The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1’s ending does as much to set up the future as it does conclude the present, leaving behind big implications for AMC’s wider Walking Dead universe. The Walking Dead: Dead City‘s finale wastes little time getting Ginny and Perlie out of the way before sending Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan on the final leg of their New York journey. Ever the sharp tack, Negan quickly deduces Maggie has been lying to him for the entire trip, but fails to avoid being traded to the Croat in exchange for Hershel’s release.

With The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1’s main mission successfully wrapped up, “Doma Smo” begins laying out plans for the future. Perlie’s return home gives a glimpse of the mysterious new community known as the New Babylon Federation, the Dama reveals her reason for wanting Negan captured in the first place, and Maggie finds a brand-new purpose after realizing her parenting skills leave something to be desired. The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1 ends with both Maggie and Negan beginning new phases of their post-apocalyptic lives, and promises an even bigger return to New York City in season 2.

What The Dama Wants With Negan Explained

The Walking Dead: Dead City‘s entire premise revolved around the Croat wanting Negan for some nefarious purpose, and while episode 5 already unveiled the spinoff’s true villain as Lisa Emery’s character, the Dama, her Negan obsession is only explained in the finale – albeit in deliberately hushed tones. The Dama foresees war between her own Manhattan group and the New Babylon Federation. Walking Dead: Dead City subtly confirms why during the season 1 finale’s sole New Babylon sequence, which sees the Federation’s leader interrogating Perlie about how the Croat uses zombies for energy. Putting the pieces together, New Babylon is coming for the Dama’s methane, and the Dama isn’t happy.

Evidently realizing her forces would be outgunned, the Dama believes uniting the various scattered factions of Manhattan is their best chance of survival, and that job requires someone with the charisma, ruthlessness and supervillain résumé of one Negan Smith. Tales of Negan’s deeds have been regaled to the Dama through the Croat, with an unseen Savior escapee named Jerome – who was apparently present during the war between Negan’s Saviors and Rick’s group – filling the two villains in on what happened during The Walking Dead seasons 6-9.

The Walking Dead: Dead City doesn’t explicitly show whether Negan relishes the prospect of slipping back into his former persona or not. On one hand, Negan has undergone immense growth since those days; on the other, everyone he cares about is now gone, and when the Croat wistfully recalls a massacre from their time together, Negan weirdly agrees such times were “beautiful.” Whether Negan wants to cooperate with the Dama is a moot point, however. Having sensed from Hershel that Negan regrets Glenn’s death, the Dama heavily implies she will have Maggie’s son killed unless her demands are met, brandishing Hershel’s severed toe to drive home the tacit threat.

Whether he wants to put the leather jacket back on or not, Walking Dead: Dead City‘s ending promises the return of full-fat evil Negan for season 2. That likely means Negan establishing Manhattan as a bigger, upgraded version of the Sanctuary, and while there will be no pesky Rick Grimes to bring down his domain this time, a battle between Negan’s new followers and the New Babylon Federation looks inevitable as the spinoff’s next main story. As long as she remains the one gripping Hershel’s fate – or, more accurately, his feet – however, the Dama will likely be the main antagonist of The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2.

Did Negan Really Kill Ginny’s Father?

A sweet reunion turns sour when Negan announces that not only was Ginny’s father one of the men he killed in New Babylon, but that protecting her had been nothing more than a debt Negan felt he should pay. Nevertheless, The Walking Dead: Dead City‘s ending avoids addressing how much of Negan’s withering speech to Ginny is true. The part about killing Ginny’s father appears legitimate, as it immediately explains why Negan adopted a surrogate daughter so soon after abandoning his own family. The claim also fits how Negan previously attempted to make amends with Alexandria’s people by befriending Judith – as if children are his path to salvation.

On the other hand, Negan’s “you’re just a debt I had to pay” line is almost certainly a lie designed to make Ginny despise him and flee New York with Perlie. Not willing to risk her safety, Negan would rather Ginny resent him and be cozy in Maggie’s community than adore him and get caught in the Croat’s crossfire. Even if he did murder her father, Negan has clearly developed a genuine paternal bond with Ginny, and is committed to giving her the brightest future possible.

Lie or not, Negan’s plan works. The Walking Dead: Dead City drops several hints that Ginny is now looking to move out from under Negan’s wing and fully embrace being a part of Maggie’s new Hilltop community. Firstly, she refuses to accept her old shirt back when Perlie brings it out of his truck. This was the shirt Negan gently placed over a sleeping Ginny back in The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 1. Secondly, Ginny was too worried about Negan to sleep during her first stint in Maggie’s community, whereas the finale’s closing scenes show her snoozing peacefully. Both highlight Ginny’s changed attitude toward Negan.

