Maggie Is Established as a Main Character Early on
Season 2–5
While Season 2 made Maggie's character intriguing, several major events in Season 3 highlighted her progression and agency. After the several-month time jump between the two seasons, Maggie is like the rest of the group, desperate to find a safe place and hardened by the difficult life on the road. Their arrival at the prison initially seemed like a positive but quickly tested the group dynamic and changed them forever. A defining moment for Maggie is when she has to deliver Lori's baby by C-section, killing the woman she grew to respect and traumatizing the young woman. She's tested once again when she's captured by the Governor, experiencing a violation and having to listen to Glenn being brutally beaten. Though this season has some positives for Maggie, such as Glenn proposing and defeating the Governor in battle, she was forced to grow a tougher, more defensive personality.
Maggie Quickly Becomes Leadership Material
Seasons 6-8
Season 7 changed the entire dynamic of the Alexandria group, but it completely altered Maggie's character. Glenn being killed by Negan in the premiere was a defining experience for Maggie that forced her to resort to the darker, harsher aspects of her personality. She struggled to overcome the grief of her loss, especially while expecting a child that would never know his father. Distancing herself from Alexandria allowed Maggie to grow without her old family, and staying at the Hilltop truly highlighted her ability to lead a community. Though she became obsessed and dedicated to defeating the Saviors and killing Negan to avenge Glenn, her personal changes were positive. Maggie made better and smarter decisions that kept the Hilltop safe, resulting in the community following her leadership instead of the orders of their official leader, Gregory.
Maggie's Character Evolution Takes a Dark Turn
Seasons 9-11
The beginning of Season 9 of The Walking Dead was all about the aftermath of the Saviors War. Tensions were high between the allied communities, especially with the leaders (mainly Rick) deciding to let the Saviors live and try to create peace with their former enemies. At this time, Maggie and Daryl were plotting to assassinate Negan while he was imprisoned in Alexandria, leading to a divide between long-running characters. This commitment to ending Negan was a positive for Maggie when she realized how much he was suffering in a cell, helping her move past this need to kill and focusing on being a good leader. A memorable moment in Season 9 is when Maggie makes a shocking decision to execute Gregory after she's elected as Hilltop's leader, and he attempts to have her killed. This caused a further divide with her old allies but set her apart as a complex but thoughtful leader.
Dead City Needs to Do Maggie Justice
In the spin-off show, The Walking Dead: Dead City, the storyline jumps ahead another several years. Maggie hunts down Negan after a long time apart, demanding he help her get back Hershel from the Croat, a former Savior who wanted Negan dead after the former leader tried to kill him. The reluctant allies journey to Manhattan, working together to locate the villain and captured teenager. In a turn of events, Negan realizes Maggie agreed to lure him to New York in exchange for her son's safe return. By the finale, Maggie is questioning her decision to give over Negan's life, which could prove to be her worst error now that the Croat's leader, the Dama, intends to use Negan's previous tactics to take over other communities with the threat of harming Hershel if he doesn't comply.
Dead City was an amazing addition to the wide world of The Walking Dead franchise, showcasing how a more densely populated area conformed to the dangerous new reality. There's a lot of excitement concerning Negan's return to his villain persona and how this could change the dynamic between the two main characters. On the other hand, Maggie's storyline in Dead City is rife with sexism, making her character once again reliant on the men in her life. Between her obsession with harming Negan once again being a major theme and the focus on protecting her son over anything else, Maggie has little room to grow and expand beyond the confines of her previously established priorities. Hopefully, Season 2 of Dead City will expand on her character, showing how years in the post-apocalyptic world have continued to change the strong leader.
It isn't a mystery why Maggie became a prominent character in The Walking Dead Universe. Her strong, resilient personality is a prime example of how people can survive immense trauma and go on to withstand the horrors of a dangerous reality. Though her character changed throughout the seasons, Maggie repeatedly emphasized her ability to survive and withstand the odds against her. As her storyline progresses, fans expect more impressive things from the long-running character.
