The Walking Dead: Dead City
Season 2 - Episode 4 "Feisty Friendly"
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL I: Somewhere at Bruegel’s HQ, he sits caressing a large rat, talking to someone—or something behind a sheet about the possibilities of being on the grid again. Filled with anticipation, he tosses the rat into a bucket in front of the sheet, where a hand pulls the bucket behind it and the squeals of the rant are heard…caused by the person eating the rodent…
The Dama’s caravan drives up to the dilapidated Metropolitan Museum of Art for the meeting with Bruegel; The Croat criticizes the plan, arguing that Bruegel should be coming to them, the group that demolished an armada without his help, adding Bruegel is a ”slippery eel” looking to feed himself. The Dama insists they still need Bruegel and his men to forge a larger army.
Negan triggers a Walker inside of a tow truck and does not flinch, something The Dama recognizes, explaining they needed him for that reason, as The Croat is emotional & volatile, which is the opposite of what is needed for the meeting, so she’s relying on Negan to keep The Croat on a leash, of sorts. Negan refers to The
Dama as ”boss” in a most condescending manner, but this is countered with The Dama mentioning Negan’s family crossing the Appalachian—a very treacherous pass. Negan is visibly seething at the emotional screws she turns…
NEW BABYLON FEDERATION / FORAGERS I: Maggie and Perlie (with Hershel present) discuss the Negan situation; she reveals she—contrary to Perlie’s earlier belief—was not working with the man who murdered Hershel’s father, but she did trade Negan for her son—a move Perlie would’ve mirrored if he were in the same position.
Perlie believes they need to find Negan, who is now with the Burazi, and if so, he knows something about the methane operation. Maggie wonders how this will be explained to Narvaez, who was led to believe he killed Negan (going a long way toward earning his promotion); Perlie hesitates, but states he will think of something to deal with Narvaez. Hershel mentions he did not tell Ginny he ran into Negan, but reveals she’s in possession of a gun, and he believes she hid it as if she’s saving it for someone. The three agree to keep this discussion between themselves.
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL II: The Dama’s party are greeted by Bruegel…and a large number of armed guards. The Croat brushes aside Bruegel’s attempts at chit-chat, though he comments on the restored interior—a far cry from its condition when Christos (who lost the museum to Bruegel in one of his games) and his people “owned” the site, using paintings for fire and sculptures as projectiles.
Bruegel is a snark-machine, going so far as to make light of the two methane tanks The Dama’s party brought to the meeting—something The Croat does not find amusing.
NEW BABYLON FEDERATION / FORAGERS II: Perlie informs the NBF-ers—and a pissed-off Narvaez—that he, Maggie and Hershel will form the methane search team, as they’ve been in the city and dealt with the Burazi. Roksanna mentions there’s no perimeter to worry about, as the Dama’s group headed for the museum this morning. Maggie asks a disappointed Ginny to stay behind with the NBF-ers to keep an eye on things, and the girl offers no protest, but her facial expression catches the eye of Narvaez.
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL III: Bruegel takes The Dama’s group on a tour of the most values paintings still hanging, his favorite being Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware for the relevant message he believes it holds for current parties:
BRUEGEL: ”I mean, a small federation of colonies taking on a powerful island? Or rather, a small island taking on a federation of powerful colonies?”
The Dama is slightly irritated by Bruegel’s deliberate, switching word-play, while The Croat & Negan stare in the moment.The ever-observant Croat takes this as the moment to focus on how Bruegel obtained the museum through a game pitting Walker against Walker. The Croat gets Bruegel to admit he’s won around twenty-six matches in a row, adding that if “Lady Luck” had frowned on him the way it did Christos, he would wonder how Bruegel’s champion could be so persistently successful. The statement—barely concealing an accusation-- makes the flamboyant leader quite nervous. The Dama is also fearful (looking to Negan to salvage it all), thinking The Croat is going to destroy any talk of an alliance.
Taking The Dama’s look as his cue, Negan chimes in, providing an “explanation” in the form of the oversized “Frankenstein” of a Walker for Bruegel’s success, a fact the shaky Brugel immediately supports. The Croat—losing his takedown momentum—glares at Negan.