How Negan Figured Out Maggie Was Lying (& When)

Maggie’s grand deception has been painfully obvious ever since The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 2 showed Ginny being served a fluffy slice of bread, thus proving Maggie’s story about the Croat stealing her grain was a lie. Negan, on the other hand, remained blissfully unaware until The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 6, when the penny finally drops. Negan doesn’t spell out precisely what gave the game away, but he begins showing suspicion upon realizing Maggie already knew Ginny followed them to New York. His Savior-sense tingles even more when Ginny attempts to talk after previously staying silent during their months together.

The final nail in the coffin of Maggie’s lie is hammered when Negan realizes his partner has known exactly where the Croat would be since the very beginning of their trip. In The Walking Dead: Dead City episode 1, Maggie told Negan that she suspected a building pumping out smoke twice a day was where the Croat could be found. After the Croat drives directly to said building in episode 6, Negan becomes more convinced Maggie hasn’t been completely transparent – especially after witnessing Ginny act strangely also. Maggie’s absolutely awful poker face doesn’t help her case.

Will Maggie Rescue Or Kill Negan In Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2?

As the Walking Dead: Dead City season 1 finale progresses, Maggie begins to realize that obsessing over revenge on Negan has taken over her life, to the detriment of her own son’s wellbeing. “Doma Smo” ends with Maggie seeing the error of her ways and deciding, “I don’t know how, but this thing with Negan… I’m gonna finish it. So that I can just let it go.” There are two possible interpretations of this line: either Maggie plans to rescue Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, or kill him.

If Maggie has finally realized that spending a decade seeking revenge against Glenn’s killer was wrong, it makes sense that she now wishes to undo that revenge. This will involve returning to Manhattan, and pulling her nemesis away from the Dama’s clutches, presumably intending to reunite Negan with Annie and their child. This would be the ultimate sign that Maggie has finally let her Negan hatred go. Alas, “finish it” could also mean Maggie plans to end her feud with Negan by killing him in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, removing the focus of her unhealthy obsession entirely, because she can never move on while he still breathes.

What Happened To Hershel While He Was Captured

Flashbacks already proved that Maggie’s son had an attitude problem in The Walking Dead, even before getting captured, and these traits have roots in Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comics, in which grown-up Hershel is absolutely awful. Regardless, the troubled teen is surprisingly ungrateful that his mother trekked across Manhattan, risked her life, sacrificed numerous other survivors, and trudged through zombie-infested sewers to rescue him. While Hershel may just be experiencing a particularly volatile bout of hormone-fueled moodiness, something more sinister may have occurred, with Glenn’s son potentially turning against his own mother.

Back in the safety of his mother’s truck, Hershel shockingly claims, “If anything, I felt safer there [with the Dama].” Maggie then discovers a surprisingly flattering portrait Hershel has drawn of the Dama, who herself admits Hershel “felt safe” as her prisoner. Having already been dissatisfied with his mother’s attempt at parenting, Hershel has possibly been indoctrinated by the Dama – despite having one of his toes removed on her orders. Whether Hershel would go so far as to betray his mother in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 remains to be seen, but his resentment toward Maggie is far from settled.

Perlie Lies About Killing Negan (& Sets Up A New Walking Dead Villain)

The mysterious New Babylon Federation has been mentioned throughout The Walking Dead: Dead City season 1, but makes its one and only appearance in the season finale when Marshal Perlie Armstrong finally returns home. Curiously, Perlie lies to his New Babylon superiors, claiming he was forced to kill Negan after pursuing him through Manhattan. Naturally, Perlie lies because he cannot afford to lose his position as a marshal. Having bonded with Negan during their time together in New York, and heard the context behind Negan’s crimes, Perlie decided not to administer the Federation’s justice, but will not be admitting that to his boss anytime soon.

By specifically telling New Babylon that Negan is dead, Perlie also ensures all wanted posters and searches will be ceased, allowing Negan to live as a free man once again, opening the door to a reunion with Annie and Joshua. However, Perlie’s lie subtly reveals an important secret about New Babylon. The untruth confirms that Perlie doesn’t trust his community to be merciful, understanding and fair, and this ties into the Federation’s public hangings, assorted murders and trial-free executions seen throughout The Walking Dead: Dead City so far. To seal the deal, New Babylon’s leader makes a (very) thinly-veiled threat toward Perlie’s family.

Perlie’s fractious relationship with the New Babylon Federation’s leadership establishes this large new community as yet another villainous force in The Walking Dead‘s universe, standing alongside the CRM as a big potential threat to the main survivors in Alexandria and the Commonwealth. Either way, Perlie looks likely to join Maggie back in Manhattan for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, this time trying to bring the Croat’s methane back to his unscrupulous higher-ups.