This post contains spoilers from The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 episode 6.
While Maggie, Perlie, Hershel, and Ginny remain cautious as to Bruegel's intentions, Negan finds himself taking over The Dama's crew after her death. In The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 episode 6, "Bridge Partners Are Hard to Come by These Days," Negan's life comes full circle, forced to make a difficult decision about The Croat as Maggie struggles to keep Hershel protected from The Dama's control.
The Croat vs Negan
Now that The Dama is dead, The Croat is allowing Negan to do as he pleases, however, Negan can't help but feel sorry for him. As much as he wants to protect his wife and child, who are a day away, he knows he can't leave The Croat behind.
Devastated by Dama's death, The Croat desperately clings to Negan, with desires of going back home to Croatia. While the two talk at the cathedral, which was St. Patrick's Cathedral the entire time (where the methane is located), The Croat realizes by the way the rat was killed and remnants of blood on the bottom of Negan's boot, that he killed the rat which prompted the fight and then Dama's death.
The two fight before the group, until Negan gets the upper hand, coming to terms that he made The Croat who he is. Negan spares his life, forcing The Croat to leave. The two share a conversation about Negan's past and how victory is often written by the victors. Negan allows Ben to leave. However, the young man is unsure how to return home.
Bruegel's offer
While this is all happening, Maggie, Perlie, Hershel, and Ginny are taken to The MET by Bruegel. After they are brought inside, one woman stands guard, but is presumably killed by someone or something offscreen. The group remains cautious of Bruegel, considering he was last seen working with The Croat and Negan. But to their surprise, he decides to make them an offer of methane in exchange for The Croat and Negan.
Being an opportunist, Bruegel's chance of ruling all of Manhattan is within reach. He allows the group to think about it, which immediately places Maggie and Perlie at odds with each other. Perlie sees the methane as more valuable than The Croat and Negan's lives, whereas Maggie doesn't believe Negan should be killed. This sets off Hershel, nearly erasing all the progress he was making with his mother.
So much so that that evening Maggie catches him nearly poisoning Bruegel's water supply. But before their fight can escalate, they come face to face with a walker bear, the creature who killed the woman earlier in the episode.
This is very unusual for the show as we had yet to see walker animals, nor know if animals were immune or not. Separating, Maggie leads the bear away, trying to use Bruegel's warrior walkers to distract or kill it so she can escape. When the bear kills them with ease, Hershel aids in the fight, resulting in the bear dying, but allowing for his escape. Taking to the Manhattan streets, Maggie goes to Negan at the church asking for his help.
Negan believes Hershel went to the theater to find The Dama but reassures Maggie that what ever hold she had on him won't matter anymore since she's dead. He asks for Ginny, to which Maggie reassures that she's doing well (how Maggie or anyone hadn't noticed her wound, even when she was in the bathroom with wet rags, is beyond me).
Negan allows himself to be transparent with Maggie, letting all defenses down and pleading with her, asking for advice as for what he should do with his family. Should he stay in New York or leave?
Maggie doesn't provide him with an answer, but thankfully warns him about Bruegel's imminent attack and leaves for the theater. When Annie and Joshua arrive the next morning, Negan watches them from the theater and orders that they are to be sent back to Tennessee. He never gets to reunite with them, and frankly, I have a feeling he won't ever see them again. While his decision is most difficult, his troubles are far from over when Ginny finds him and holds him at gunpoint.
Unfazed by her action, almost expecting it, he nearly cries with joy seeing her again. She passes out in his arms, and upon further inspection, he finds her back wound has gotten infected.
Bruegel's final play
Little does anyone know, Perlie is called to meet with Bruegel in his quarters, where he begins to play Bridge as the sounds of a hungry walker are heard from behind a curtain. Perlie watches and declines Bruegel's previous offer.
Annoyed, Bruegel keeps his composure, revealing how he enjoys playing the game more than achieving victory. Bruegel believes he can change Perlie's mind when he confesses to know all about Perlie's lie to New Babylon about Negan's death, because Lucia told him.
Apparently, as she survived long enough to tell Bruegel, who was searching Central Park for Maggie and the others, all about Perlie and Negan. Bruegel had kept Lucia as a walker in his quarters as evidence before killing her. Feeling as though he has no choice (yet again), Perlie will most likely accept Bruegel's offer.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 episode 6 review
As much as I love this show and The Walking Dead overall, two scenes really bugged me this episode: the walker bear and Bruegel learning about Perlie's lie. First of all, while a walker bear, (which I'm assuming is what it was, the scene was dark and the bear was acting strange), was cool, it made no sense in the context of the show and franchise.
Since when can animals turn? Do they turn like people? How and why did he get a walker bear into his possession? What was the point? Lucia... How did she manage to find Bruegel at the same time he was in Central Park, considering she had like three walkers on her last episode? Why, in her final moments, would she share information about Perlie and Negan? And why does Perlie care? Anyone who had any real power is dead!
So, what, Bruegel, some random guy no one knows in New Babylon, is going to show up and tell them Perlie lied, and Negan is alive? Couldn't Perlie just tell them Bruegel is lying, or better yet, Negan was innocent all along, and Bruegel killed the Marshals?
Perlie, for the sake of everyone, toughen up! Aside from those glaring issues, the show is absolutely setting up Negan's death, or it's all one giant misdirection (they've been known for doing this many times).
But let's be honest, the fact Negan's story is coming full circle again, he's trying to do the right thing, he seems more remorseful than ever before for his past, he even sent his family back home without seeing them... I just don't see an ending where he lives. And while I understand Jeffrey Dean Morgan can't play Negan forever, I'd rather he live out his life with his family than die.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 releases new episodes Sundays on AMC.