Original subtitles

[Maggie] Previously on Dead City...

Manhattan can once again inspire and spread hope,

which is why we've been going from town to town

drafting soldiers for an exploratory mission,

as is the federation's right by treaty.

She thinks she's coming to Manhattan and she's not!

You're not my mother!

Ginny can go, but I can't?

I'm only going because I have to.

[The Croat] There is to be an exploratory mission

followed by a massive land invasion.

So, we must be ready with an army of our own.

[music]

[music]

[ominous music]

[theme music]

[music]

[Victor] Shit. Scared me [chuckles].

I was told to do maid service, but uh...

clearly the room's still occupied.

[soft music]

You know, when I was a kid,

my dad forced me to learn the violin.

And I started taking lessons.

Fought it the whole way.

My teacher thought I might find some inspiration

in Vivaldi.

[playing The Four Seasons]

Not for me. Too, uh, light.

My mom suggested Mozart.

[playing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik]

Too dry.

Dad was a big Brahms guy.

But I'm not even gonna play you Brahms

because Brahms is the absolute fucking worst.

And then...

I found Bach.

[playing Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor]

Bach...

was full.

It was layered.

And exciting.

So even when my dad was being a tyrannical fucking asshole,

I always had Bach.

If I could just focus on Bach,

then maybe I could get through another shitty lesson.

[music]

Constable Hook will take us into the Hudson,

then we'll dock at Pier 25.

Governor's Island can serve as cover

in the event of an engagement.

Engagement?

This is an exploratory mission.

Sure. But you never know, right?

Back to your unit, Soldier.

I got it.

[music]

A ferry?

The Croat is gonna see us coming from miles away.

-How could you not-- -Hey, hey.

Sure, look, a ferry's not discreet,

but that's why the bay was chosen.

No way he can see us from here.

And with the element of surprise, we'll be able to--

He already knows that you're coming thanks to you.

You told him who you were, right?

Where you came from?

He's probably been prepping for an invasion

since the second that you escaped.

He's smart and paranoid.

He may not know how or when, but trust me,

he knows that you're coming.

If I'm gonna convince Governor Byrd

to change things up at the 11th hour,

you're gonna need to give me more than a hunch.

[tense music]

[engine rumbling]

[walker growling]

Hey.

Lucille must be thirsty, no?

[walker screams] [stabbing, body thuds]

[Dvorak's Quintet No. 2 in A Major playing]

[The Croat] We just received the signal.

We can presume their ship is being loaded and fueled

as we speak,

but they will never reach the island

now that the others are with us.

One.

Just the one group.

We're still waiting on Christos and Bruegel.

Well, yes, but their services are not yet being required.

My Burazi have been preparing for this very circumstance

for some time now. You'll be quite pleased, Dama.

This is a gift I received from Bruegel

after your church service.

Are you familiar with it?

No.

Saturn devouring his son.

As Roman myth goes, the titan Saturn

feared a prophecy that he would be overthrown

by one of his offspring.

So he decided to eat his children one by one

as they were born.

But the sixth child, Jupiter, tricked his father

into eating a stone in his place.

Other painters of his time, the academies,

they shied away from...

ugliness and brutality.

But not Goya.

He was the father of modernism, a revolutionary.

[music]

[sighs]

Right.

So what do you think of the plan?

What do you think?

Or are you too distracted,

all aflutter at the thought of your family's arrival?

[sighs]

[music]

Look, I think it's a solid plan.

I do. It'll knock out the ship.

But it certainly isn't a death blow.

Like you said though, just the first wave.

So we just crank it up.

We give 'em a Fourth of July, laser light-style spectacular.

And not just for the ship, but their people back home.

And also the folks that are on our side.

You know, these gangs are having trouble making up their minds?

Now, Jesus Christ, let's just erase

any lingering doubts, shall we?

[sighs and chuckles]

Negan is right.

The two of us,

we will work together

to come up with a more

spectacular element to our defense.

[music]

You holding up okay?

Look...

Things may have come out wrong before, back home.

That's on me.

But it's just us here now.

And we've only got each other,

so if you need anything,

I'm here.

[music]

[ominous music]

I got it.

[music]

[dramatic music]

[fence rattles]

[Hershel] Mom?

Hershel...

what are you doing here?

Krista let me take a horse, and I tracked you.

I was just sitting there after you left,

thinking about where you were headed

and what could happen to you.

I mean, they basically kidnapped you.

What did you do when I was kidnapped?

You didn't just sit around. No fucking way.

So...

Okay...