NEW BABYLON FEDERATION / FORAGERS III: Perlie leads Maggie and Hershel through the park; when Hershel questions how Perlie always knows where he’s going in the area, Perlie recounts how he and his brother used to cut class to hang out in the park. Perlie and Maggie exchange their “most missed food” choices; Maggie mentions a Kit Kat bar, which moves the two to sing the ”Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar” TV spot jingle. Maggie smiles at the memory, until she recalls the last time she had a Kit Kat was on her birthday, three years into the apocalypse, a thought removing the smile from her face, as its clear someone no longer living (Glenn) gave her the confection.
Hershel—at first curious about the conversation—says he does not know what was so great about the old world, when it was nothing—except people killing each other for resources. Perlie counters, saying it was not all abut that, but Hershel pushes back, essentially parroting The Dama in saying the more people try to bring back the old world, it only leads to more fighting and killing.
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL IV: Bruegel has The Dama’s sit at a massive table (in a Last Supper positioning, no less), treating the guests to a “Feisty Friendly” exhibition match between Walkers, with Bruegel’s giant champion as one of its participants. The Dama claps excitedly at the bizarre spectacle, but The Croat could not be more disinterested, looking at the Dama while impatiently tapping his fork against his plate.
Bruegel serves a meal for everyone, consisting of wine, a single carrot…and a cooked rat, which The Dama will not eat. Former New Babylon Federation historian Pierce—brought to record the meeting—cannot let go of his suspicion that he’s seen The Dama before—in the old world. Eventually, he remembers (to Negan’s amusement) that she was an important theatre critic who could make or break careers with her scathing reviews over the curse of decades. This episode of This is Your Life greatly unsettles The Dama, particularly when he recalls how she once bit a playwright for a thinly veiled attack against her in his play, The Little Empress. Negan smiles broadly, staring at The Dama.
Changing the subject, The Dama asks Pierce to sow her the illustration of the city—the one given to him by Hershel. She admits she knew the NBF had picked him up, and that he was the one who sent the burning tire smoke signal. Negan’s smile melts away, comprehending what Hershel working for The Dama means.
Bruegel’s Walker wins his fight, but it’s the way the Walker wins which catches The Croat’s attention…
MAGGIE / PERLIE / HERSHEL I: From a rooftop opposite of the museum, Perlie and Maggie observe the Burazi watching their cars; reasoning that the methane is not in the museum, they assume something else of value is in there—Negan included. While waiting, Perlie & Maggie begin to share more of their personal lives:
PERLIE: ”Having a kid…it’s the scariest thing of all, especially when it’s just you. All I think about day and night is keeping my girls safe. Making sure they never go through what we had to.”
MAGGIE: ”I know I seem hard on the outside, but deep down I’m terrified all the time. “
PERLIE: ”When I got back from Manhattan, I wanted to take my family and go…but where? Strange to think I’m fighting so hard to bring back a world that my daughters never knew. Is that what they even want? I guess we gotta wonder how much of it is for them, and how much for us?”
NEW BABYLON FEDERATION / FORAGERS IV: Back at the Foragers’ camp, Ginny is confronted by Narvaez, who has discovered the gun (in Ginny’s bag) and knows Ginny is not there for the NBF. Ginny admits she’s with the group in order to kill the man who killed her father (SEE NOTES). Narvaez’s mind works the statement, telling Ginny how Governor Byrd once told her that no society can flourish without the law—no crime…murder…can go without retribution. Ginny collects the gun, but before she leaves, Narvaez asks if the man Ginny intends to kill is Negan. Ginny looks back at Narvaez…
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL IV: While the crowd watches yet another Walker cage match, Bruegel makes an energetic speech about the need for service, his group joining with The Dama’s, and how together, no lawman or mainlander will ever attempt to exercise their authority or enter the island.
Unabashedly opportunistic, Bruegel proposes the establishment of a second methane plant in the museum, an idea that shocks The Dama, and angers The Croat.
The Croat reminds Bruegel that he offers nothing—that it was The Damas group who defeated the New Babylon invaders, and holding all of the cards. Bruegel tries to ”certain point of view” The Croat’s position, but is interrupted by the man himself, who returns to the subject of how Bruegel’s Walker champion can win so many matches…how Bruegel and his cronies only grow richer, while others around them sink further into poverty.
