Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of The Walking Dead: Dead City
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The Walking Dead: Dead City has introduced a plethora of perilous new dangers to The Walking Dead universe. As Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Moragn’s Negan traverse across an apocalyptic Manhattan in search of Maggie’s son, Hershel (Logan Kim), Dead City offers a glimpse of its menacing big bad, the Croat, portrayed with chilling menace by Željko Ivanek. In the show’s latest episode, “People Are A Resource,” viewers witness the expansion of this violent new villain, showcasing just how deliciously dangerous he can be. Željko effortlessly commands the screen, completely immersing himself in the character. While the misfit duo of Maggie and Negan have yet to encounter this new terror face-to-face, the stage is set for the Croat to become the franchise’s most formidable threat. Move over, Negan, the Croat is taking charge in Dead City.
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The Croat’s Introduction in ‘Dead City’ Makes a Bold Impression
Image via AMC
Character introductions hold great importance, especially when The Walking Dead seemingly exhausted every villain archetype possible. However, when the Croat first graces our screens in the premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City, he immediately demands the viewer’s attention. Confronting a captive Hershel in a dimly lit torture chamber, the Croat’s calm and composed demeanor, accentuated by the presence of menacing tools, paints a vivid picture of his dangerous nature. His murmured words, “The irony is that in death, the city is so much more alive than it ever was,” offer a glimpse into a man who thrives in the apocalypse. It’s genuinely daunting to witness! Fortunately, the Croat’s moment is cut short when he learns of an escaping prisoner, and what follows is a display of the true psychosis of Dead City’s big bad. As the bleeding and battered prisoner desperately flees across the rooftops, the Croat patiently waits, grinning maliciously. With perfect timing, right as the prisoner glides between skyscrapers on a zip line, the Croat severs the line, sending his victim plummeting twenty stories to the pavement below. “New record!” the Croat gleefully announces, brimming with excitement. This twisted tormentor clearly revels in the thrill of the chase. Željko is clearly having far too much fun portraying this character.
Fast-forward to Episode 3, titled “People Are A Resource,” and his perverse enjoyment of death and violence becomes even more evident. In stark contrast to Negan’s “rules” regarding murder, the Croat seems to relish it, going as far as pitting his latest captives against the zombified versions of his previous victims. Marshall Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles) finds himself captive among the Croat’s group, forced to face off against the walker of the Croat’s most recent kill, as established earlier in the episode. It’s almost reminiscent of a UFC fight for the disturbed audience, who observe as Perlie’s only chance of escape involves tearing open the walker’s stomach, The Walking Dead style, to retrieve the escape key that the Croat had forced his victim to swallow in his final moments. This level of premeditation and sadistic pleasure in tormenting his victims showcases the true danger and unpredictability the Croat represents to Maggie and Negan. Negan’s history with this new villain only further complicates matters.
Negan and the Croat Share a Complex Past
Image via AMC
Naturally, bringing frenemies Maggie and Negan together in their own spin-off is a daunting task, given the complex nature of their history. To accomplish this, showrunner Eli Jorné created a backstory between Negan and the Croat, making Negan an indispensable asset in Maggie’s quest to rescue her son. As Dead City unfolds, their history continues to unravel, and while it may not encompass the same level of complexity as Maggie and Negan’s relationship, its consequences could be just as deadly. When Maggie enlisted Negan’s help, she was unaware that the Croat had been an ally of the baseball bat-wielding villain during his time as the leader of the brutal group known as The Saviors. However, Negan eventually reveals the true depths and difficulties of their relationship in “Who’s There?” The Croat had served as Negan’s torturer, extracting information from those who needed some additional “encouragement.” If alarm bells weren’t ringing before, they certainly are now. Negan, the man who mercilessly bludgeoned his victims to death with a barb-wired baseball bat, deemed the Croat too perilous. The torturer was crossing boundaries that even Negan found unacceptable, prompting him to “put him down.” The Walking Dead’s most notorious villain recognized the Croat as an immense threat. That should raise a massive red flag. Adding to the drama, Negan’s attempt to execute his ally fails, allowing the Croat to escape to Manhattan with only a half-shot-off ear as a reminder of their encounter. The Croat quickly establishes himself among the city’s thugs, earning the nickname “Van Gogh” in the process. While Negan assists Maggie in her mission to rescue her son, the Croat remains determined to hunt him down, likely motivated by revenge for an old feud that has ensnared Maggie and Hershel. Despite a slight slowdown in momentum in Episode 3, Dead City continues to lay the groundwork for the franchise’s next major threat. One can only wonder, what could terrify Negan? The Croat provides the answer, emerging as a menace unlike any other our characters have faced. His unpredictability, genuine love for violence, and intricate connection to Negan make him The Walking Dead’s most formidable and disturbing villain to date. With a vengeful plot, complex history, and a chilling performance by Željko Ivanek, Dead City sets the stage for a gripping spin-off featuring a genuinely threatening antagonist. The path ahead is fraught with danger for Maggie and Negan, but none as terrifying as the Croat.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
