Aahana Swrup
After Maggie and Renata’s gutsy decision to light up the Statue of Liberty, things promise to change big time in season 3 of ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City.’ It’s only a matter of time before the Haven fires up their welcoming beacon, and a boatload of people arrive on the shores of the city. However, much to the leaders’ surprise, these new arrivals are all survivors of an interclan war between two communities of survivors. Consequently, while Maggie corrals her people to provide medical support and shelter to the newcomers, Renata must pull her weight as a leader and make a choice for the future of her people regarding who gets to stay in the city. On the other hand, Negan once again steps into the role of a reluctant figurehead. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Warring Clans Arrive on the Shores of New York
Maggie’s decision to light up the Statue of Liberty had come from a desire to grow the Haven into an actual civilization to give their community a real shot at long-term survival. She realizes that in order to build a functioning society from scratch, the Haven needs more people. Therefore, a risk must be taken in welcoming other survivors into the fold. She believes that Renata is the ideal partner to undertake this risky venture with because she trusts the other woman’s judgment and leadership skills. Even so, the first batch of newcomers that greet them brings something entirely unexpected to the table. The first community of survivors to arrive consists of people from Belleville, most of whom are heavily injured. When the Haven’s leaders, which includes a reluctant Negan, arrive at the shores, they learn that these injuries are a result of an attack from a rival clan from Newark.
Initially, Maggie takes the survivors back to the Haven’s functioning hospital, being headed by Luis, a trained medical professional, and his apprentices, including Hershel. Even though the doctor is unenthused by his sister’s decision to open the Haven up to strangers, he’s not one to turn people in need away. Meanwhile, Renata stays behind on the shore with Negan to evaluate the Newark situation and prepare defenses as needed. Much to her surprise, instead of a big fish in the water, she discovers another boatload of injured survivors. Apparently, in the war between Newark and Belleville, neither party is a predator or a prey. Instead, they’re rivals who have been fighting on equal footing, and doling out injuries all the same. As such, this makes picking sides that much more difficult for Manhattan.
Luis Saves Lives and Negan Corners the Two Leaders
As soon as Renata brings the other batch of survivors to the hospital, things heat up between the newcomers in no time. Both groups believe that they’re the victims and that the other is responsible for the war between them. As such, their assimilation into the Haven’s community doesn’t promise to be as smooth sailing as imagined. Negan believes that the easiest course of action requires them to side with one of the clans and earn their loyalty in turn. While Renata agrees that his solution would be easy, she doesn’t believe it’s sustainable for their idea of building a civil and functioning society. The risk of this decision becomes apparent when Belleville’s leader, Claudia, pulls a knife to Luis’ throat, demanding he fix her people first.
Maggie and Renata deal with the situation swiftly and banish non-patients, including the two gang leaders, out of the hospital. Unbeknownst to them, Negan ends up intercepting their exit. The latter isn’t a big fan of the idea of opening the Haven’s doors to the world. Yet, since he also happens to have found a life for himself in Manhattan with Dillar at his bar, he feels like he has no choice but to protect the city. As such, he takes matters into his own hands and plays a game of confession with Claudia and her counterpart, Bauer. After tying them up from the ceiling in an abandoned room, he sets a blindfolded Dillard loose on them with Lucille, the bat. The bar-owner will continue swinging his bat until one of the leaders croaks and agrees to eat the blame and leave the city.
Emergency at the Hospital and Negan’s Solution
Before the day is over, another conflict breaks out at the hospital. With so many survivors and patients around, the Haven’s resources are being depleted faster than usual. Unfortunately, this ends up leading to an electricity blackout, which creates many new fires in the medical ward. When ventilators go out, Luis and the others have to resort to Ambu bags to keep the patients alive. Worse yet, as a few patients die faster than their bodies can be disposed of, a zombie breakout takes over the floor. Therefore, Luis, Hershel, and the others are forced to perform surgeries and keep patients alive in the most adverse situations. Nonetheless, once Negan and Dillard figure out the problem in the methane tank basement, things go back to normal.
Even though many patients die, including one of Hershel’s very first ones, they also manage to save numerous lives. Afterward, Nagan presents Renata with the solution he has managed to come up with after his game with Bauer and Claudia. When neither agreed to talk, even under the fabricated threat of bodily harm, he realized that the war between the two clans runs deep and without any innocent victims. Their rivalry isn’t simply about their own survival but their hatred for one another. Therefore, he thinks the only solution is to let them fight it out and accept the surviving clan into the Haven. Renata and Maggie are predictably not on board with this idea. Instead, they come up with something new.
The duo realizes that in order to turn enemies into allies, they have to give the two parties something common to fight for. Renata finds this common ground in the future of the Haven itself. The next morning, she gathers the newcomers at Central Park, which will be transformed into farmland for the community to start growing their own food. The leader then offers everyone a scythe, giving them the choice between war and cultivation. In the end, most of the Newark and Belleville survivors choose the latter, except for the leaders, Bauer and Claudia. The duo chooses to hold onto their enmity, which ultimately leads to their mutual deaths at each other’s hands.
Dillar’d Best-Kept, Most Concerning Secret
In the aftermath of a successful integration and expansion of the Haven, Negan goes out of his way to throw a party at the bar, mostly for his new friend Dillard. The latter’s habit of keeping declawed and defanged walkers around and consistently talking to them has been a concern for Negan for a long time. Even though the bar-owner has proven that he’s a trustworthy ally to have in your corner, his reliance on deadies for a social circle remains a problem that needs to be fixed. Nevertheless, the former leader of the Saviors doesn’t truly know the extent to which his friend might truly need his help. In preparation for the impromptu party, Dillard goes back up to his room for a change of clothes.
In his room, there’s a tethered walker, whose presence in Dillard’s life is unique among most others. The latter has always claimed that he can understand and talk to deadies. A heightened version of this belief is showcased between him and the imprisoned walker, Titicaca. The zombie isn’t the biggest fan of Negan, believing that he is keeping Dillard away from her and the other deadies. She tries to persuade the bar-owner against leaving for the party and instead to remain in her company, which seems to be romantic in nature. The scene remains highly ambiguous since it’s difficult to distinguish between the walker’s reality and the perception of it in Dillard’s head. Either way, one thing is clear: the former cop’s inclination towards keeping the wrong kind of company runs deeper than anyone thought.
Read More: The Walking Dead: Dead City Episode 2 Recap: Haven
You must be logged in to post a comment.