TWD: Dead City Premiere Recap: Will the Gross-Outs Keep You Tuning In?

There would be no playing of Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited” in Sunday’s premiere of AMC’s third Walking Dead spinoff, Dead City, ’cause good was most definitely not how being together again felt to either Negan or Maggie. In fact, Glenn’s widow only sought out his killer anew to help her save kidnapped son from a baddie called The Croat (Željko Ivanek). Why was Negan her best chance of rescuing her dad’s namesake? Read on…

‘GOOD TO SEE YOU, TOO’ | Early on in “Old Acquaintances,” Maggie tracked Negan to a saloon where he worked as a “groaner” exterminator. After she nearly had her nose sliced off by the bar’s proprietress, who didn’t like anybody sniffing around, Maggie chased down Negan and finally cornered him with young ward Ginny, who he’d later explain hadn’t spoken since getting an eyeful of her reanimated father. Maggie was frostier to Negan than she had been when the mothership series ended. But she did show him the poster stating that he was public enemy No. 1 to the marshals of New Babylon. “For a wanted man, I look good,” he cracked.

Shortly, Maggie explained that Hilltop 2.0 had been raided a month ago by a villain who promised to come back for more in four weeks’ time. To ensure the colony’s cooperation, he’d taken back to Manhattan with him some collateral: Hershel. Negan needn’t pretend that he didn’t know The Croat, either, Maggie said. When his men had had Hilltop surrounded, he’d whistled the way Negan had when he’d been leader of the Saviors. In a gang full of psychos, Negan admitted, “he always stood out as being an exceptionally insane son of a bitch.” Since Negan owed Maggie — and she promised to take in Ginny at Hilltop — he’d help his longtime nemesis save her boy.

‘HOW MANY HUSBANDS AND FATHERS HAVE YOU KILLED?’

| Once Ginny had been dropped off with a Hilltopper, Negan insisted to Maggie that he hadn’t done what the marshals claim that he did. And though his sins are many, “I do believe I’ve paid for what I’ve done.” (Since he dodged her question about Annie and their baby, gonna guess it didn’t go well for them.) Back at the saloon, the marshals, led by Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles), scared Negan-centric intel out of the owner, then fed her to walkers, anyway, for aiding and abetting. An even grislier fate awaited Negan. For the murder of a magistrate and others, he’d be hung upside-down and sawed in half, Terrifier style.

Just as Negan and Maggie were about to motorboat across the river to NYC, Perlie & Co. caught up with them. Negan wanted to throw marshal trainee Jano overboard, but Maggie wouldn’t allow it; maybe they could use him as insurance. Just before the trio started skulking around Manhattan, Negan asked Maggie to look after Jenny — because, Maggie guessed, he wasn’t coming back for her. After Jano was noisily stopped from making a run for it, walkers, drawn to the sound, began plummeting from skyscrapers. “Seriously?” Negan marveled. But worse was yet to come. When marshals used music to send walkers parading down the street, Negan, Maggie and Jano hid in garbage… and soon found themselves covered with roaches!

‘I DON’T DRINK, I DON’T SMOKE, I LIKE A GOOD HOG STEW’

| Soon, the marshals cornered Negan, Maggie and Jano in a laundromat. Family man Perlie gave Maggie an opportunity to explain why she was with Negan, but she didn’t take it. Just as Negan was telling Jano to get a move on, the doofus was attacked by a walker with — holy crap! — a rat scurrying in and out of its mouth! He lived through that, only to be shot accidentally by Perlie. The marshal also got into a life-or-death struggle with Maggie, who in the end left him unconscious rather than deceased. When she and Negan made their way into a back room, before their eyes appeared a crazed old woman who blew out the longest-lasting match I’ve ever seen.

Finally, at The Croat’s HQ, the Big Bad terrorized spunky Hershel (now Logan Kim) and looked ready to inflict some torture when he was called up to the roof. Another prisoner, who looked so bad off, he might have left behind a pound of flesh, had gotten free and tried to zip-line to another building. Alas, The Croat merely cut his wire, sending him plummeting down 20 stories. So, what did you think of the premiere? Grade it in the poll below, then hit the comments with your questions and critiques.

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