The Walking Dead: Dead City
1×04: “Everybody Wins a Prize”
Directed by Kevin Dowling
Written by Eli Jorné

* For a recap & review of 1×03, click here.
* For a recap & review of 1×05, click here.
Flashback to Negan in his Savior days at the Sanctuary. He sat next to Lucille at a table full of food. He was marking a paper with “dead pricks” all over the place. Then he got a visit from Simon about some trouble. Simon talked to Negan about investing “more authority” in somebody new. They find The Croat talking about the girl he tortured. He was not looking for any criticism. Even Negan was shocked by the state of the girl. Same with Simon. The Saviors killed a lot of people, but they never killed kids. They threatened it and never crossed that line. The Croat blew past it without any consideration for the girl’s humanity, nor did he consult Negan and the rest of the Saviors. It’s obvious that Negan wanted The Croat gone.
In current day, everyone is looking for Luther. They start to assume he left in the night. Negan chips in by saying Luther wasn’t hot on their plan and Maggie silently questions whether he’s involved with the man’s disappearance. He’s still nursing the wound on his hand but he’s always fit to do whatever’s required of him. He hides Luther’s little jar of balm or whatever it is in his boot, too. He tells Maggie that the closer they get to The Croat, the more he’s haunted by awful memories.

Maggie, Negan, and the Tribespeople head into the streets where Maggie notices something bubbling in the sewer grate. Tommaso tells her it’s “methane” which must be from the dead bodies after all the dead were shovelled into the sewers. That means Manhattan itself is almost like a bomb; one explosion in the right place could send the whole island up. Tommaso leads everyone onto the train tracks, where the tracks are full of zombies, most of them run over by the trains but still ‘alive’ in zombie terms, so their chompers are ready to snap at ankles. They head deeper through Penn Station. They find nothing but more death and decay everywhere. Maggie looks in a room where she sees a zombie that looks suspiciously like Hershel. Negan pulls the kid’s head back and reveals it’s not Hershel, though the emotions coursing through Maggie are enough to make her nearly cry.
Maggie, Negan, and the Tribespeople go over their plan for Negan to draw out The Croat while Maggie and the Tribespeople “start skull–bashing and throat–cutting the Burazi.” Then Maggie can get Hershel back, the Tribespeople get revenge; it works for everybody. That’s so long as they pull everything off appropriately. Negan’s still thinking on how to draw out The Croat, yet he’s sure they’ll succeed and get Hershel back. Then Maggie reveals the little container Negan took off Luther. She doesn’t say anything about it, but clearly disapproves. Negan says: “Don‘t act like you‘ve never done something you needed to explain.” They table any argument for another time.
A young Burazi is with The Croat and she’s obviously intimidated by his presence. He recalls when they first found her. She laid down her weapon instead of fighting. The Croat says he’s loved watching the girl become a “confident protector” over the years. He tells her she never has to be afraid of him. He even gives her a candy. Because none of this is creepy at all. From the darkness, a whistle comes. The Croat almost doesn’t believe he’s hearing it. Then more whistling from the corridors nearby. The Croat heads off without a word, leaving the young Burazi to put a disc in the computer that initiates a countdown. He goes down the corridors of the arena while calling out to Negan. While this is going on, Maggie’s down in the car park looking for a vehicle to steal. She’s noticed by Ginny, who runs in out of nowhere. But Ginny rushes off and Maggie gives chase. Maggie eventually catches up with the girl, right as she also comes upon her Tribespeople friends.

The Croat has nearly located Negan, who’s hiding behind a car. He makes his way into the taxi that Maggie was able to start up, grabbing her ignition tool. But everyone and everything in the arena stops when the disc’s countdown finishes. Music plays throughout the building. Maggie and the Tribespeople, along with Ginny, are all startled by explosions ringing out around the arena. Negan has to hide while some Burazi get in their vehicles. Maggie and the others are trapped inside the arena by hordes of zombies making their way inside. They look for a clear exit. Every possible way out seems to be blocked; even up in the stands. Walkers are pouring from every opening in the arena. The music gets louder now and lights are flashing. When most of the Burazi pull out, The Croat and a couple others stay behind to search for Negan, who’s crawling around near the liquid tanks.
Tommaso, Maggie, Amaia and the rest try to keep from being devoured by the zombie horde growing around them. Unfortunately a group of zombies soon crowd Tommaso and he’s nearly eaten alive. They all get inside the UFC-style cage to stop the horde for at least a moment. They start stabbing zombies through the cage. But they’re surrounded. It’s a big job. Maggie suggests they pull off the corner pads and use them like shields. They’re like an old school bunch of knights in formation now. They make it out of the cage and into the corridors, however, most of the doors are locked. They manage to get to an unlocked door leading to what looks like the furnace room.
The Croat and his few men go looking for Negan, as they see him heading up stairs towards the upper part of the arena. The former leader of the Saviors seems to slip away from them. The Croat heads up above the arena on the catwalk and calls out to Negan, as he surveys the destruction below. He turns around when he hears Negan close to him. They have their weapons pointed at each other. The Croat puts his down and calls truce with his old friend. He remarks about Negan’s “handiwork” from the bank where the latter spilled a Burazi’s guts everywhere. He says he doesn’t want revenge on Negan. He asks about Lucille playfully.
Negan’s not interested in playing Remember When with The Croat. The crazed scientist is more interested in talking of the future, anyway. He wants the whole island to be their new Sanctuary. The conversation gets to Hershel, or so Negan thinks. The Croat brings out Perlie, like he feels it’s a gift to his old Savior buddy. Negan only wants Hershel, which The Croat thinks is foolish. The Croat wants to have a little chat with his former friend before he hands over Hershel. He says he’s only trying to work “in the spirit of friendship and brotherly love.” He then tosses Perlie over the side of the catwalk. The sheriff hangs on for dear life, and Negan starts to pull Perlie up. But The Croat uses one of those modified nail guns to hook into Perlie. That doesn’t stop Negan from pulling Perlie back onto the platform with him. The two of them flee.

In the furnace room, the group aren’t going to last if they stay. They have to make a tough decision to head into the sewers, in spite of the air quality and whatever undead remain down there. There’s literally no other option. Maggie wouldn’t take Ginny down there if it wasn’t the only way out. While Ginny heads into the darkness below, she watches Maggie with a reluctant trust in her eyes. Then Maggie pulls a barrel over near the hole and descends into the dark, as well.
At the same time, Negan and Perlie get out of the arena then head for another place to hide. This doesn’t stop the sheriff from holding Negan at gunpoint ready to execute the latter on site for his crimes. “You‘re a dick,” Negan says, as he raises his hands.