The Walking Dead: Dead City star Lauren Cohen explained at New York Comic Con how Negan's dark return in season 2 will affect Maggie and her upcoming mission in New York City. Dead City season 2 will see Maggie attempting to save Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) from the Dama (Lisa Emery), who she believes is holding him captive after trading him to the Burazi for Hershel (Logan Kim). However, she doesn't realize he's being used to unite the people of Manhattan under the Dama's rule, forced to become his old self to ensure the Bricks don't get attacked.
Speaking with Screen Rant at NYCC, Cohen explained how Negan's dark return in Dead City season 2 will affect Maggie. The actor explained how a major theme this season is the main duo looking at their pasts in order to become the people they want to be in the future. For Maggie, this means seeing who Negan was and dealing with those past events in a delicate manner. Check out what Cohen had to say below:
The themes in season 2 that are linked to Negan, wrapped up in the Negan-Maggie dynamic, are really requiring both of them to look at themselves and who they've been and change is possible and how you have to go through what was to get to what could be. And it is a huge theme of the season that I think we serve very well and delicately in season two, and we're all sort of put in this back of those thoughts. Every character is sort of touched by this process.
What Cohen's Statement Means For Maggie & Negan In Dead City Season 2
The Pair Still Won't Be On Even Ground
Dead City season 1 ended with Maggie deciding to return to Manhattan to save Negan, who now dons a new Lucille and familiar clothing to when he was a Savior. This implies he's embracing a darker side of himself more earnestly, albeit doing so in order to survive and keep her and Hershel safe. However, Dead City trailers indicate that's not what she'll see when they meet again, instead believing he's reverted to his old ways now that he's been betrayed.
While Dead City's characters are all returning to Manhattan for various reasons, Maggie's mission is steeped in the complexities her and Negan have been through since the previous series. Given she's about to see an older side of him she hasn't encountered in quite some time, it's likely she'll be going through her own mental battle to differentiate between who he is now and who he once was. Even so, both of them will need to process their new situation and how much they can trust one another, especially with the former antagonist seemingly slipping into his old ways.
Our Take On How Negan Will Impact Maggie In Dead City Season 2
His Darkness Could Lead To Resolution
Although Negan's redemption arc in The Walking Dead proper led to some level of understanding between the pair, Maggie's reaction to his old ways could sour what little they've built between themselves. While there's no definitive way of knowing how the duo will interact, it seems their trust will be at an impasse once she learns what the Dama has him doing. However, with eight episodes this time around, Dead City might be able to further their relationship despite the initial crumbling of trust they're bound to have.
