People Are A Resource  – The episode opens with a flashback. Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) encounters an impaled zombie in the woods. Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) puts the zombie out of its misery by stabbing him in the head. He scolds her for trying to take off after sticking with him for months. Opening her backpack, she reveals her “dino” is missing. He says they will go back the way they came. Back to the present, Ginny lets the motorcycle fall over when Manhattan becomes visible from her location. A dead body is sprawled out on rocks near the water’s edge. She utilizes an insulated cooler to paddle her way to the other side.

Amaia (Karina Ortiz) bangs antlers together to lure a deer. Tommaso (Jonathan Higginbotham) shoots the animal when it approaches. Luther (Michael Anthony) guts the deer. Amaia says it is clear between 8^th Street and 30^th Street. Tommaso warns that most of the streets are filled with fleshies. Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) asks what 33^rd Street looks like. Amaia tells her it is a hotbed of traps staged by The Croat (Zeljko Ivanek). She claims the Army trapped them in the city by blowing up the tunnels and bridges. Tommaso tells them initially The Croat rounded up people to join him. Now, he pilfers their supplies and tries to kill them. Utilizing the excuse of checking the alley, Maggie breaks down sobbing.

Ginny looks at what is left of Manhattan. Looking out at a building surrounded by groaners, Tommaso tells Maggie that The Croat is through there.  Negan reminds Amaia of what she said about someone escaping The Croat’s compound. She claims Tommaso is the Croat’s only victim to escape. Maggie asks how he got out. Amaia suggests showing them until Luther (Michael Anthony) intervenes. She reminds him of how The Croat slaughtered their people. Tommaso agrees it is too risky. Negan explains a similar experience over a decade ago. He says when the people got fed up, they fought back and won.

Perlie Armstrong (Galus Charles) is taken to The Croat. Handcuffed to a metal bar, he watches activity down below.

Tommaso tells Maggie and Negan when he was The Croat’s captive, someone would occasionally offer him medicine and food for information. He claims to have refused them information until there were no more offers of food. He says his grandfather told him that the framework from old Penn Station remained intact when it was rebuilt. A zombie got into his cell while the Burazi was cleaning it. He escaped by following the old Penn Station framework to the tunnels. Maggie asks how far will they need to travel to reach the cells. Negan assures them that The Croat relocated the cells after his escape. Amaia asks how would he know. Maggie informs him of Negan and The Croat’s past relationship. Luther asks if they are pals. She tells him that Negan shot The Croat’s ear off before suggesting they can utilize him as bait.

Amaia says they will take care of the Burazi to keep them from following them. Luther asks what if he doesn’t take the bait. Negan assures him that he does want revenge. Maggie tells him that it will work for her son, Hershel Rhee (Logan Kim). Luther says he is already dead.

Perlie watches as Buraz (Alex Huynh) sets the table and puts on a Croatian vinyl. The Croat tells him that he specialized in “alternative energy.” He says “death” is the most abundant resource in Manhattan. He explains how the dead bodies generate methane that when pressurized becomes a liquid fuel. Placing a handcuff on the table, he claims everyone is welcome in his sanctuary but only after they are determined to not be a threat. Preparing to cut into a slab of meat, he discovers a worm. After asking Buraz if the meat was inspected, he warns about the dangers of spoiled meat. He forces the Buraz to swallow the handcuff key before smashing his head into a structure. Perlie witnesses the entire spectacle.

Maggie looks through a tin box of photos and Hershel’s sketch. Negan assures her that their plan will work to get Hershel back. She explains what happened when The Croat visit their sanctuary. Hershel refused to hide in the root cellar. When he grabbed a shovel, she called him “stupid.” He tells her that he was living with Annie and Joshua in a cabin near New Babylon several years ago. He says one day, Annie never returned from town. He found her battered and beaten. He admits to killing her five assailants. He sent them to Missouri with the promise to follow them. He prays they are all right.

