![]() "The premiere establishes a tone that remains consistent throughout the whole season. While what happened to Glenn will always be between Maggie and Negan, it would be nice if these two were brought together by something other than that." Negan killed Glenn years ago by our count, and according to the timeline of this show, it's even longer. We know what the ultimate goal of the story is, but the reasoning is tired. "The problem with "Dead City" is that none of those great moments last long enough. Cohan's Maggie feels like an actual person trying to find a way to make a life that could occasionally be happy - or, at the very least, not solely defined by suffering." Where the original series frequently lost sight of its characters, this new spinoff offers a promising course correction by making them more developed. Dead City might still live in the shadow of The Last of Us, with the Kansas City storyline and its horrifying conclusion feeling the most similar in terms of narrative beats, but it still manages to chart its own path. "While this pairing choice could be a bridge too far for many, especially as it does go back on some of what was previously established about how the duo had come to a tentative truce, this primary hook makes for an experience more tied to a complicated emotional journey beyond just the ephemeral spectacle. Now that he's supposedly evolved and changed for the better, can Negan see the harm that The Croat is doing? Can he recognize himself in the bad guy? Will he succumb to his old nature and stronger devils?" Dead City ultimately feels like his story, using The Croat and his Manhattan operation as an analogue to Negan's worst self. He can't help but dominate nearly every scene he's in, even if the dialogue is patently worse than the first few seasons of the original series. It's simply more interesting to watch her silently react than command the room with words and gestures.ĭean Morgan is also back as Negan Smith, and is arguably better than ever. Cohan is a great actor, but not great at Southern accents, and it gets a little awkward here. ![]() There are myriad shots which simply linger on her reactions, her suspicious eyes, her listening face as she takes in what's happening offscreen, and they go a long way in making this character more mesmerizing than she should be. "Lauren Cohan returns as Maggie Rhee, and the camera is in love with her. Not to mention the insistence on pulling more story from the carcass of the Saviors, which certainly provides narrative ease, but is a tiring return to an arc that took so long to get resolved on “The Walking Dead” - and that previously led many viewers to drop off in frustration (ratings declined significantly after Season 7)." But those thrills are hampered by a story that feels too predictable to anyone who still watches the franchise. "Overall, the show is certainly darker, grittier and even gorier than its predecessors.
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