Warning: Spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 5
The Walking Dead: Dead City just revealed a huge deception perpetrated by Maggie in the spinoff. Since the beginning of the series, it was understood that Maggie needed Negan’s help because of his personal knowledge of her son’s captor, the Croat. However, The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 5’s ending twist makes it clear that things were never what they seemed.
In the world of The Walking Dead, it’s naturally Maggie who has the moral high ground when it comes to Negan, considering all the harm he’s caused. Even after redeeming himself, Negan has continued to tread into grey areas, with the cover-up of Luther’s death being a prime example. But he’s not the only one of the pair making questionable decisions in Dead City. Despite being a long-standing hero in the franchise, it appears Maggie has been hiding a big secret for a while now, with Ginny being the first to figure out her ruse. By painting on the wall in the sewers, she labeled Maggie a “liar.”
Maggie's Deal With The Croat: Negan For Hershel
The final minutes of The Walking Dead: Dead City’s penultimate episode justified Ginny’s suspicions of Maggie. As it turns out, she has indeed been lying – on more than one count. A flashback revealed that when the Croat took Herschel, he showed her one of Negan’s wanted posters. This sent the message that the Croat was willing to give up Herschel if she traded him for Negan. That, not Negan’s history with the Croat, was the reason why he was so important to her rescue mission in Dead City. That adds up, given Maggie’s determination to keep him around. After all, Negan’s information may have made him useful to her efforts, but perhaps not indispensable.
Curiously, The Walking Dead: Dead City’s setup for its Maggie reveal has been in place since the second episode. While at the new Hilltop, Ginny was shown watching someone climb up the ladder of the grain silo. And as another flashback confirmed, the scene was a hint at the Hilltop having plenty of grain. This is ultimately what made Ginny so sure that Maggie couldn’t be trusted; she knew then that Maggie had lied when she claimed that the Croat took all of it and was using Herschel as a hostage to force her into procuring more. The grain was all part of her elaborate ruse to get Negan to Manhattan.
Why The Croat Really Wants Negan
Maggie’s true plan wasn’t the only eye-opening reveal in The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 5. Contrary to what the show had thus far indicated, Dead City's Croat is not the real mastermind behind Herschel’s capture. The person he works for is a new character, played by Lisa Emery. Whoever she is, she appears to be a former actress. Through her conversation with the Croat, Dead City proved that she is the one who’s really in charge. He answers to her, meaning that she’s the one who wanted Negan brought to Manhattan. Her motivations remain largely shrouded in mystery, although her reasons were alluded to in the episode.
The Croat claimed that in the midst of rebuilding society, people will come after them and attempt to take what they have. He argued that they had to be ready for that. This prompted the mystery character to respond, “which is why we need him.” Based on these comments, she seems to think that Negan is crucial to their survival. She even went as far as to call him “the hero” when discussing his role in their story. Why she thinks so highly of Negan, a person she may or may not know personally, remains unclear. It’s possible that his ruthlessness as the leader of the Saviors is what makes him of value to her.
Will Negan Give Himself Up To Save Hershel?
With The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1 finale approaching, it’s only a matter of time before Negan finds out why Maggie really needs him. Any anger he’ll feel toward her aside, it’s worth wondering if he’d consider giving himself up. Negan saved Herschel before, so making a heroic move isn’t necessarily new territory for him anymore. Even so, Negan said in the series premiere that he felt he had paid for his crimes, which suggests that he doesn’t think he owes it to her to save Herschel. Plus, it’s hard to imagine Negan agreeing to such a trade anyway; he knows the Croat’s reputation and would be unlikely to trust him.
Chances are, Maggie understands that as well. Before finding out that Negan killed Luthor, Maggie was about to tell Negan something. From the looks of things, she was going to confess her real intentions. If that’s true, that means Maggie may not actually intend to trade Negan for Herschel in The Walking Dead: Dead City. It may be that she doubts the Croat will keep his end of the bargain. If so, she may have decided that she needs Negan to trick the Croat, and then they can work together to get Herschel to safety. This is a plan that Negan could feasibly go along with, as it makes more sense than Negan sacrificing himself under the pretense that the Croat will keep his word.
The Walking Dead: Dead City continues Sunday on AMC.