The first season of Dead City starts roughly five years later, with the Hilltop rebuild having failed. They have since relocated to a place called the Bricks. A man called the Croat (aka Mile Jurkovic) (Zeljko Ivanek) arrives and kidnaps Hershel (now played by Logan Kim), demanding that Maggie trade him for Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). She hunts Negan down and lies to him, insisting that she needs his help to save her son. The two form an uneasy alliance to take down the Burazi, enlisting the help of other survivors in New York City. They are tailed by Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles), an officer of New Babylon, who wants to arrest Negan for murder. The attempts to rescue Hershel and kill the Croat fail, with everyone in the New York group perishing. Maggie bonds with a young girl named Ginny (Mahina Napoleon), who was a former charge of Negan. In the finale, Negan catches on that Maggie has led him astray and tries to escape. A fight ensues, and Negan nearly kills her before surrendering. The trade is successful, with Maggie and Hershel returning to the Bricks. She looks at her son’s drawings and finds one of a mystery woman. Maggie debates the morality of leaving Negan behind and returning to rescue him.
Season 2 begins roughly six months later. New Babylon has forced the Bricks into an alliance, cutting them off from the Commonwealth and their other trade partners. It is revealed that Perlie and Maggie lied about Negan’s fate, declaring him dead. New Babylon begins conscripting members of the Bricks to return to NYC for their fuel source: walker-sourced methane. Maggie volunteers to spare her people and is forced to watch when Hershel and Ginny volunteer with her. After a disastrous siege that leaves most of New Babylon’s forces dead, Maggie battles with Lucia Narvaez (Dascha Polanco) for control. She discovers that Hershel has been signaling information to the Burazi. This feud comes to a head when Lucia discovers that Negan is alive and demands that Maggie, Hershel, and Perlie be executed for treason. Lucia threatens to execute Hershel in front of Maggie, leading to an intense chase as walkers devour most of the survivors. Lucia gets bitten and left for dead while Maggie escapes with Hershel, devastated at her near loss. The survivors are taken in by a man named Bruegel (Kim Coates) and his group. Maggie catches Hershel trying to poison Bruegel and his men, leading to a confrontation. After a fight with a bear (yes, a wild bear), Hershel sets out on his own to find inner peace away from his mother and her constant need for revenge. Maggie pursues him with the help of the Croat, who is trying to reform himself.
After enduring sleep deprivation, a skyline full of walkers, and other horrors, she reunites with Hershel. She is then attacked and imprisoned by the Dama (Lisa Emery), the woman who Hershel drew in season 1. The Dama, who has been with Negan, asks Maggie to kill him in exchange for her son. She agrees and witnesses the Burazi, now led by Negan, wipe out Bruegel and his men. She stabs Negan in the back and is prepared to finish him when she discovers his brutality was to save Ginny, who has now died and become a walker. Ginny’s death forces Maggie to reconcile with her own brutality and she spares Negan, deciding to officially put the past behind them. This decision angers Hershel, who declares that she will never change. Hershel runs off with the Dama. Maggie promises to remain in the city until they can repair their fractured relationship. The season ends with Maggie, Negan, and Perlie agreeing to work together to take down New Babylon and stop them from harvesting supplies and methane.
Reading this (rather extensive) summary of twelve seasons of TV, most would probably assume a PTSD diagnosis for Maggie. She has witnessed people die in front of her, experienced torture and sexual assault, and has been involved in more combat than quite a few military veterans over the years. She displays symptoms such as directly experiencing the traumatic events (various deaths), learning the events impacted a close family member (Beth’s death), repeated exposure to various stimuli (hostile humans and the undead alike), intrusive distressing memories (picturing Glenn’s death when she tries to picture his face), prolonged exposure to to external cues (Negan), efforts to avoid external reminders (moving from Hilltop to Meridian for several years), persistent negative emotional states (seasons 9-11, Dead City seasons 1-2), diminished interest in significant activities (mostly entertaining various love interests), persistent inability to experience positive emotions (seasons 9-11, Dead City seasons 1-2), anger outbursts, and hyper-vigiliance (season 3 onwards). All of these have lasted more than a month and cause impairment socially and romantically. These reactions are not caused by a substance or medication.
Maggie’s treatment plan would be to focus on PTSD. Events such as performing a forced C-section, being sexually assaulted, being forced to kill, watching her father die, witnessing her husband be bludgeoned to death, putting down multiple good friends, nearly being murdered, and watching various people get ripped apart are all events that will need to be processed individually. This will take up a significant amount of time on its own. The focus would eventually shift to her relationship with Glenn and how she struggles to live without prolonged resentment toward Negan. Her and Negan share an interesting dynamic, one that is not wholly friend or foe. What their relationship looks like would need to be processed. Her relationship with Glenn would be analyzed and the exploration of why she hasn’t moved on after nearly a decade and a half. Goals for therapy would be important in determining if she ever wants to find another romantic partner or if she is content with Glenn being the only man for her. Regardless, her grief for him has made her perform some questionable acts, which need to be discussed.
Maggie Rhee is a prominent character on the show and one of the only surviving A-Listers from the first few seasons of the franchise. Her journey takes her from simple farm girl to leader of the new world. From single to widowed with a teenage son. Despite her losses and the trauma she has endured, she continues to fight for a better world for herself and for her son. Her resilience comes as an inspiration, namely in the uncertain times in our own world. Just as she has adapted, so must we.
At Behavioral Health Clinic, we have clinicians who specialize in trauma and PTSD to help people overcome their own adversities. Reach out at 855.607.8242 or email us at appointments@bhclinic.com.
