‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Recap – ‘Stories We Tell Ourselves’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gaius Charles as Negan and Armstrong in Episode 105 of ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ – ‘Stories We Tell Ourselves’. (Photo Courtesy of Peter Kramer/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. This article was also written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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It is definitely safe to say… that the AMC series, The Walking Dead: Dead City, is nothing short of a greatest hits celebration of what makes The Walking Dead Universe so great. After all, the quality character development the saga is known for is present here. Not to mention, the living dead are a genuine and terrifying threat in this series, and we always love a good scare. And this saga also includes the action and adventure the franchise is known for, and there’s nothing wrong with going this route, since it has brought forth an enjoyable experience. If anything, the only traditional element missing in this particular tale to date, are the great big twists the Universe is known for as well… but all of that changed during last night’s episode. For the twist and everything else we crave about the TWD Universe worked its way into ‘Stories We Tell Ourselves’, and that made for one incredible and stunning tale. 
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One that further pondered upon the future of Negan. Because for some time now, we’ve been wondering as to whether or not he might find redemption in this tale or at least start moving toward it… and that latter element played out in this particular tale. Because he spent a lot of time on the streets of Manhattan with Armstrong, all in an effort to get to the Chelsea docks. All because Armstrong knew they could detach it from the island and set sail for the mainland. Getting them out of this nightmare city of the dead and back toward New Babylon, wherein Negan would of course be turned over to the authorities. But before that could happen… they had to contend with the walking dead. Who took the time to remind us that Manhattan is a busy, and bustling city full of millions upon millions of ghouls, since they were nearly overwhelmed by the many corpses following them.

Which put them into hiding in a very strange place, wherein clearly someone lost their minds at the end of everything before making a hard call about what their future should look like and this place… served as the catalyst for the beginning of Negan’s redemption. Because while he and Armstrong were roaming about this shelter, Negan saw an opportunity to use the downtime and situation to his advantage to escape, with a roaming walker no less, by tossing that ghoul into Armstrong and high tailing it out of there in the belief that Armstrong would handle his own. Which he did, but he ripped his wound open in the process and despite the pain he caused, Negan instead decided… to preserve life and get them to a safe place. Wherein Armstrong finally opened up with the understanding that Negan wasn’t what he appeared to be, and well… this was wonderful to see. Since it really was Negan doing some good for a change and trying to be honorable, and that speaks volumes to the reality that he is indeed working to redeem himself. 

All of which, brought forth that quality character development we love, and hints of terror. Since that sequence did feature a lot of walkers and the scares didn’t end there. After all, Maggie and her merry band of escapees were beneath the city in the very, very disgusting sewer system. Wherein we saw the Croat’s methane factory in action and endured some nausea inducing biology, courtesy of decomposing bodies and a pile of flesh that would have fit right into the movie Fight Club, since it could have been used as the basis for a new line of post-apocalyptic all natural soaps. And of course… danger was obviously at every corner in this tomb, since there were moving fingers and shifting piles of bodies, and traitors in the midst of everyone. For we also came to learn that Tomassao was in fact, the one that sold everyone out, leaving Maggie to wonder if they were going to survive or if he was going to harm them further, and she would have to put him down. 

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Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee in Episode 105 of ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ – ‘Stories We Tell Ourselves’. (Photo Courtesy of Peter Kramer/AMC.)

But thankfully, there was no violence left him in, just one last act of heroism when the dead finally made themselves apparent. An act that went nowhere since the dead tore him and Amaia apart, leaving Maggie and Ginny to face the dead on their own… and that’s really where the true scares came into play. Since Maggie and Ginny encountered a hot spot of the dead near their exit, and that brought forth a nightmare inducing walker. One that was made out of many. Since the decomposition process in this place brought forth a fusing of multiple walkers into one giant body. Giving rise to a super-walker that was near impossible to fight since heads and teeth and mottled hands were everywhere swiping at Maggie. But she is of course, one of the greatest warriors to grace this franchise and shed the fear this creature inspired to find its weak points… and bring it down… and well, this was quite the terrifying and unsettling and gross sequence, and kudos to the show for getting back to its gory and scary roots in this epic manner.
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However, there was mention of surprises in this tale, and those came later in this story. In fact, there were two juicy twists to be found in this tale, one of which involved the Croat. Since we came to learn… he’s not the one in charge of this madness, and not the true heavy. Instead, he works for a mysterious woman that loves the finer things in life and wants the island to be formed into her own designs, and she too… wants Negan in Manhattan. Out of the belief that perhaps Negan can be turned back toward evil, to help her preserve the utopia she believes she has created with the Croat. Which truly was quite the surprise, since everything pointed to the Croat being the King of New York. But he is just the pawn to his Queen, no more than the blunt instrument that Negan saw him to be, and well… this little surprise and this interesting dynamic… turned out to be related to the other big reveal in this story. One that involved Maggie Rhee.

For she has spent this entire series to date, speaking to the Croat’s cruelty and working to sell Negan as untrustworthy in this tale, but also the only person that can help her, get Hershel home. only for us to learn… she hasn’t been telling us the truth. For on the fateful night that Hershel was taken, it wasn’t the raid she spoke of, one full of theft and carnage. It was instead, nothing more than a bold request. Where Maggie would lose her son for a time, so that she would find Negan, and deliver him to the Croat. So, all of this time… Maggie has been telling lies to get her son back, adding a dark wrinkle to the age-old question, ‘how far would you go to protect your family?’ and this created a new chapter for Maggie Rhee as well. One where she is clearly sliding back a bit in her healing process because of all the darkness this whole event has drudged up. Giving rise to the reality, that she hasn’t put in all the work needed to heal just yet, and she will have to make a decision soon, as to whether or not she will commit to that work.

Because Ginny was able to deploy the emergency flare that she and Negan agreed upon to use if distress came into play, and Negan did see it. Meaning that the truth will be exposed quite soon and well, it will be interesting to see what Negan does when he discovers that his ally… someone he has tried desperately to make amends with on his road to redemption, is out to cause him great harm. But that aside, this really was one amazing episode. Because all the greatest hits played out well, and this one took us on an emotional rollercoaster through and through, and well… now that we’ve reached the end of this breathtaking tale, all that awaits is one big finale. One where decisions that will have lasting implications upon lives and souls will be made, and it will be interesting to see if better angels win the day when we settle in for the season one finale. Until next time.    

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Jasmin Walker as The Dama in Episode 105 of ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ – ‘Stories We Tell Ourselves’. (Photo Courtesy of Peter Kramer/AMC.)

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