Ginny barely escapes an injured groaner. She turns to see the zombie reaching for her dinosaur. In a flashback, Negan complains about spending the day looking for her stuffed dinosaur. He urges her to learn how to deal with her past. He suggests they are surrounded by “leads.” Back to the present, she watches as a Buraz kills the groaner and stuffs the dinosaur in her back. She follows the Buraz.

Amaia, Tommaso, Luther, and the others each place an item on the table. Luther hums a tune. The Croat rouse up his people. They chant, “Doma smo.” Maggie presses Hershel’s sketch between her hands. Perlie is brought forward. The Croat covers his face with a mask before being restrained to a metal pole inside a cage. Delirious, he sees a Buraz zombie walking in his direction. He decapitates the groaner with his handcuff chain. Slicing up the stomach, he removes the key and unlocks his handcuffs. He tries to open the locked door as more zombies are released. The Croat watches as he kills them.

Tommaso admires Maggie’s control while The Croat has Hershel. He claims Amaia believes it would be too dangerous there for a child. Agreeing with Amaia, Maggie suggests making it safe when a woman arrives with Ginny’s stuffed dinosaur. The woman says it was in the street before giving it to her to keep.

The Croat describes Perlie’s fight for his life as the best show they have seen in years. He explains what happened to him and his family when the world became unstable. While he was out scavenging for food, his wife, Mia, and his children, Filip, Hana, and Nika were killed to feed another family on the verge of starvation. His men restrain him while a letter is removed from his boot. He breaks down in tears while The Croat reads the letter out loud. Ordering him to stop, Perlie says he and his two partners who are dead followed fugitive, Negan there.

Holding up Negan’s wanted poster, Luther demands he and Maggie leave. He admits to finding it in his possessions. Negan tells him that he isn’t leaving because people are depending on him. As he steps forward to leave, Luther blocks his way. When Luther does it again, he hits him with a pan. A physical altercation ensues and ends with Luther sustaining a fatal fall.

Ginny watches Maggie place her dinosaur in a dumpster. In a flashback, Negan asks Ginny if she inspected her bag before they executed their search. He opens his bag to see the dinosaur snuggled safely inside. He wraps the stuffed animal’s abdomen before saying, “The operation was a complete success.” He teaches her how to whistle when in danger. She gives him a bear hug. Back to the present, Ginny watches Maggie light a match. The episode closes.

 

The Walking Dead: Dead City Review

Ginny sets out for Manhattan to find Negan. Reaching her destination, she sets sail in an abandoned insulated cooler with a makeshift paddle. In the meantime, Amaia convinces Tommaso to show Maggie and Negan how to breach The Croat’s sanctuary. Tommaso was a prisoner of The Croat until an opportunity to escape came. Remembering a story his grandfather told him as a child about the old Penn Station framework still intact, he makes it back to his people.

Tommaso’s people, excluding Luther, are on board with helping them rescue Hershel. Luther discovers Negan’s wanted poster in his bag. He orders him to take Maggie and leave. He suffers a fatal injury during their physical altercation.

It’s revealed Annie and Joshua are supposed to be in Missouri. A woman in Amaia’s group finds the stuffed animal. When Maggie shows interest in it, she gives it to her. To keep Negan from finding out, Maggie decides to burn it.

The Croat forces a Buraz to swallow Perlie’s handcuff key before killing him. He puts the Buraz-turned zombie in a cage with an intoxicated Perlie. He kills the Buraz and cuts open his stomach to retrieve the key. He is forced to continue fighting for his life until The Croat is satisfied.

While The Walking Dead book series is a work of fiction, viewers expect the AMC adaptation to lean toward realism as much as possible. It’s doubtful Ginny would make the trip across the Hudson River in an insulated cooler. The currents would most likely flip the cooler over and she would be swept out to sea.

It’s doubtful, Tommaso’s amateurish sketch would be of any use for breaching The Croat’s sanctuary.

The episode deserves a 5.5. Get more The Walking Dead: Dead City recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Learn about our onsite advertising by speaking to a real customer support agent.