Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2, Episode 3One of the major challenges of the highly popular series, The Walking Dead, was its ever-expanding cast and trying to lend weight to each character's storyline and importance to the show. By the end of the show's run, it seemed like an impossible feat, even after the departure of many beloved characters, like the iconic Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) or the badass Michonne (Danai Gurira). Subsequently, one of the draws of the new slew of spin-offs after the conclusion of the flagship show was that they would be able to give characters the time and details they deserved, and The Walking Dead: Dead City was one of these shows that focused on the nuanced relationship between two unforgettable characters, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan).
But it wouldn't be The Walking Dead if we didn't have other exciting characters introduced, which is how we got Ginny (Mahina Napoleon). She was instrumental to the spin-off's exploration of Negan and Maggie's dynamics as her intriguing story and bond with Negan cast him in a new, empathetic light. But it seems Dead City Season 2 is falling into the same trap as the original show. The cast is growing, the season is limited to eight episodes, and there isn't enough time to flesh out all the new players on the board, including Maggie's settlement Bricks, the tyrannical New Babylon, and Manhattan's divided city. Ginny, in particular, is falling victim to the larger narrative, as it is clear that Dead City has no idea what to do with her in Season 2 now that she is separated from Negan and hasn't been developed as a character yet.
Ginny Only Matters in Negan's Story in 'The Walking Dead: Dead City'
The first season of Dead City did Ginny justice, especially with her unique characterization of going non-verbal after a traumatic event (which also probably subconsciously reminded us of Connie (Lauren Ridloff), another fan-favorite The Walking Dead character) and Negan's potential involvement in killing her father. She also humanized Negan, with the scene of them finding and patching up her stuffed dinosaur being heartwarming, let alone the fact that Negan only went on Maggie's quest after ensuring Ginny's welfare and safety. Their scene in the Season 1 finale also deepened their relationship and our empathy towards Negan, as he confesses to killing her father so she leaves him for safety, though we don't know the truth about the confession yet. By characterizing her in the context of her relationship with Negan, the show cleverly ensures we care about her too, but this ends up being her downfall in Season 2.
The issue is, because Ginny only really matters in the context of humanizing Negan, now that they are separated, her character doesn't have enough substance to stand on her own. Currently, she only really has a relationship with Maggie, who takes on an arbitrary maternal sort of figure as we see her tuck Ginny in bed or scold her for getting drafted by New Babylon. During the mission, she frees Maggie and Hershel (Logan Kim) in the boat and does contribute to saving their lives, but this renders her a narrative function rather than meaningfully adding to her character. Apart from this, she is simply a fly on the wall for most conversations, making us question why she is even involved at this point. If anything, it seems like the show is setting up for her to be killed so that we pity Negan even more, or else, why else is she on this mission? Either way, Ginny is turning more into a plot device than an actual character in Season 2.
'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Season 2 Missed an Opportunity in Episode 3
Sidelining a character for an episode or two isn't necessarily an egregious crime, but what makes Ginny's case more frustrating is the missed opportunity in Dead City Season 2, Episode 3. In the episode, Hershel is separated from his group and comes face-to-face with Negan for the first time in the season. Negan saves Hershel from a walker, but the panicked and emotional Hershel shoots at Negan and misses at the height of the scene, eventually letting him go free and telling his aggrieved mother about the encounter. While it was interesting to see the two interact in such an explosive environment, it became another reason for Hershel to call out Maggie's obsessive behavior, claiming she had enough hate for Negan that Hershel felt like he couldn't anymore.
Adding Ginny to this scene would have had so many more implications and would have raised the stakes for Negan. After saving Hershel's life in Episode 2, Negan already knew he was around before this confrontation, but he had no idea that Ginny was on the island too. While Negan feels guilty about how he has impacted Hershel's life, he has a genuine bond with Ginny, and thus, a confrontation between the two may have impacted Negan's precarious position with his captors more.
It would also become integral to Ginny's characterization, as their last interaction was marred by anger and betrayal, leading to the tantalizing question: how would she have reacted? It would have informed us about what kind of character she was. Was she still riled with hurt and fury? Or had enough time passed that she understood Negan's motivations and thought there was more to the story? Would she give him the benefit of the doubt or not? But, unfortunately, Ginny's characterization still rings hollow after this missed opportunity.
'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Needs To Figure Out Ginny's Character
However, if the plan isn't to kill Ginny to hurt Negan, she does have the makings to become a compelling character in the show. Dead City just needs to figure out which direction they are going to take with her. Now that she's speaking again and has proven herself to be a capable fighter, we can easily envision her surviving the season and engaging with the main cast in a meaningful way. The most effective way Dead City can pull substance back into the individual character outside Negan is to build upon her backstory and give her stakes in the main overarching storyline that isn't just Negan. Right now, her motivations for being drafted are still unclear, and it honestly just seems like she had nothing better to do. By answering these questions, audiences may be able to invest in her character beyond just her relationship with Negan.
If not, unfortunately, there really is not much differentiating her from one of the extras that are tagging along for the mission. Her character is one-dimensional and forgettable; the only time we remember she exists is when the camera cuts to her listening to a conversation or saving the main cast. Dead City laid the groundwork for Ginny's character in Season 1, but the show needs to renew its efforts if they want to keep her relevant to the show. While there is a world where we can see ourselves rooting for Ginny, especially with Napoleon's nuanced performance in Season 1, she needs to be able to stand beyond Negan.
