The showrumners of the last four seasons of FTWD even the ones who did the last third of season 11 and any future spinoffs need to to notes of how Dead City gets a good, solid spinoff done right. Every episode of this show has been solid, Negan especially is at his best in the story. I am really in shock that AMC finally got a solid series of the ground the TWD universe. Hopefully the others coming in the pipeline do the same. This episode was my favorite in this series thus far although classic Negan badassery has been abound in the previous episodes and they were spectacular too. I tell you, if everyone doesn't give Negan the respect and full credit for redemption of his past, they better start cause it's obvious here he's committed to Maggie, Hilltop and Alexandrians. Great show!
The Walking Dead: Dead City (TV Series)
Everybody Wins a Prize (2023)
User Reviews
Review this title14 Reviews
Love this episode all the same
justdan20237 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I don't think I have to talk about the phenomenal production quality of this show. And again, I just love the choice of color palette so much, especially the dark ones like omg it just brings a smile to my face.
At the beginning of the episode, we have a flashback of the Sanctuary with Steven Ogg starring back as Simon again! Even the colors there looked so pleasing, comparatively when we look back at season 7 and season 8's Sanctuary.
Additionally, the dialogues are pretty well-written, and the directing is at its best.
There are only couple of things that irked me in this episode. One, when Maggie and the others are surrounded by the walkers, why didn't just they go into the fight ring straight away? Why did they have to get themselves killed by trying to kill the walkers on the outside of the ring? They had had a pretty good number too, and we've seen a lot of times how people can succeed in a large group (like in the mother show's No Way Out).
The other is plot armor. Tomasso is about to die (there are a dozen walkers overwhelming him even!) and a few moments later, he came back unscarred, like ugh I just don't like plot armour that much, that's all.
Either way, this episode is amazing. The writing is great but could be better, and the directing's just so good.
At the beginning of the episode, we have a flashback of the Sanctuary with Steven Ogg starring back as Simon again! Even the colors there looked so pleasing, comparatively when we look back at season 7 and season 8's Sanctuary.
Additionally, the dialogues are pretty well-written, and the directing is at its best.
There are only couple of things that irked me in this episode. One, when Maggie and the others are surrounded by the walkers, why didn't just they go into the fight ring straight away? Why did they have to get themselves killed by trying to kill the walkers on the outside of the ring? They had had a pretty good number too, and we've seen a lot of times how people can succeed in a large group (like in the mother show's No Way Out).
The other is plot armor. Tomasso is about to die (there are a dozen walkers overwhelming him even!) and a few moments later, he came back unscarred, like ugh I just don't like plot armour that much, that's all.
Either way, this episode is amazing. The writing is great but could be better, and the directing's just so good.
Not Great [7/10]
panagiotis19938 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
My Reaction / Review for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 1 Episode 4: Episode Three was great and I gave it a rating of 8.5/10. I expect thrills and all out war in this episode, let's see. Im sure the plan wont be exactly how they imagined it, things that they don't expect will happen for sure. I hope that it will take more than 1 episode to beat the Croat. How did the Croat know to release the walkers tho? 30 minutes in and it's definitely not as exciting as I thought it would be. So convenient that everybody died but Maggie and the other 3 somewhat main characters are alive? Negan saves the Marshall's life and then the dude wants to arrest him? He is so dumb man. Wow this episode is not that good, the previous ones ware much much better. In this episode pretty much nothing happens, just characters moving around and some boring walkers here and there, i expect better... My rating is 7/10.
"Everybody Wins a Prize" is a brilliant episode and a good example of how build up leads to great television
Holt34411 July 2023
"Everybody Wins a Prize" was written by showrunner, Eli Jorné, and was directed by Kevin Dowling who is familiar with TWD as he directed two episodes of Season Eleven. For this episode, both the writing and direction is quite great, mostly the direction and acting. I'm so happy the writing and dialogue haven't changed since the first episode, consistent writing and great writing at that. The whole production is impressive and I'm glad AMC brought them the budget needed, everything looks great, even the VFX. Sound design and the musical score was great, which brought suspense and tension to every scene. This episode was beautifully shot, great cinematography! The editing deserves some praise too, especially the pacing which is perfect.
Maggie and Negan carry out an attack, but not everything unfolds according to plan; Ginny and Armstrong each make unexpected contact with others.