-I'm sorry. -It's okay.

We'll keep you hidden tonight, but you are heading back

first thing in the morning.

What is all this?

A signal.

To the Croat?

Then we gotta go. We gotta get outta here.

We gotta get Ginny.

I mean, if he knows they're coming, there's no way we can--

[New Babylon Soldier] Hey there, you two.

[music]

You were spotted fleeing the camp, deserting,

-which is why-- -I wasn't fleeing, I was--

Which is why-- Which is why, Soldier,

you were being followed in the first place.

Clearly your son was waiting to help you--

Governor Byrd, I...

She was only following orders. I asked her to look for proof

that the Croat knows we're coming.

Does he?

We found a smoke signal.

That's how he communicates across the Hudson.

She's right. I can vouch for that.

And if he knows we're coming, he'll be ready.

[Maggie] We need to postpone.

Send a small group in a canoe, a raft, something--

And leave our entire army behind? You can't be serious.

We've been planning for months.

Now is the time to strike.

What's your take, Colonel?

The Croat might know we're coming,

but not tonight.

If we leave right away, we regain the element of surprise.

Okay. We deploy immediately.

Find General Houseman.

Why the hell did you bring me here

if you're not gonna listen to a damn thing that I say?

Me and my son and anybody else here who has got their head

on straight are going home now.

The law against draft evasion also applies to desertion.

That is what you're fixed on right now,

-hanging me from a tree? -No, not just you.

You and the 20 soldiers you stood in for

starting with that one right there.

[ominous music]

Insubordination is also a crime.

-Secure her in the shaft alley. -Don't fucking touch me!

-Get your hands off of him! -Put him in there, too.

Don't touch him!

He wasn't even supposed to be here!

I don't see how detaining the boy is gonna solve anything.

It's not a matter of opinion, Colonel.

It's about the law.

[music]

[walkers growling]

[music]

[The Croat] Negan...

You must be excited, no?

The bastards who tried to execute you

will now be facing their own execution

at your hands.

Come on, Negan.

Why so glum?

In the old days, back at the Sanctuary,

[chuckles]

you used to relish the chance to take down anyone who crossed us.

[chuckles]

Only days after I arrived, there was a group of-of-

of savages. They attacked our home.

Took us by surprise.

Demanding we hand over all provisions.

Naturally, we expected Negan to fight back, but...

to our astonishment,

he meekly surrendered.

As a show of respect,

Negan wanted to honor the savages with a sort of...

gozba.

Feast.

A lavish feast.

We would provide all the food, all the drink.

Serve them. We were utterly dismayed.

Where had our fearless leader gone?

Then...

Come on. You tell it.

You tell it better. Come on.

A meal like this, you have never seen.

Bigger than before times.

I'm talking 10 Las Vegas buffets lined up in a row.

And then there was the main course, the meat.

Venison, the finest that the forests of Virginia could offer.

But see our guests, they didn't get that meat.

No, see at the last second,

I had my butchers switch it out

for walker meat.

[laughing]

If only you could have seen them,

throwing their guts up all night.

Let's just say by dawn,

the Sanctuary's walker moat had grown considerably.

Main point is you, you protected us.

You gave our enemies exactly what they deserved.

[music]

[engine rumbling]

I know that you wanted to help, but,

this is why I came here.

This is exactly the reason I wanted to come by myself.

I mean, Jesus Christ, Hershel.

Hershel?

[Armstrong] Give us a minute.

[door closes]

I'm sorry. I don't agree with this at all.

-Okay, then let us out. -You heard what Major Narvaez--

What, she doesn't answer to you? I thought that you're a colonel.

You punched her.

Then at least get them to turn the boat around

and save the 50 innocent lives that are heading straight

-into an ambush. -Look, maybe you're right.

Maybe the Croat tries something, but New Babylon will fight back.

We're bigger, better equipped, better organized.

You are wrong. You have got this blind spot.

All of you.

You can't see it, but you're so obsessed

with getting back what you lost that you overlook anything

-that gets in your way. -That's not true.

You underestimate me, fine.

But do not underestimate the Croat.

You know what he's capable of.

Let us go. Let us all go.

I'm sorry.

No.

Hey. Hey!

[ominous music]

Can you believe it?

We are traveling to the city the same way that

hundreds of thousands of laborers did every single day.

Did you know this very ferry was--

[music]

[vomits] [coughs]

[chuckles] God...

[music]

Get ready. Keep it tight.

[tense music]

My God.

