The Walking Dead may be over, but the franchise lives on — shambling forward with a mix of legacy characters and spinoff experiments.
AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City is currently in its second season, and while it has moments of brilliance, it’s also struggling with the same issue that’s plagued other entries in the franchise: inconsistent storytelling.
Rather than allowing plotlines to breathe and characters to grow organically, the show is bulldozing through arcs and killing off fresh faces before they make any meaningful impact.
That approach came to a head on The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Episode 5, which wiped out a shocking number of characters in what may go down as one of the biggest creative blunders in Walking Dead history.
Christos, Roksana, Narvaez, and even The Dama were all seemingly taken off the board, and the question now is whether the bloodbath will help or hurt the rest of the season.
Let’s talk about Christos first. Introduced in the season premiere and played by Jake Weary, Christos was immediately brutalized by Negan in a violent show of force aimed at Manhattan’s rival factions.
The show moved on so quickly from the incident that it seemed like a throwaway moment, which made his unexpected return all the more intriguing.
Christos Deserved More on The Walking Dead: Dead City
On TWD: Dead City Season 2 Episode 5, Christos re-entered the story just as things were heating up between Negan and the Croat.
The character had depth, understandable motivations, and a simmering rage that could have turned him into a major player.
Instead, just as Christos began to feel essential, the Croat used gas to murder him — a move that felt less like a twist and more like a waste.
Sure, Christos’s death underscored the Croat’s instability and cemented him as someone too dangerous for even Negan to manipulate.
But there’s a frustrating pattern here: characters are being introduced with promise, only to be unceremoniously discarded the moment they gain momentum.
The same can be said for Roksana and Narvaez. Roksana was one of the show’s most intriguing additions, especially with her faction hidden in Central Park — a concept with massive potential.
But she was killed by Narvaez, a character who also seemed poised for bigger things. And then he was killed too. It’s like narrative whack-a-mole.
Then there’s The Dama. Easily one of the most bizarre villains in Walking Dead lore, she’s operated from the shadows, manipulating others to do her dirty work.
After a chaotic showdown with the Croat that ended with her engulfed in flames, it seems like she’s toast — but this is The Walking Dead, so I’m not convinced.
The Dama’s Supposed Demise Sucked
If the Dama is dead, that’s another bold swing with questionable payoff. She had the potential to be a long-game adversary, someone who could evolve into a larger threat across spinoffs.
Her apparent death, like the others, feels rushed and a little too convenient.
At this point, it’s hard not to feel like Dead City is playing it safe. Rather than risk the wrath of fans by endangering franchise favorites like Negan or Maggie, the show keeps introducing expendable characters just to kill them.
That formula worked early on in The Walking Dead, but it’s wearing thin now, especially when the stakes feel artificially padded with disposable people.
If Dead City wants to thrive in the long term, it needs to make us care again, not just about the leads, but about the world around them.
These deaths could have had an impact. Instead, they leave us wondering what the point was.
At this rate, Dead City might run out of characters before it runs out of episodes.
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
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