What-if episodes of TV shows rarely interest me, but since The Walking Dead has been around for so long and has encompassed a wealth of spinoffs, I was ready for one.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 6 dialed up the Hallmark by taking place in an alternate reality where Maggie visits her budding musician sister, Beth, in New York City and spends the day with a very different version of Negan.

Given how The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 5 concluded with Negan killing Fabian, it was probably the best time for Maggie to reminisce about what could have happened if they had met under different circumstances.

(AMC/Screenshot)

Let’s talk about Beth first, because having Emily Kinney slip back into the role after more than a decade was what I was most excited about in this detour.

Beth got one of the most unjust and undeserved deaths in The Walking Dead history.

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The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 8 lured us into a false sense of security, leading us to believe she was finally reuniting with her people, only to kill her.

That was back when the franchise was at its peak and could kill off characters without viewers revolting.

(AMC/Screenshot)

Honestly, I expected more of Emily in this episode, but given that the hour was effectively a two-hander between Maggie and Negan, I understand the choice.

I don’t want to say I would have watched another episode set in this timeline because this one accomplished everything it set out to do.

Beth is Back on The Walking: Dead City

Having Beth along for a small part of the ride was the icing on the cake. I hope that, in this alternate timeline, she finds happiness and gets to live out her dreams in New York City.

Given what we know about what happened to her, it’s nice to know that the message we take from this hour is that every character we’ve met could have lived very different lives in alternate universes.

That reframes many deaths and makes me ponder the possibilities for the wider franchise if we get more installments like this.

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It would be a good way to bring back Tales of the Walking Dead. That show was a lot of fun and didn’t really get the praise it deserved.

It set out to do something different with the franchise, and many people don’t even know it exists. Let that sink in.

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Maggie being shackled to the farm after her father’s death seemed like a life of misery for her. Her relationship woes with Danny aside, it sounded an awful lot like she was settling in the name of family history.

She hated farming and didn’t really have an identity away from the farm. It was interesting to have Negan on board as this counterpoint who could make her reevaluate what she actually wanted out of life.

Who would have thought that would ever happen?

(AMC/Screenshot)

In the timeline we’ve watched for so many years, they’ve been at each other’s throats. And rightfully so.

Negan was horrible when he first arrived and has gradually blossomed into a better person. His actions are heinous and unforgivable, but The Walking Dead has repeatedly established that he’s a product of what happens when the world ends, and you have nothing.

Yet here in New York City, he was an enigmatic man who wanted to give Maggie an experience that would serve as a wake-up call about what she wanted out of life.

Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan clearly had a lot of fun crafting this very different dynamic.

(AMC/Screenshot)

Seeing these decidedly different versions of the characters they’ve played for so long was fun because they seemed to enjoy this reinvigorated direction.

The notion that Maggie and Negan have met in other lifetimes and bring out the best in each other was a highly effective way to highlight why their relationship works so well on The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3.

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They spent so long trying to avoid one another after their understanding in The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 24 that it was hard to tell how they would actually interact if they buried the hatchet and put in some effort to coexist.

These two came to the understanding that they were going to be better, and we saw how Maggie decided to sell the farm while Negan called off his revenge plot. Then they said goodbye to one another and promptly pivoted back to their old ways.

The only message I take from that is that they have to be in each other’s lives to bring out the best in each other.

(AMC/Screenshot)

Hey, I can be spiritual and believe people are put on this Earth for a reason, but it felt like a way for the writers to say, “Please stop complaining about Maggie and Negan being friends now.”

I’m not opposed to that because the franchise has run their rivalry into the ground, and the reason the show is so refreshing right now is that it has moved on from it.

Maggie and Negan Are Destined to Collide

The symmetry between what Negan did to Alan and to Fabian will hopefully help Maggie understand why Negan killed Fabian.

Fabian posed a threat to Maggie and the community she was building, so he absolutely had to be eliminated.

(AMC/Screenshot)

What may be a tougher pill to swallow is how Negan sliced Dillard’s face.

As a viewer, I know he was triggered by Dillard whistling the old Saviors whistle, but Maggie doesn’t have the luxury of knowing everything we do.

That’s where things could get particularly interesting. I really don’t know where the series will go from here, but I suspect everyone will be surprised when Maggie inevitably sides with Negan.

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If she does, will that mean she’s kicked out of the community and forced to leave Manhattan? Perhaps.

And if that’s where we’re headed, it would be an even bigger shift for Maggie and Negan, because this season has slowly been stripping away the reasons they had to remain enemies.

(Robert Clark/AMC)

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Episode 6 may have gone full Hallmark, but it gave us something the franchise has rarely had the chance to explore: who Maggie and Negan could have been if the world hadn’t forced them to become who they are.

And honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.

What are your thoughts on the “what if” episode, The Walking Dead Fanatics? Did you like Beth’s return, or did you expect more?

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