The Croat suggests Bruegel’s Walker—with the quicker than normal reflexes—might be injected with Methylphenidates or Dextroamphetamines, adding that traces of the chemicals can be found by administering Fenproporex, and if eternal loser Christos found out about it, his people would not be happy. The Croat—knowing he’s placed Bruegel on the defensive, says he will not run the tests, because they are all “friends”, leaving a fuming Bruegel speechless.
Negan picks up the baton, making the offer for the methane if Bruegel’s Walker wins. If it loses, Bruegel’s group must join the alliance with no addendums. The Dama—watching her authority slip just a bit—accepts the challenge.
MAGGIE / PERLIE / HERSHEL II: The NBF trio spot Negan and his guards capturing the tow truck Walker…and a can of oil; the trio make their way into the museum, but they need a distraction in order for Maggie to meet Negan alone. The method she will use is not at all to her liking…
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL V: The Croat tries in vain to convince The Dama that the control of methane is too important to risk in a game; Bruegel gives Negan a rundown about the rules, weapons, etc., but is quite pleased to see Negan’s Walker champion being an undersized creature with no armor or weapons. Negan’s rationale: he likes the underdog. Suddenly, Bruegel is alerted about a fire—set to Washington Crossing the Delaware. Panicking, Bruegel has his people gently put out the blaze, while The Dama questions Negan’s sense in his choice in Walker champions. When The Dama’s attention is drawn back to a door carefully closing, Negan—closest to the entrance—hears a familiar sound: his infamous whistle from his Savior days. Taking the bait, Negan follows the sound to an empty section of the museum, where he comes face to face with Maggie:
NEGAN: ”Maggie. You came back. Why?”
MAGGIE: ”Not for you.”
NEGAN: ”Be a little strange if, uh, you came back to bust out the guy that you threw in the slammer.”
MAGGIE: ”If you can call this the slammer. Looks to me like you’re a free man. Like you’re holding up just fine.”
NEGAN: ”Yeah. So what? Forget a credit card or something?”
Maggie looks up to a 2nd story walkway, getting Negan to follow the gaze to see an armed Perlie.
NEGAN: ”Oh, shit. I get it. Finally got you on the payroll. So, coming to me for help? I mean, I am sensing a bit of a pattern here, Maggie. “
PERLIE: ”I won’t bullshit you. I know we don’t got a lot of time. We need to secure the methane, and the whole operation. It’s for a just cause. It’s gonna help a lotta
people. Anything you can tell us…where it’s being processed—how we--”
NEGAN: ”Good to see you, too.” (Turning to Maggie) ”You know what? I wanna hear it from you.”
MAGGIE (To Perlie): ”I’ll meet you and Hershel back at the rendezvous point.”
Perlie reluctantly leaves.
NEGAN: ”—the Hell are you doing coming back here? What are you thinking?”
MAGGIE: ”Do you think I want to be here?” I don’t give a shit about the methane. Sooner I help them, sooner Hershe and I can go back to living our own lives in fucking peace!”
NEGAN: ”And so I’m uh—putting up the risk as always.”
MAGGIE: ”I don’t need anything from you, just a location.”
NEGAN: ”I can’t help you. I can barely help myself. I give you anything, even something small, then the people I’m looking out for…I—I can’t.”
MAGGIE: ”Who? Annie and Joshua.”
Negan’s answer is in his pained expression, but he still gives her some intel:
NEGAN: ” 51st and 5th—St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Maggie, there’s something else. Its Hershel. She got to him somehow. He is helping her.” (SEE NOTES)
MAGGIE: ”Who? Who got to him?”
NEGAN: ”Listen to me…you can’t trust him.”
MAGGIE: ”No!”
NEGAN: ”Look, I am telling you—that’s how they knew—“
MAGGIE: ”You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
NEGAN: (hearing approaching footsteps) ”You have to go. Right now. Go.”
Maggie slips away just as the crowds head back toward the arena with Negan. Maggie cannot believe what she’s heard, but cannot simply leave…
Hershel makes his way down another hall to a room where The Dama stands waiting.
THE DAMA / NEGAN / THE CROAT / BRUEGEL VI: In the Arena, the Walkers are prepped for “combat”. Negan’s only addition to his walker is pouring a bottle of motor oil all over the creature. On the 2nd story walkway, Maggie studies the scene; she’s spotted by Negan (who says nothing), but she may have been seen by The Croat on two occasions.
