Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, episode 7!
This article makes mention of suicide.
The Walking Dead: Dead Citygave away its newest twist much earlier than when it happened, signaling the big reveal prior to when it happened. Thestory ofDead Cityseason 2has added new layers of complexity to Manhattan, with multiple groups vying for power. This has resulted in a multitude of twists and turns for various important characters inDead City, whose motivations shift throughout the series. One core event happened in season 2, episode 5,with the Croat leaving the Dama to die. After he discovers Negan laid the groundwork for this, he’s exiled from the Burazi.
This is how Maggie finds him in season 2, episode 7, having grown disillusioned with New York City and intent on returning home. When she demands to know where a runaway Hershel might be, he leads her to a supposed safehouse at the top of two connected buildings across the city. They end up working together to reach the top, withthe Croat claimingHershel’s connection to the Damalikely means he’s there. However,Dead Cityoffers a twist once they reach the top, something the episode telegraphed prior to its reveal.
The Croat Confirmed His Plan Much Earlier In The Episode
Once the Croat and Maggie reach the top of the building, it’s revealedthe safehouse is actually a hideaway the Croat made for himselfmany years earlier. Upon reaching the top room, he picks up a wooden plaque bearing the name “Kata Jurkovic,” alongside an old photo of a woman and a child. Maggie is angered by this, realizing she’d been tricked by the antagonist into going somewhere Hershel was never going to be. However, this betrayal was previously confirmed while the two of them were traveling up the building.
While they were in the stairwell, the Croat cautiously led Maggie up the flights of stairs, helping her to avoid traps he claimed to have set. However, he seemingly didn’t remember where the traps were. It’s later revealed he wasn’t the one who set those traps; other survivors had. Given how meticulous the Croat has been shown to be in previous episodes,his inability to remember where his traps were didn’t entirely make sense. But, whenDead Cityseason 2, episode 7revealed he hadn’t set them at all, it made his behavior while avoiding them more believable.
Why The Croat Really Wanted Maggie To Go With Him
He Needed Her To Do Something He Couldn’t
As Maggie confronts the Croat, she threatens to drop him out of an open window in the room. However, as their conversation continues, she realizeshe brought her there so she could kill him, unable to do so himself. She pulls him back from the ledge, keeping him from falling. When she looks down at the street below, seemingly mulling on jumping herself, he stops her. He had originally brought her there so she could kill him, but they ended up discovering how similar they are in the process.
While it’s unclear if he’s going to show up in the season 2 finale, this latest twist gave him much more depth than before, bringing his arc to completion from his original introduction.
That night, the Croat reveals he’d considered jumping numerous times after washing ashore in Manhattan, hoping he could use Maggie to kill him instead. Luckily, the episode ends with the pair going their separate ways on amicable terms after they discover where Hershel has been. While Maggie’s story contains one last twist, withthe Dama being alivedespite her apparent death, the Croat’s appears to have come full circle. He may no longer have his Burazi, but he’s no longer part of the larger conflict, and seemingly no longer wishes to die.
Having hinted at its twist early in the episode,The Walking Dead: Dead Cityshowcased the Croat’s true intentions in a way that offered a surprising connection between him and Maggie. While it’s unclear if he’s going to show up in the season 2 finale, this latest twist gave him much more depth than before, bringing his arc to completion from his original introduction. Now that he’s in a much different position than before,it’s possible his relationship with other characters will change too should he come back.
The Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2, episode 8, “If History Were a Conflagration,” arrives Sunday, June 22 on AMC and AMC+.
