This week’s episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City, “Feisty Friendly,” delivered a gripping and much-needed narrative push, weaving together tension, revelation, and power plays with ruthless precision. Let’s review.
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“Feisty Friendly” – THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD |
Bruegel (Kim Coates) made his grand entrance as a nouveau riche character, an electrifying jolt to the series—broad, flamboyant, and unapologetically snarky. His arrival was a spectacle, dripping with sarcasm as he mercilessly mocked the Croat’s (Zeljko Ivanek) Serbian accent Bruegel issues an insincere, theatrical apology: “Your accent is so interesting.” He was sorry—except, of course, not sorry. Bruegel’s presence dominated the screen in a way reminiscent of Negan’s legendary arrival in The Walking Dead—an immediate, unsettling force that demanded attention.
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“Feisty Friendly” – THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, Pictured: Kim Coates |
What is most interesting is that this scene plays out at a table that echoes da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” The art direction is on point her since the Last Supper Jesus ‘rats’ (pun intended) that one of his disciples will betray him. The question is who is Jesus and who is Judas in this scenario?
Beyond Bruegel’s ruthless charisma, the episode provided long-awaited answers, solidifying past suspicions while opening new doors of uncertainty. Chief among them was confirmation from the Dama (Lisa Emery) that Herschel (Logan Kim) had been assisting the Burazi. The dread wasn’t just in learning this—it was in what remained unanswered. Can Maggie (Lauren Cohan) truly trust her own child?
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| “Feisty Friendly” – THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, Pictured: Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Lisa Emery as The Dama, Keir Gilchrist as Pierce, Kim Coates as The Bruegel, Zeljko Ivanek as The Croat. Photo: Robert Clark/AMC © 2025 AMC Networks Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Negan revealed to Maggie that the Burazi somehow got to Herschel. Understandably, his revelations were met with her desperate denial, making the tension of her escape from the Museum—where she reunited with Negan—all the more delicious. Her escape brought her into the sights of the Dama, who had corrupted Herschel. The seed of doubt had been planted, and watching it grow will no doubt be agonizing for the long-suffering Maggie Rhee.
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“Feisty Friendly” – THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, |
Meanwhile, shifting allegiances fueled a simmering rivalry between the Dama, the Croat, and Negan. The Croat—volatile yet calculating—accused Bruegel of cheating at walker competitions but couldn’t quite pin down how. In a twist that upended the balance of power, Negan solved the mystery first—by jumping into the ring and looking into the eyes of something that was not a walker—adding another layer of brutality to the episode.
Negan immediately let Bruegel know that he had uncovered the grotesque truth behind his 26 wins. Bruegel’s monstrous creation—his own Frankenstein’s monster—had been the key to his deception. His former bodyguard, Tony (uncredited), had apparently been forced into cruel servitude in the zombie apocalypse. But unlike Shelley’s tragic creature, Tony wasn’t granted even the bitter contemplation of suicide. Instead, Bruegel, his creator, snuffed him out with cold efficiency.
There was relief in Tony’s death, but also horror at the sheer ruthlessness behind it. No human should live a life eating rats and killing zombies. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher why Tony hadn’t gotten sick from being so close to so much zombie blood, isn’t it?
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| “Feisty Friendly” – THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, Pictured: Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan. Photo: Robert Clark/AMC © 2025 AMC Networks Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Nevertheless, Bruegel capitulated, saying that he and Negan had “gained each other’s trust,” and his gang would be joining the Burazi—though without the methane-producing facility he had hoped to secure at the Museum. By taming Bruegel’s ambition, Negan deepened the divide between the Dama and the Croat while drawing himself closer to the Dama. As a power move, she invited Negan to ride in the back seat with her, while the Croat was relegated to chauffeur. The balance of power had shifted in yet unseen ways, fueling an incendiary tension among the three, and creating an unstable force teetering on the edge of combustible betrayals.
Where the episode faltered was in its quieter character moments between Herschel and Maggie. Their firefly reminiscence, meant to deepen their bond, instead tread familiar emotional ground without adding anything new. The writers have plowed this territory enough—when there are fresh, intriguing characters to explore, lingering on old wounds felt forced. And clearly, Herschel wasn’t interested in the past.
More of Narvaez’s (Dascha Polanco) and Ginny’s (Mahina Napoleon) pasts came to light. Governor Byrd shaped Narvaez in the ways of law, order, and justice. Her sharp instinct allowed her to uncover Ginny’s true motives. For example, she guessed that Negan, who was supposed to be dead, was very much alive and that Ginny had joined New Babylon’s army for reasons beyond mere survival.
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“Feisty Friendly” – |
Indeed, Ginny admitted to coming on the mission to “Kill the man who killed her father.” This revelation became a crucial thread in the unraveling of New Babylon’s power structure—especially since Narvaez’s superior, Colonel Armstrong, swore he had killed Negan. With so many fragile alliances and trust issues, the stage is set for chaos—and in the TWDU, chaos always delivers.
This episode proved that the Walking Dead: Dead City still has teeth—sharp, unrelenting, and ready to sink in deeper. What comes next is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain: no one is safe.
Who do you think will receive the next big death? Let me know in the comments.
Overall Grade:
8:10
Lynette Jones