‘The Walking Dead: DEAD CITY’ on AMC & AMC+, EPISODE 4 dropped tonight. This episode, “FOUND/LOST” took us on a suspenseful road trip, but in ways I absolutely did not see coming. Luis and Maggie set off on this adventure courtesy of a tip from another survivor they have adopted. I was certain this episode was going to go one of two ways. I was also certain we had met every possible zombie survivor there was to meet. I was pleasantly surprised as my predictions continued to fail.
Dead City Season 3 continues to take us to new places
It almost felt like we were hitting pause on the never ending undead gore. FOUND/LOST let the audience breathe, if only for a moment. This has never really been a show about zombies, it’s about people, and this episode focused on that. How people are adjusting, surviving, and most importantly…living. There’s no “right” way to live. As many continue to mourn the life that was lost, others are dancing on its grave. However, neither needs to be a bad thing, but no matter what, those good moments need to be cherished. Of course, we wrap with an intense oh crap moment, as the Greatest City in the World 2.0 takes another hit.
If you’re not caught up on DEAD CITY, check out the spoiler free review for Season 3 HERE. If you are caught up, feel free to proceed.
***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***
Last Seen on The Walking Dead: DEAD CITY
In episode 3 we saw literal row boat loads of zombie apocalypse survivors row row row their boats up to the shores of New York City after Maggie & Renata turned on Lady Liberty. The survivors weren’t just surviving walkers, they were surviving each other. Two groups of people unable to get along, both show up injured and angry, needing help. Dr. Luis & medical intern Hershel did everything they could to save as many as they could. After an intense game of zombie triage some of these patients finally showed human compassion for each other. Unlike their leaders.
In the end the leaders of each group couldn’t put aside their egos and help the community, so they killed each other. Tale as old as time. Good riddance. We then wrapped last week with some bonding between Dillard, a bartender for the undead, and Negan. We see Dillard has an unhealthy relationship with a walker, and Negan has a skill every apocalypse could benefit from: distilling.
Check out a FULL recap of last week’s episode: “EMIGRANTS”
The Story for “FOUND/LOST”
Luis & Maggie
As Luis and Maggie go off on their road trip (with a tank full of somehow unexpired gas – or maybe it’s walker powered), Luis is concerningly hopeful. Apparently he’s never seen the show, because doctors and those with too much hope, tend to have a quicker expiration date than the others. Nevertheless they’re off to meet “The Trader!” They begin with a little mullet mocking (shout out to Eugene) and some trauma bonding. They’re both widows…most likely (Luis’ wife was never seen again).
As they arrive at their destination, it feels tense. However, I don’t know if that’s how the scene was set, or just because it’s The Walking Dead universe, so I kept waiting for the metaphorical shit to hit the fan. But it never did! This continued to surprise me, but I never stopped holding my breathe until the end. Luis and Maggie are left to play Jenga, while The Trader takes their van to investigate their offer. They want medical supplies, and they’re offering her the super secret walker electricity recipe.
As they continue to wait they hear a knock on the door… EH OH! No… still nothing hitting the fan. So they tie up a sweet old man with snacks. Which honestly seemed like the right move. Fortunately, they asked questions before shooting, and suddenly find themselves at a Full Moon party. They dance, they laugh… and we see a side of Maggie we really haven’t seen since Glenn died. She clearly has survivor’s guilt, but she’s finally allowing herself some peace. All it took was a sweet stranger who turned down their electricity recipe, because him and his people already have everything they need.
The next morning Luis gives Maggie a safe place to talk about Glenn. While she needs to talk, one thing no one in this community knows, is that Negan is the one that killed him. If they didn’t finish the main show, and watch seasons 1 & 2 of Dead City, that could be quite difficult to explain. Maggie still struggles with it herself. For obvious reasons. Fortunately, The Trader returns with meds.
Negan & Renata
While Luis and Maggie are off having a moment, Renata makes Negan an offer. Negan may be good at reading people, but he seems to be underestimating Renata. A simple dirty joke made by her, had him blushing with surprise. Renata is offering Negan an apartment, but it’s a decently sized New York apartment, so the rent is HIGH! Too high for Negan. The price, is no more killing. She knows The Dama was crazy, but not suicidal. That was all him. Negan thinks she’s threatening him. He’s not about to underestimate her again. Renata sees how useful he is, and while this doesn’t feel like a threat, it feels like she’s trying to tame him.
The Big Finale
Right as Maggie and Luis return, the earth is quaking! That New York infrastructure is not getting the maintenance it needs these days. Their food supply is threatened, and walkers are spilling out. Maggie has been wearing Glenn’s ring on a necklace for years. It goes flying in a struggle with a walker, as we get a flashback of Glenn. She panics to find it completely unconcerned for the danger she is currently in, as Glenn’s murderer pulls her to safety, and holds her hand as they run. A massive sinkhole then opens up into a subway platform, as a building collapses.
Final Thoughts
Last week was a very intense episode filled with death, and unexpected walkers. It ended with showing the worst in people. This week did a 180. I was still on edge expecting something horrible to happen, but it may have been one of the happiest episodes in the history of The Walking Dead universe. I love when tropes are dropped and we go off on a different kind of an adventure for a bit, and that’s how this episode felt. It wasn’t about growing this new community, it was about Maggie. It wasn’t about Maggie as a mom or a leader, it was about Maggie as a person. A person with grief constantly pouring out of her, while trying to raise a good human being in a world filled with walking corpses. Also, with a constant reminder of the man who changed her life for the worse so many years ago.
I really loved getting to see this side of Maggie. I also loved coming across other survivors who weren’t just stab, stab, stab…murder, steal. Of course, we wrap with a walker scare, because in the end… this is still a show about zombies.
Head back every Sunday for the next few weeks for my spoiler filled reviews after the show! They’ll drop after 10 p.m. EDT.
Check out more reviews from Lauren
In addition to Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, season three also stars Jimmi Simpson, Raúl Castillo, Aimee Garcia, Logan Kim and Michael Emery. The Walking Dead: Dead City is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe, showrunner Seth Hoffman, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Brian Bockrath and Colin Walsh.
