TWD: Dead City Introduces A New Group That's Even Weirder Than The OG Series' Scavengers
Over the years, The Walking Dead and its spinoffs have introduced us to a plethora of unusual groups, from the eccentric Scavengers to the cannibalistic Termians. But for my money, the Central Park dwellers that we meet in Sunday's The Walking Dead: Dead City set a new high-water mark for weirdness.
Led by Roksana (Terrifier scene stealer Pooya Mohseni), the Foragers dress like they're cosplaying a cross between Where the Wild Things Are and The Hills Have Eyes, speak very little and have a fondness for walkers that's rivaled only by that of Fear the Walking Dead's Celia. (Remember her?) We encounter the newbies when the survivors of Negan's attack on New Babylon's ferry are beset by walkers in an overgrown Central Park. One member of the group, a young girl, saves Hershel. He, in turn, tries to save her from one of the Croat's henchmen.
Alas, since Hershel's knife-throwing still leaves a lot to be desired, he is unable to keep the girl from having her leg stabbed by the baddie. He's about to finish her off when he is killed by — surprise — Negan, even now looking out for Maggie's son. Enraged to see his father's killer, Hershel fires a gun, at which point Negan sensibly scrams. Here's where the Foragers get bizarre extra.
Once Hershel and the girl are taken back to their HQ — Cafe On the Lake — Roksana turns down Perlie's offer of a first-aid kit to let the kid die. Everybody kinda moans over the body. There's a lot of touching of people's foreheads to that of the deceased. Roksana sings a bit. And then... oh, jeez. She bashes open the girl's chest and removes the heart, which she then puts outside as a special treat for the walkers.
Roksana also has the girl's corpse kicked to the curb, which explains why so many of the walkers in the weeds have gaping holes in their chests. When members of the group croak, they aren't put down, they're merely put... out.
THE DAMA PLAYS MIND GAMES | In other developments, flashbacks reveal that during Hershel's time as the Dama's captive, she endlessly messed with his head, convincing him not only that she was kindly but that she saw him in a way that he mother couldn't, what with Maggie being so obsessed with Negan. The Dama even pimps Hershel's crib, moving him from a dank cell to a renovated elevator car with a view of Manhattan. There, she invites him to use his artistic mind to envision what the city could be. But "the new world will need protecting," she adds. So "when you go home, there may be some things you're going to have to do."
Are you thinking what I am — that the Dama was setting up Hershel to kill his own mother? Sound off in the comments below.