing Maggie to escape, but before she can, she’s frozen by the sight of the Dama, who looks right at Maggie with no concern. As expected, Bruegels’ walker wins the fight, and afterward, Negan whispers something to him that we can’t hear. Bruegel, despite winning the bet, decides to show that he’s trustworthy by joining the alliance with no strings attached. Just what did Negan say to him? As this is happening, Maggie and Hershel make it back to the rooftop separately, but her son won’t tell her what took so long for him to come back.
The Dama is amazed by what Negan was able to accomplish. She asks Negan to ride back home in the car with her. The look on the Croat’s face says that he isn’t so happy that his spot is being threatened. Bruegel is back in his quarters talking to his walker champion, who is revealed to not be a walker at all. Instead, we meet a man who’s eating a rat but isn’t all there. His name is Tony, Bruegel’s former bodyguard. With their secret now out, Bruegel has no use for him, so he slits Tony’s throat. As he looks out at the New York skyline, he says, “I’m not out of moves just yet.” Just what is he planning?

The Walking Dead: Dead City

Negan and Maggie are face to face again, but the former has a warning.

Release Date

June 18, 2023

Network

AMC

Directors

Kevin Dowling, Loren Yaconelli

Writers

Brenna Kouf

Pros & Cons

Kim Coates is very charismatic as Bruegel.
Negan’s character is starting to show more life again.

The walker fights are rather dull instead of a highlight.
The momentum with Hershel’s character takes a backseat.
Ginny’s character arc continues to move at a snail’s pace.