THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY, Season 2, Episode 4, FEISTY FRIENDLY

Written By:

Rich Cross

The Walking Dead: Dead City, Season 2, Episode 4, Fiesty Friendly

The focus shifts to the power plays amongst the warlords of Manhattan in Episode Four, as The Dama attempts to win the allegiance of one of the holdouts reluctant to join her alliance. Bruegel has a sizable militia at his command, many resources at his disposal and an insatiable ego to match. He also has a very theatrical persona and is keen to impress visitors and show off his collection of stolen art.

But while Negan understands that Bruegel needs to be flattered and indulged, the bluntness and impatience of The Dama’s number two, The Croat, threatens to derail the negotiations. It’s this tension in The Dama’s ranks that shapes the drama of Feisty Friendly as she seeks to build a defensive bulwark against the island’s invasion.

Away from the art of the deal, the main undead action is a wrestling match between Bruegel’s walker champion and all-comer challengers. The combatants are wrapped in protective gear to prolong their undead existence and covered in mutually irresistible gore. Both fighters have fearsome spikes attached to their heads to finish off their opponents when they lean in to take a bite. Sadly, it’s not an especially exciting spectacle and feels like an overly familiar sight in the world of The Walking Dead. What makes matters less interesting still is that the contest’s secret sleight-of-hand is in plain sight from the outset.

On two different occasions, Negan steps in to recover the situation when The Croat threatens to wreck the deal, even spending time in the cage to placate their hoped-for ally. He finally whispers to Bruegel that he knows how he’s rigging the contest, aware of the leverage that it gives him.

With the capture of his family guaranteeing his compliance, a muted Negan is currently showing little of his traditional over-the-top, grinning theatrical flair. That makes space for Bruegel to occupy the vacated flamboyant zone. As Bruegel, Sons of Anarchy’s Kim Coates cuts an entertaining figure (part Vincent Price in The Monster Club, part Eric Roberts’ Master in the 1996 Doctor Who movie). But the shift in character demographics his arrival introduces is awkward, as several of the Dead City ensemble share the trait of being larger-than-life, charismatic figures, intent on profiting from the power vacuum at the end of the world.

Unconstrained, unhinged Negan is entertainingly volatile, and humbled, conflicted Negan, seduced by the lure of redemption, is more interesting still. But Negan, recast in the guise of middle-tier management, eclipsed by bigger and bolder baddies on both sides, threatens to blunt the sharp edges of his nature.

Maggie, Perlie and Hershel leave Ginny behind at the Foragers’ settlement – after their leader Roksana has given them notice to vacate – and head out of the park to try to locate the methane supplies. And with the last episode’s revelation that The Dama has won over the allegiance of Hershel while he was in custody, trust within Maggie’s group is threatened by a fracture line that’s hidden for now. In part, this is offset by a warming of relations between Perlie and Maggie, as the pair increasingly acknowledge that their interests temporarily coincide.

The reunion of Maggie and Negan, the first time they’ve met since she traded him to The Dama to secure Hershel’s release, might have been anticipated as a moment of genuine fireworks. But director Ed Ornelas makes little of their encounter, focusing on Negan’s revelation about Hershel’s duplicity. Predictably enough, Maggie, forever convinced of her son’s decency, remains sceptical.

At this point, it’s difficult to see where the Season Two story arc is going. Since the sinking of the Liberty Queen, there have been no reinforcements from the New Babylon Republic, and no large-scale confrontations are looming. The sparks that might be expected from the showdown between Maggie and Negan have been extinguished for now, as the showrunners instead fire up the conflict between the island’s rival gangs. Having introduced the enigmatic Dama at the end of last season, the spotlight has now switched to Bruegel, with Negan acting not as the leader of the pack but as the pair’s liaison officer.

Season Two started strongly, with Power Equals Power providing a reassuring sense of energy and drive. But after the underwhelming river crossing in Episode Two, and the time spent with the less-than-thrilling Foragers in the narrative detour of Episode Three, Feisty Friendly further dilutes the show’s momentum and sense of focus as the season reaches the halfway point. There’s still time to pick up the pace and reconnect with the things that gave Dead City its distinctive edge – but the clock is ticking.