[The Croat] Ironic to think the natural resource

pulling them to the island

will be the agent of their demise.

The mechanism is beautiful in its simplicity.

I had originally been contemplating a more

elaborate strategy, but then an old mnemonic from my childhood

floated into my mind,

something my secondary school chemistry teacher

would recite for us.

Forgive me for the bastardized translation.

It won't sound nearly as poetic as the original.

Sodium and water, what a fierce little pairing.

Strongly exothermic, they come together in a flaring.

Electrons transfer in the water,

releasing heat and light.

Hydrogen and sodium hydroxide, what a sight.

Gaseous byproducts emitted in a plume.

So be careful while you work,

or else you'll end up with a...

boom.

[cheering]

[soldiers panicking]

[tense music]

What the hell was that?

The buoys, they're bombs. Methane bombs, I think.

Some kind of trigger on impact. It's a minefield.

Cut the engine and drop anchor immediately.

Secure all units below deck.

[General Houseman] Yes ma'am.

Another one. Look out!

[bomb explodes]

[soldiers screaming]

Whatever orders you've been given, you've got to forget 'em.

I need you to help, okay?

Did they give you the keys to our handcuffs?

Please, come back.

[tense music]

Hershel, I need you to listen to me.

There's a-- There's a broken pipe above you.

If you stand up, your handcuffs can reach the sharp part of it.

Honey, please, I need you to listen to me

because we've gotta get off this boat right now.

-We don't have a lot of time. -I fucked it up.

I fucked it all up.

No. I'm so sorry for what I said to you earlier.

None of this is your fault.

You should-- Ginny?

What are you--

[hacksaw sawing]

Thank you.

Hold out your arms. Hold out your arms.

Listen to me, I need you to focus, please.

You came out here to help me, right?

That's what I need you to do. I know you can do it.

Okay.

[dramatic music]

If we stay anchored, I think it should buy us some time.

[Man] Go, go, go. Go, go.

Ginny, get this one.

I got it. She's my mom.

Go find whoever you can and bring 'em here.

[music]

What is that?

Governor Bryd, watch out.

[bomb explodes]

[music]

Mom!

Give me your hand.

Get the other cleat.

[walkers growling]

[dramatic music]

All right, go ahead. Fire.

[Victor] Fire!

Fire.

[music]

[screams]

[cheering]

[ominous music]

You good?

Just wait.

[walkers growling]

[music]

Okay. Fire.

Fire!

[cannon fires]

[bomb explodes]

[cheering]

[somber music]

[walkers growling]

[walkers snarling]

[tense music]

[somber music]

There's too many.

We've gotta move. Let's go! This way.

Come on! We gotta go!

-Let's move! -[Man] Fall back, fall back.

Granted, it was our first battle, but what a rout.

It was resounding, explosive!

[door opens]

Washed up near Pier 45.

M-my-my name is Benjamin Pierce.

And I'm just a writer, a historian.

I'm-I'm not part of the army.

Umm okay, I can-- I can prove it.

Here. These are my notes.

Good to meet you, Mr. Pierce. [scoffs]

I look forward to reading your history as soon as it's legible.

Have we... met before?

[Dama] I very much doubt that.

What would you like us to do with him, Dama?

Let him visit with us for now.

In case I have any questions.

Oh, I almost forgot.

Before we get to the celebrating,

there's a loose end that needs tying up.

Who were you trying to spare?

[door opens]

Right on cue.

You asked to see me?

It's Victor, right?

Whatever you're planning,

you take it out on me, not him.

Wow.

You made quite the impression.

You've cracked his shell.

That is no easy task.

Trust me.

I understand you play the violin.

I only ask because a violin was found at your station.

Outside his cell.

I'm guessing you are very talented.

That would certainly make an impression on me.

And the last thing I would ever do

is rob the world of what little is left of the artists

and the visionaries.

Are you a fan of classical music, Mr. Pierce?

Being a self-proclaimed historian, I'd imagine so.

We would love to hear you play.

Please.

It's okay. Take your time.

It's not like your life depends on it.

[playing Bach's Violin Partita No. 2 In D Minor]

I was stalling because there was a kid.

-That's it. -A kid?

Some random kid who didn't deserve to die.

[Victor continues playing]

[applauding]

Bravo. Bravo.

I have to say, hearing you play like that with so much control

and expression, in this sacred space,

brought me back.

It brought me all the way back to the old days, the old city.

I mean, Bach!

[lightly chuckles]

He was the best of his time.

The culmination of everything that had come before him.

Or another way to say it,

he was the best of what everyone else had been doing for a time.

