Throughout season 1, Ginny never speaks, something that changed during Dead City season 2. In the season premiere, she ended up speaking twice to Hershel and Maggie, those brief moments indicating that she can, in fact, talk again. However, she's still not as talkative as other characters, what she says being quick and to-the-point in contrast to other characters. Even so, Dead City season 2, episode 1 established this as an important change to her character, especially given the connection it has to her wider storyline in the show.
Why Ginny Couldn't Talk In The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 1
A Traumatic Event Caused Her To Stop Speaking
During the events of Dead City season 1, Ginny didn't speak due to a traumatic experience in her past. It's later revealed that this event was the death of her father, the only person in her life that she could rely upon in the post-apocalypse. She ended up discovering him as a zombie before the events of season 1, seeing that he had been killed in a brutal fashion that traumatized her. Negan later discovered where she was living and started taking care of her, growing understanding of her being selectively mute because of her past.
However, what she's initially unaware of is that Negan killed her father after he and four other men brutally beat and robbed his wife, Annie. Learning of Ginny, he decided to start taking care of her as recompense for making her an orphan. He never told her the truth, though, and their bond developed enough that she went to Manhattan on her own to find him. While caring for her, Negan understood why she didn't speak, partially because he felt guilty for what he'd done and was trying to make amends.
Ginny Started Talking In The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 1's Finale
She Also Learns The Truth About What Negan Did To Her Father
It's not until the end of Dead City season 1 that Ginny speaks her first words. Upon meeting with Negan, Maggie, and Perlie in Manhattan, she hugs Negan, who tells her that she needs to go back to the Bricks with Perlie while he stays and helps Maggie. Her first words are "I want you to..." as she starts saying something to him. However, he cuts her off, finally admitting that he was the one who killed her father. He doesn't offer additional context as to why, though, purposefully forming a schism between them so she'll go back with Perlie.
Ginny doesn't say anything else for the rest of Dead City season 1, but she does willingly return to the Bricks. Once Maggie comes back with Hershel, it's established that she'll be taking care of the young girl from now on. Her new environment is also meant to allow her to heal from both her father's death and the revelation that Negan killed him. She's now in the safest place she's been since before her dad died, with the months-long time gap between seasons 1 and 2 showing how much she's settled in.
Ginny Being More Talkative In Season 2 Proves Maggie Has Helped Her Heal
Being Around Maggie & Hershel Is Making Her Open Up More
In Dead City season 2, episode 1, Ginny says a few lines to both Maggie and Hershel during the episode. While she's not much more talkative than she was at the end of season 1, her few lines prove that Maggie has helped her begin healing from the trauma of her father's death. However, her story is far from over, since she's heading back to Manhattan once again, this time alongside Maggie and soldiers in the New Babylon Federation. While she's been more talkative lately, the show isn't done with her character arc just yet.
New episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City air Sundays on AMC and AMC+.