We are now on episode four of The Walking Dead: Dead City. The direction in this episode is truly terrific, Kevin Dowling is super talented and has worked on countless projects on television. The more I see Zeljko Ivanek as "The Croat", the more I like him, he plays the character perfectly. Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are once again terrific. Loved the flashback scenes with Negan at the Sanctuary, so happy and surprised that Simon which is once again played by Steven Ogg, a phenomenal actor and character. The episode was suspenseful from start to finish, each scene inside the Croat's base has you sitting on the edge of your seat. It's nice to see some good old zombie action, great action, with Maggie even using some old tricks from previous seasons. I'm glad Eli Jorné incorporated it into the episode, showing how skillful Maggie truly are after all these years surviving. The confrontation between Negan and The Croat was a great scene, of great acting and writing, brilliant direction by Kevin Dowling. This had to be the best episode of the first four, all the build up was worth it in this episode full of suspense and memorable moments. This episode met my expectations and went above them, it was brilliant, just like the golden era of The Walking Dead. Dead City is up there.
Maggie and Negan carry out an attack, but not everything unfolds according to plan; Ginny and Armstrong each make unexpected contact with others.
We are now on episode four of The Walking Dead: Dead City. The direction in this episode is truly terrific, Kevin Dowling is super talented and has worked on countless projects on television. The more I see Zeljko Ivanek as "The Croat", the more I like him, he plays the character perfectly. Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are once again terrific. Loved the flashback scenes with Negan at the Sanctuary, so happy and surprised that Simon which is once again played by Steven Ogg, a phenomenal actor and character. The episode was suspenseful from start to finish, each scene inside the Croat's base has you sitting on the edge of your seat. It's nice to see some good old zombie action, great action, with Maggie even using some old tricks from previous seasons. I'm glad Eli Jorné incorporated it into the episode, showing how skillful Maggie truly are after all these years surviving. The confrontation between Negan and The Croat was a great scene, of great acting and writing, brilliant direction by Kevin Dowling. This had to be the best episode of the first four, all the build up was worth it in this episode full of suspense and memorable moments. This episode met my expectations and went above them, it was brilliant, just like the golden era of The Walking Dead. Dead City is up there.
this feels stuck
wrka-195-2999286 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Summary of this episode:
-Maggie still does the same thing, her character revolves around being annoyed at Negan and being a Lara Croft or a cute leather-clad girl in Resident Evil, well, I don't care at all.
-Negan a little stupider and more naive than the last episode, he still thinks he can trust Maggie. What happened to Negan?, he used to be a sneaky guy...bad writing. Btw, Jeffrey Dean Morgan looks really old and tired in this episode.
The problem with this show is that it progresses at a snail's pace, the same dialogues, the same situations, and nothing really happens.
-Maggie still does the same thing, her character revolves around being annoyed at Negan and being a Lara Croft or a cute leather-clad girl in Resident Evil, well, I don't care at all.
-Negan a little stupider and more naive than the last episode, he still thinks he can trust Maggie. What happened to Negan?, he used to be a sneaky guy...bad writing. Btw, Jeffrey Dean Morgan looks really old and tired in this episode.
- The Croat, a cartoonish villain - "NEEGHAAAAN!" -he screams, I don't need to add anything else.
- Ginny, when will she speak?, really, when?.
The problem with this show is that it progresses at a snail's pace, the same dialogues, the same situations, and nothing really happens.
The Croat Headquarters
ZegMaarJus22 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This Episode begins with Negan, he hears from Simon that they have got a problem. Amaia wants to know where Luther is, he got killed on a cruel way by Negan in the previous Episode. Maggie sees Ginny on the streets in Manhattan. Amaia, Maggie, Tommaso fight with a big group of walkers at The Croat his headquarters. The Croat is following Negan. Negan saved Perlie his life. Nice Episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 1, really great Episode with a lot of action and storyline development! Excited to see the last two Episodes of this The Walking Dead spin-off! Maggie is trying to escape together with Tommaso, Amaia and Ginny!
The Flawed Plan
claudio_carvalho9 February 2024
Tommaso guides Negan, Maggie, Amaia and her group to the arena. Their plan is Negan attracts The Croat for them to capture or kill him. Negan whistles to bring The Croat downstairs and when Maggie is going to start a car in the garage, she sees Ginny. Negan and The Croat see each other, and The Croat believes Negan is after Armstrong; so, he throws Armstrong off, but Negan helps the marshal to survive for the surprise of The Croat. They are hunted down by The Croat and two Burazi. Meanwhile, a music is broadcast in the arena, and Maggie and the group are under siege of the walkers. They fight to survive and only Maggie, Tommaso, Amaia and Genny survive.
