The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Should Introduce A New Love Interest For Maggie
Some time after Glenn's death in The Walking Dead's comic story, Maggie gradually began developing feelings for another character, and their slow-burn love story served as a fascinating subplot across Robert Kirkman's later volumes. AMC's The Walking Dead TV show opted against following that route, allowing Maggie to remain single all the way until season 11, then beyond into Dead City season 1. That decision made sense, as it let Maggie evolve without being defined by romantic attachments. Having said that, Dead City season 2 is now the right time for Maggie to bite the heart-shaped bullet.
It must be noted that Maggie's The Walking Dead arc does not need a romantic interest in order to feel complete. Lauren Cohan's character is much more than the company she keeps behind closed doors, and if her story ends without another man or woman entering her life, The Walking Dead would not have done Maggie any kind of disservice. On the other hand, there are a number of ways a new Romance would benefit Maggie in Dead City season 2.
Why A New Love Interest Would Improve Maggie's Story In Dead City Season 2
It is no exaggeration to say that Maggie's story since The Walking Dead season 7 has been heavily defined by Glenn. Even after appearing to settle her differences with Negan in the main show's final season, Dead City picked open the wounds and positioned Glenn's death as a driving motivation for Lauren Cohan's character. Whatever hatchet may have been buried in The Walking Dead season 11 was dug right back up again. Glenn will, of course, always represent a huge part of Maggie's The Walking Dead journey, but a new love interest would symbolize her finally laying Glenn's ghost to rest, drawing a line under the past.
The Walking Dead love stories typically bring out the best in both parties. Rick and Michonne were both strong individually, and neither truly needed a boyfriend/girlfriend, but their sizzling chemistry worked wonders for Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in The Ones Who Live. The same may be true for Maggie. When a survivor finds a life partner in The Walking Dead, it serves as a reminder of light during dark times - that happiness is still possible, even when bitey corpses lurk around every corner. Bringing a new light into Maggie's life would pull that message of optimism into Dead City season 2.
The Walking Dead Drastically Changed Maggie's Second Love Interest After Glenn
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 cannot, sadly, adapt Maggie's comic lover verbatim, since the character in question has already met a very different fate. In the comics, Maggie's partner after Glenn is Dante - a Hilltop resident introduced after the post-Savior time jump. The Walking Dead's TV adaptation did feature Dante, but revealed him as an undercover Whisperer. The subterfuge worked perfectly. The twist exploited Dante's good-guy status from the comics to deliver a genuinely surprising moment, and The Walking Dead could then focus on Maggie's development as a leader, mother, and warrior.
Now that more time has passed, a new Maggie romance feels more appropriate but, for obvious reasons, Dante is not available in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2. The spinoff would need to introduce a character similar to the comic version of Dante, but by a different name. Perhaps Maggie encounters this newcomer during her quest to rescue Negan, and a blossoming passion begins to take shape under the high-pressure skyline of a zombie-filled New York.
Maggie's New Partner Can Set Up The Walking Dead: Dead City's Future Seasons
If The Walking Dead ever does replace Glenn, it would need to do so with respect, and over a long period of time. Maggie has lived with the grief of Glenn's death for so long, it would seem wildly out of character if she fell for another person within a mere few episodes. A new Romance could evolve more naturally across multiple seasons, with the incoming love interest first meeting Maggie in Dead City season 2, but not acting upon their feelings until season 3 or 4.
The extra time a Maggie love story would need to play out properly makes introducing the character in Dead City season 2 all the more crucial. Better to get Cupid limbering up now than cram an entire courtship into a single future season. At the time of writing, Dead City's future beyond season 2 has not been officially confirmed by AMC, but Lauren Cohan has expressed interest in taking the spinoff to four or five seasons. That leaves plenty of time for romance to sprout, but only if the seeds are sown by The Walking Dead: Dead City's very next season.
