REVIEW: ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Season 2 Episode 1 – “Power Equals Power”

In The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1, “Power Equals Power,” we’re reintroduced to the perspectives of both of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan). During the end of Season 1, it looked like Negan was on the precipice of becoming a ruthless leader again. Instead, “Power Equals Power” depicts Negan as an unwilling man who is imprisoned yet again. Of course the episode builds up to Negan giving up on being stubborn and reclaiming what he’s best at: being a villain.

“Power Equals Power” splits its time between Negan and Maggie’s individual situations. On Maggie’s side of the fence, she struggles to connect with her son Hershel (Logan Kim). In Season 1 she was desperate to save him from an unhinged man nicknamed “The Croat” (Željko Ivanek). Meanwhile in the present time she’s wanting to move past the grief and anger that has plagued her since Glenn (Steven Yeun), her husband and Hershel’s father was murdered in The Walking Dead Season 6. The writers are trying to push Maggie into a new journey that isn’t burdened by a loss from many years ago. And so far, it looks like it might be effective in terms of her trajectory.

While Maggie’s grief and anger is valid, her character needs to be defined by more than just losing Glenn. She needs to be able to move past that as a person, who also happens to be a mother. Therefore, Maggie’s trajectory as a character will flourish rather than falter if the writers play it right.

Negan’s character journey is also quite interesting because he’s no longer trying to be a different man. The man he was before ruled over the Saviors, a group that wasn’t afraid to burn your house to the ground. He also killed Glenn in front of Maggie and their chosen family. And contributed to the destruction of their former community, Alexandria. Negan going back to being like that part of himself is perilous for his enemies and beneficial for those who side with him.

Negan and Maggie have evolved enough as characters to stop putting up a front about who they really are.

Out of all the villains in The Walking Dead universe, Negan is by far one of the most complex. And that’s fully displayed in Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 with him embracing his past self. There’s a clear narrative regarding what it means to be powerful, and for Negan, his power lies in the most antagonistic and charismatic version of himself. On the other hand, Maggie is more clear-headed when she’s not being driven by events of the past.

The episode isn’t jam-packed with heightened levels of action, and that works for the foreboding tone it has. All of the important conversations had in this episode are dimly lit. Not to mention the characters are preparing to war with each other. There’s a thrumming of desperation within many of the characters. The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 is more focused on setting the stage for what’s to come. And that’s essentially a battle for power, as well as the walkers that are being broken down and converted into methane.

There are minor flaws in The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 in the form of the minor characters not being that enticing. Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) is still too mysterious to be all that invested in her, Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles) doesn’t have much of a personality, and the newly introduced characters might prove to be one-dimensional. There’s always a possibility for that because this is a post apocalyptic horror show with a lot of death. So some characters are definitely here to stack up the body count.

Where Hershel is concerned, he still doesn’t feel fully formed as a character. But there’s still time to flesh him out and make him more than just Maggie’s son, who embodies some qualities of his late father. If the writers take Hershel down the direction of potentially betraying his mother and allowing himself to be further manipulated by the Dama (Lisa Emery), it’ll certainly be a twist worth waiting around for.

Manhattan has become just as much a character as those fighting for power in Dead City Season 2 Episode 1.

As Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 plays out it’s very obvious that people are choosing their sides and where they stand in their communities. Rivalling against one another for resources almost never ends well in a post apocalyptic world with zombies.

But in a big state like New York, there are endless possibilities, especially when Negan’s group has everything they need to rebuild Manhattan to their liking. Knowing that survivors have since figured out how to bring bits and pieces of the old world back is neat to say the least. Instead of accepting the world as a post apocalyptic wasteland, the characters are wanting to get back the normalcy they’ve lost since the beginning of the apocalypse.

The final 20 minutes are partially dedicated to Negan proving that he’s the best man to corral Manhattan‘s aimless communities. After being the leader of the Saviors in The Walking Dead and falling from grace, he knows exactly how to charm people into believing in him. And having this scene take place in a former church really lends to how much of a charismatic leader he is. Instead of waving a bible, he’s waving his beloved Lucille, which is new and improved with electric barbed wire.

In terms of the visuals and direction, everything is still quite cinematic, making New York come alive in its decaying state. It’s part of why a city setting was the best decision for this spin-off, as it takes us out of rural areas and into crumbling infrastructure and repurposed buildings. And the walker designs are just as good as they always are.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 might not be perfect, but it gets the job done as far as making its audience invested in the coming events. Negan is back to full villain status, and Maggie is going to be coming for what he’s trying to protect. The struggle for power is going to make for a likely satisfying season, and we’ll see how far the characters are willing to go to keep or take theirs.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 1 is available to stream on AMC and AMC+.

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