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It’s Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, and zombie apocalypse survivors Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are thriving in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. They have electricity, weapons and, hopefully soon, safety in numbers.
Right away, they meet new people, including eccentric bartender Dillard (Jimmi Simpson) and siblings Renata (Aimee Garcia) and Luis (Raúl Castillo). Renata is the leader of a small hospital-based community, and she and her doctor brother are trying to keep their group safe, including a new mother whose baby needs an incubator in the season opener. But to power that incubator up, they require the use of one of the Croat’s (Željko Ivanek) methane tanks. And Renata and Luis’ group, like most of the survivors probably left in Manhattan, have had a bad experience with Negan’s former Savior.
At first, Maggie is “suspicious” of Renata and Luis, says Cohan: “Maggie feels that these people are very shortsighted and just here to wreak havoc, because she knows what’s up with the Croat and New Babylon. And [Maggie and Negan are] not about to put themselves at more risk.”
Although eventually, she adds, “Maggie finds a buddy in Renata.” And Renata’s infectious optimism helps Maggie remember what it was like to have a little hope for a better tomorrow. “I think it reminds [Maggie] of the way [she] used to operate, a little part of Maggie that maybe got buried under years of hurt and resentment,” explains Cohan. “That’s what I freaking love so much about [Season 3’s] first episode, is it’s palpable, the joy.”
“The cornerstone of Luis and Renata’s family and relationship is so similar to what Maggie came from, and what she really craves and wants, that I think it’s a no-brainer [for them] to team up and let people in,” Cohan continues, teasing Maggie and Renata’s future partnership. “It sets us on this path of opening up again and being vulnerable, and the rewards that come with it.”
But what about the punishments? Can the survivors ever really be safe when the theatrical Dama (Lisa Emery) is still lurking in decrepit concert halls with her brainwashed believers? After the Dama lured Maggie’s susceptible teen son Hershel (Logan Kim) into her grasp, we’ve learned not to underestimate the frail drama queen. A tricky situation early on with the baddie will put Maggie at a crossroads. “As much as Maggie appreciates Renata’s idealism, she’s still inherently a pragmatist,” says Cohan. “She has more experience in this world and [knows] about the balance that’s needed.”
“The transition is going to be messy,” teases Cohan of Maggie’s journey towards a better future. “It’s going to be two steps forward and one step back. And wanting to do the right thing for The Dama, so that we can build something better, is not the same as toying and luxuriating in the idea of eliminating this difficulty. That’s the conflict that I enjoy about Maggie….There will always be the Maggie who hung Gregory [in the flagship’s Season 9 premiere] and the Maggie who fell in love with Glenn [Steven Yeun] and encouraged him to believe. There’s just this constant push and pull.”
“She goes to Negan,” the actress adds of her Dama dilemma, “and says, ‘You’re the only one that understands.’”
After the sophomore finale, Maggie and Negan planned to be allies moving forward. But can they handle it? Only if Negan doesn’t lose himself in Dillard’s dive bar haven. Cheers!
The Walking Dead: Dead City, Season 3 Premiere, Sunday, July 26, 9/8c, AMC and AMC+
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