"Everybody Wins a Prize" is a reasonable episode of "The Walking Dead: Dead City". The suicidal plan of Maggie does not work and most of her new friends die and she does not retrieve Herchell. Negan saves Armstrong from death and the marshal has a strange way to show his gratitude. Ginny is the awfullest part of the show, with her unexplained attitude of going to Manhattan. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Everybody Wins a Prize"
"Everybody Wins a Prize" is a reasonable episode of "The Walking Dead: Dead City". The suicidal plan of Maggie does not work and most of her new friends die and she does not retrieve Herchell. Negan saves Armstrong from death and the marshal has a strange way to show his gratitude. Ginny is the awfullest part of the show, with her unexplained attitude of going to Manhattan. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Everybody Wins a Prize"
Plot is flat and its going to get worse...
DramaQQ6 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Episode started very strong with that flashback, but the rest of the episode was just simply bad: the way how they wanted to rescue Hershel, the whole hide and seek between The Croat and Negan, all the decisions which were made and srsly: this arena is a new world? The whole writing and plot is just ridicilous and stupid. I like the idea that the whole story plays in a big city, but I still ask myself: what happened to the walkers who got smarter (the walkers shown in last episodes of the walking dead main series)? Nothing.
On the other hand the actors are awesome, Negan, Maggie and the Croat are great but thats it. Plot is trash. But jeah just 2 episodes to go right?
On the other hand the actors are awesome, Negan, Maggie and the Croat are great but thats it. Plot is trash. But jeah just 2 episodes to go right?
The way the mission is developed ends up lowering the quality of the episode. The production wastes the subway block, and the back and forth of the characters is kind of empty
fernandoschiavi16 May 2024
The episode begins with flashbacks of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Simon (Steven Ogg) at the Sanctuary during the events of the eighth season of The Walking Dead. This ends up confirming the rumors that had been circulating for some time that Steven Ogg had returned to film and that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would be rejuvenated for the scene. Seeing the two actors acting together is quite nostalgic, and the addition of The Croat (Zeljko Ivanek) as a counterpoint to the two is very welcome. We finally see what the character is capable of doing to get what he wants, and it is explained why we saw a hesitant Negan up until now. That said, the script works cohesively and elucidates the dynamics between the Saviors, serving as a way to fill in gaps.
Continuing the plan that was being devised in the previous episode, Maggie and her group use the subway lines to enter the arena and complete the mission of rescuing Hershel. The way the direction uses low lights, claustrophobic rooms, and bloodied locations is enough to create an atmosphere of tension and fear of what may come. The dead teenager in the chair shows Maggie's fragility and her extreme fear of losing her son, while also making Negan try to reassure her, which adds a new element to the dynamic between the two that has been presented since the beginning of the series.
"Listening to a song I don't want to hear again." Yes, this Negan's phrase demonstrates that he does not want to relive memories that remind him of his time with the Saviors, and all of this adds to the ideological confrontation between Negan and The Croat, making it much richer and more interesting. Seeing a changed Negan since the last time he saw The Croat, while he remained the same sadist, creates dialogues and moral conflicts that The Walking Dead has always known how to work very well. The negative point of the episode is Armstrong (Gaius Charles), who was used as a resource to test Negan, but seems forced, since a predator-prey relationship has been built between these two characters so far, and changing that now doesn't seem very coherent. The Croat takes advantage of this situation to see how Negan is acting, as it has been a long time since they last met. When they manage to escape from the arena, again in an unnecessary scene, it makes no sense for Armstrong to point the gun at Negan and want to kill him after being saved, besides needing Negan to get out of Manhattan alive. Ginny here doesn't serve as many purposes as she did in the previous episode, but having her with Maggie should be relevant to the plot of the two final episodes.
Maggie's core here was the highlight of the episode. Knowing of Negan's presence there, The Croat makes a plan to ambush Maggie's group. This shows how savvy The Croat is and really prepared for the apocalypse. It was very well planned, and the fight between the zombies with the background soundtrack is spectacular. Another highlight of the scene is that the script brings back Maggie's leadership aspect, which she uses her creativity to help her group get out of the dangerous situation (and it works!). With no way out, the only solution found by the group is to escape through the sewers. The sewer sequence has everything to be one of the climaxes of The Walking Dead universe so far, as it has been a very used element in the series marketing and has been mentioned since the first episodes. The ending with Maggie disappearing into the darkness as she goes down the stairs sets the tension for the next episode. With two very well-divided cores, the fourth episode further explores the theme of how our past can haunt us. Both protagonists are having to face their past in Dead City, which creates a new dynamic between them. With the dangers shown so far, I wonder if the mission will be completed or if the ending will be open for a second season.