The Walker warriors fight, but the oil on Negan’s Walker causes Bruegel’s to slip & crash to the floor; before Negan’s Walker can bite into his opponent, Brugel hods his bare arm over the fence, calling to the Walker—a ploy which works, while angering Negan. Turnabout being what you might believe it to be, Negan jumps into the arena to attract Bruegel’s Walker to the arena entrance. While this chaos unfolds, Maggie sets her eyes on The Dama—at last she knows the real woman behind Hershel’s sketch. The Dama locks eyes with Hershel’s mother, until the arena fight distracts her.
Bruegel’s Walker is caught on the arena door, allowing Negan to come face to face with it…noting its eyes are not that of a Walker, but a living man, thus answering the question about Bruegel’s endless game victories. The Waker breaks free, falls on Negan’s creature and kills it, leaving a scornful Croat and Dama watching their methane fortune paced in jeopardy. Bruegel calls out in victorious glee…until Negan whispers something in his ear, leading a now nervous Bruegel to announce that in the spirit of trust, he’s joining the alliance…with no strings (i.e., methane operation) attached.
The Dama cannot believe what she’s seeing—or Negan’s apparent skill in turning anything into an advantage.
Outside, The Dama praises Negan (much to The Croat’s annoyance), but she refers to his family in the past tense (angering Negan once again), then “corrects” herself before asking Negan to join her in the back seat of the car chauffeured by a tense Croat.
BRUEGEL: The defeated leader speaks to his Walker warrior—a man named Tony (his former old world bodyguard), who chews on rats like an animal. Bruegel notes that they’ve had a good run, but now that their secret’s been exposed, Bruegel no longer has use for the man. In an instant, Bruegel activates a blade from his watch, and slices Tony’s throat. Tony dies in agony, Bruegel talks to himself, stating he’s not out of moves just yet…
NOTES: Four episodes in, and we can see the potential for numerous disasters to erupt from every direction.
As it stands:
Hershel - is completely corrupted by The Dama. Unless the writers subvert expectations, having him turn the tables on The Dama, et al., I cannot see him being redeemed by the end of the season. In fact, his not returning Maggie’s hug on the rooftop—along with his bank expression leads one to believe he will attempt to set up his own mother for death. Some might argue that he’s not too far gone, but The Dama revealed what I suspected: Hershel set the tire pile fire to signal the NBF ship’s location. He’s complicit in mass murder, considering the lives lost aboard The Liberty Queen, and he lacks any normal emotional reaction to it. In one of the few times the following can be said about Negan, he was 100% correct about Hershel.
The Croat - feels pushed aside by The Dama in favor of Negan (and did not say a word to defend him against Bruegel’s mockery); although he knows she does not trust Negan—considering her continued verbal threats against his family—it’s not out of the realm of possibility that she feels The Croat is a usurper-in-waiting, thus placing his life at risk.
Narvaez – Disrespecting Perlie’s authority and his trust in Maggie, she too is in the throne-swiper’s role, and to improve her odds by convincing—under a law and order” mindset--Ginny to kill the man who kill her her father, and one can imagine Narvaez believes its Negan, or is I Perlie? In this way, Narvaez either eliminates a wanted man, or the opposition leadership, and considering the inherent danger of Manhattan, a girl she likely feels is not fit for the NBF communities.
Negan – despite neutering Brugel—forcing him to accept The Dama’s terms without obtaining methane—he is always reminded that his family’s lives depend on his unwavering service to The Dama. Now that The Croat has spotted Maggie, and knowing Negan spared her son (he prisoner exchange and the boat), he’s suspecting Negan is double-dealing in a position which he feels he’s earned. It will not be a shocker if The Croat attempts to use Negan’s family—or Hershel—against him in some sadistic manner. Of course, with The Dama having her own sick interest In the boy, The Croat would be placing his head on her chopping block.
In the middle of a generally grim episode, the scene where Maggie & Perlie reminisce about Kit Kat candy bars and their TV spot’s jingle was an unexpected moment, only for it to send Maggie sinking into sadness over a specific memory of her birthday and who gave her the same snack. The two do have a cautiously growing friendship, which would be fascinating to see grow as the season moves forward, but we know how the attempt to form a relationship in The Walking Dead universe can lead to an unpleasant end for someone.
This is how to create a fantasy drama with weight.
GRADE: A+.