A long time. He didn't change the world.

He didn't imagine something new. He wasn't a revolutionary.

He just perfected what had come before.

Instead of pushing us forward, he chose to take us back.

I am not interested in going back.

No! No!

No!

[somber music]

You did good.

Very, very good.

All right, now that we've taken care of that.

[music]

[champagne cork pops]

[soft music]

[engine rumbling]

That's them again.

I saw a park up the street. It's dense, overgrown.

We can hide out there till sunset at least.

She's right.

She's been right this whole time.

[music]

[dramatic music]

I'm sorry about everything from before.

I don't know what is going on with me. I just...

freaked out.

I'm just...

I'm glad you're okay.

[somber music]

I love you, Mom.

I love you, too.

[sad music]

[music]

[engine rumbling]

Let's move.

[music]

[birds chirping]

-Constable Hook will take us into the Hudson,

then we'll dock at pier 25.

-At the start of the season,

Governor Byrd is very much in charge of New Babylon.

She's sort of the general kind of

leading her troops into battle.

And Narvaez is kind of like her second in command.

-Back to your unit, soldier.

-Narvaez and Maggie meet in this season,

and they are completely at odds.

-For her, it's like, "We have a goal.

This is business. We have to get this methane."

And she has a way of sticking to the rules,

and she sticks to them very well.

Don't get in her way.

-We really see them face off against their philosophy,

their approach to everything.

And it makes for some really, really tense moments.

-Cut! Really good.

-It's really fun when you get to come head to head

with someone and they're equal in so many ways,

and they see things so differently,

but they can kind of climb the mountain the same,

just on different sides of it.

And that's what we got to do, and it was awesome.

-Secure her in the shaft alley.

-Don't touch me! -And put him in there, too!

-When we were casting Narvaez,

there really was never anybody but Dascha.

-We had had ideas of, like, what Narvaez could be,

and she takes it and pluses it and pluses it

out of this stratosphere.

-I remember, on day one, she showed up

and just immediately,

she just got all the little nuances of the character.

-Working with Dascha is amazing.

She's a comedian.

-Am I alive? Am I alive?

Welcome to "Dead City, The Walking Dead."

I'm alive, I'm alive. Don't worry. I'm here.

-Between setups, between takes,

like, she's cracking jokes.

She's got the crew laughing.

She's got the cast laughing.

-That's our -- That's our team. Yeah!

Oww, oww.

And I hope you're recording all this, right?

Oh, yeah.

-She's an amazing talent,

and it's so great to have her as a part of the show.

-I actually, if you notice, she has a gold tooth.

And that was something that I came up with

after I had met with the team.

-We were right about to shoot,

and I knew we didn't have time to do --

like, create a gold tooth,

but it was such an awesome idea, and I don't know why.

It just made sense for the character.

It was just spot-on.

-We painted the tooth at first,

for the first couple of scenes,

I think it was 1 or 2, and then I went about it

and I got my gold tooth, and here it is.

♪♪

-The boat sequence was a huge sequence.

They shot a majority of that on the stage

where we built a giant replica of this boat.

-And there was explosions and stuff like that.

It was so realistic.

-3, 2, 1!

-Boom.

[ Explosion ]

-There are some real explosions in there, you know.

A lot of real stunts of people getting yanked off the boat

and some real fire.

And it was pretty crazy.

And we shot some pieces on the actual boat.

It's based on a real ferry.

The production designer, you know, their whole team,

they worked wonders.

I think it shows, and it turned out to be

a really powerful sequence.

-Fire!

[ Cannon fires ]

[ Explosion ]

[ Crowd cheering ]

-Before we get to the celebrating,

there's a loose end that needs tying up.

Who are you trying to spare?

-Lisa Emery is returning this season as The Dama,

and we're going to understand the Dama a lot more

and what she's up to, what her goals are

and how she accomplishes those goals.

-Lisa is this most loving,

cool lady you'll ever meet in your life,

and she plays this off-the-charts lunatic.

-I am not interested in going back.

[ Knife plunges ] -No!

-There's something about both

how Lisa and Zeljko can play these characters

that you don't want to [bleep] with them.

Even Negan, when he was at his best and his best crazy time,

you knew it was an act that he put on.

With these two, you don't know.

And I think that's a testament to both

who they are as actors and the writing and all of it

and what they're able to bring to the table

and able to pull it off and make it believable.

You have to have two great actors,

and that's what we have in those two.

-All right.

Now that we've taken care of that...

[outro music]