Summary
The Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2 is the perfect time to tell a Maggie story that the original show ignored, despite its importance to the comic books.The Walking Deadended with season 11, but Lauren Cohan’s Maggie remains embroidered into the franchise’s bloodstained upholstery thanks toDead City. Set some years after the main show’s conclusion and co-starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the irrepressible Negan,The Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2is currently in development, set to air on AMC in 2025.
SinceThe Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 1 endedwith Negan handing himself over to the villainous Dama, season 2 will inevitably chronicle Maggie’s attempt to rescue him, while the threat of all-out war between New York City’s various settlements bubbles in the background. That alone provides plenty of narrative ground to cover, butDead Cityseason 2 would do well to accommodate a key Maggie plot from Robert Kirkman’sThe Walking Deadcomic books - one that the main show avoided entirely.
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In A World Where Tinder Is Something To Start A Fire With, Can Maggie Find Love?
Some time afterGlenn’s death inThe Walking Dead’s comic story, Maggie gradually began developing feelings for another character, and their slow-burn love story served as a fascinating subplot across Kirkman’s later volumes. AMC’sThe Walking DeadTV show opted against following that route, allowing Maggie to remain single all the way until season 11, then beyond intoDead Cityseason 1. That decision made sense, as it let Maggie evolve without being defined by romantic attachments. Having said that,Dead Cityseason 2 is now the right time for Maggie to bite the heart-shaped bullet.
It must be noted thatMaggie’sThe Walking Deadarc does not need a romantic interest in order to feel complete. Lauren Cohan’s character is much more than the company she keeps behind closed doors, and if her story ends without another man or woman entering her life,The Walking Deadwould not have done Maggie any kind of disservice. On the other hand, there are a number of ways a new romance would benefit Maggie inDead Cityseason 2.
Maggie Doesn’t Need A New Romantic Interest, But It’d Still Be Fascinating
It is no exaggeration to say that Maggie’s story sinceThe Walking Deadseason 7 has been heavily defined by Glenn. Even after appearing to settle her differences with Negan in the main show’s final season,Dead Citypicked open the wounds and positioned Glenn’s death as a driving motivation for Cohan’s character. Whatever hatchet may have been buried inThe Walking Deadseason 11 was dug right back up again. Glenn will, of course, always represent a huge part of Maggie’sThe Walking Deadjourney, but a new love interest would symbolize her finally laying Glenn’s ghost to rest, drawing a line under the past.
The only vague hint of romance in Maggie’s life duringThe Walking Dead’s later seasons was, weirdly, her subtle frisson with Negan himself.
The Walking Deadlove stories typically bring out the best in both parties. Rick and Michonne were both strong individually, and neither truly needed a boyfriend/girlfriend, but their sizzling chemistry worked wonders for Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira inThe Ones Who Live. The same may be true for Maggie.When a survivor finds a life partner inThe Walking Dead, it serves as a reminder of light during dark times- that happiness is still possible, even when bitey corpses lurk around every corner. Bringing a new light into Maggie’s life would pull that message of optimism intoDead Cityseason 2.
The Walking Dead Didn’t Follow Through Its Maggie & Negan Romance
After teasing romance between Maggie and Negan throughout season 11, the Walking Dead ending mercifully put the final nail in that unwanted coffin.
When Maggie started dating again - or doing whatever passes for dating afterThe Walking Dead’s zombie outbreak- in the comic books, her guilt over Glenn was palpable. The struggle between wanting happiness and feeling guilty about it added a fascinating new shade to her character that would be worth unpacking in live-action. The only vague hint of romance in Maggie’s life duringThe Walking Dead’s later seasons was, weirdly, her subtle frisson with Negan himself. Those hints mercifully went nowhere, and casting a proper love interest for Maggie inDead Cityseason 2 would do the world a favor by permanently laying those “Naggie” rumors to rest.
Dante Wasn’t The Same In Live-Action
The Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2 cannot, sadly, adapt Maggie’s comic lover verbatim, since the character in question has already met a very different fate.In the comics, Maggie’s partner after Glenn is Dante- a Hilltop resident introduced after the post-Savior time jump.The Walking Dead’s TV adaptation did feature Dante, but revealed him as an undercover Whisperer. The subterfuge worked perfectly. The twist exploited Dante’s good-guy status from the comics to deliver a genuinely surprising moment, andThe Walking Deadcould then focus on Maggie’s development as a leader, mother, and warrior.
Now that more time has passed, a new Maggie romance feels more appropriate but, for obvious reasons, Dante is not available inThe Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2. The spinoff would need to introduce a character similar to the comic version of Dante, but by a different name. Perhaps Maggie encounters this newcomer during her quest to rescue Negan, and a blossoming passion begins to take shape under the high-pressure skyline of a zombie-filled New York.
Maggie’s Love Story Shouldn’t Be Wrapped Up Within A Single Season
IfThe Walking Deadever does replace Glenn, it would need to do so with respect, and over a long period of time. Maggie has lived with the grief of Glenn’s death for so long, it would seem wildly out of character if she fell for another person within a mere few episodes. A new romance could evolve more naturally across multiple seasons, with the incoming love interest first meeting Maggie inDead Cityseason 2, but not acting upon their feelings until season 3 or 4.
The Walking Dead: Dead Cityhas cast Kim Coates as a new character for season 2 - probably not as a love interest for Maggie though.
The extra time a Maggie love story would need to play out properly makes introducing thecharacter inDead Cityseason 2 all the more crucial. Better to get Cupid limbering up now than cram an entire courtship into a single future season. At the time of writing,Dead City’s future beyond season 2 has not been officially confirmed by AMC, butLauren Cohan has expressed interest in taking the spinoff to four or five seasons. That leaves plenty of time for romance to sprout, but only if the seeds are sown byThe Walking Dead: Dead City’s very next season.
The Walking Dead: Dead City
A spin-off/sequel of the dramatic horror series, The Walking Dead: Dead City follows two significant characters from the main series - Maggie and Negan.