The way the mission is developed ends up lowering the quality of the episode. The production wastes the subway block (was hoping we'd have something cool in this scenario) and the back and forth of the characters is kind of empty, without much suspense or tension, except perhaps for the well-directed sequence of Negan in the parking lot. But from the moment the undead come into play, the episode becomes fun, with the old antagonists of this universe gaining strength in numbers in a block with good camera work. Some choreography choices are strange, like the fact that the characters didn't enter the ring before they died like mosquitoes (oh, how good it is to kill people who don't matter!) or Tommaso's senseless survival, but my namesake Kevin Dowling doesn't do too bad in the director's chair with the big battle of the episode. There is a slight claustrophobic quality in the direction that is also interesting, along with dark lighting that creates a good atmosphere - the soundtrack, however, remains indifferent in the work.
The fact that we don't have any monologues is a bonus, with good dramatic developments for the protagonists without people spilling six pages of script. With Negan, the insertion of the flashback at the beginning of the episode works both to establish the antagonist and to put a "front" to what has haunted the character, with the reunion between him and The Croat being a highlight with the villain acting as a showman and being disappointed with his former mentor's new personality. With Maggie, her sequence of investigating the desperate rooms to find Hershel, the rescue of Ginny, and the return of her leadership during the episode's climax are good moments to work on the character's anguish and strength.
Make no mistake, "Everybody Wins a Prize" is nothing special and does not demonstrate the potential that Dead City promised at the beginning, as the underground and neo-western tone of the series has practically disappeared, and we have seen little of the destroyed New York in the last three episodes, but it is an honest and enjoyable episode in its obviousness, with good developments for the main duo. In fact, the division of the plot between Negan and Maggie is welcome to shake up the narrative. The fact that the ending with the characters entering the sewer is the best scene can be seen as both a merit and a demerit to the quality of Everybody Wins a Prize, but it definitely left me curious for next week.
Continuing the plan that was being devised in the previous episode, Maggie and her group use the subway lines to enter the arena and complete the mission of rescuing Hershel. The way the direction uses low lights, claustrophobic rooms, and bloodied locations is enough to create an atmosphere of tension and fear of what may come. The dead teenager in the chair shows Maggie's fragility and her extreme fear of losing her son, while also making Negan try to reassure her, which adds a new element to the dynamic between the two that has been presented since the beginning of the series.
"Listening to a song I don't want to hear again." Yes, this Negan's phrase demonstrates that he does not want to relive memories that remind him of his time with the Saviors, and all of this adds to the ideological confrontation between Negan and The Croat, making it much richer and more interesting. Seeing a changed Negan since the last time he saw The Croat, while he remained the same sadist, creates dialogues and moral conflicts that The Walking Dead has always known how to work very well. The negative point of the episode is Armstrong (Gaius Charles), who was used as a resource to test Negan, but seems forced, since a predator-prey relationship has been built between these two characters so far, and changing that now doesn't seem very coherent. The Croat takes advantage of this situation to see how Negan is acting, as it has been a long time since they last met. When they manage to escape from the arena, again in an unnecessary scene, it makes no sense for Armstrong to point the gun at Negan and want to kill him after being saved, besides needing Negan to get out of Manhattan alive. Ginny here doesn't serve as many purposes as she did in the previous episode, but having her with Maggie should be relevant to the plot of the two final episodes.
Maggie's core here was the highlight of the episode. Knowing of Negan's presence there, The Croat makes a plan to ambush Maggie's group. This shows how savvy The Croat is and really prepared for the apocalypse. It was very well planned, and the fight between the zombies with the background soundtrack is spectacular. Another highlight of the scene is that the script brings back Maggie's leadership aspect, which she uses her creativity to help her group get out of the dangerous situation (and it works!). With no way out, the only solution found by the group is to escape through the sewers. The sewer sequence has everything to be one of the climaxes of The Walking Dead universe so far, as it has been a very used element in the series marketing and has been mentioned since the first episodes. The ending with Maggie disappearing into the darkness as she goes down the stairs sets the tension for the next episode. With two very well-divided cores, the fourth episode further explores the theme of how our past can haunt us. Both protagonists are having to face their past in Dead City, which creates a new dynamic between them. With the dangers shown so far, I wonder if the mission will be completed or if the ending will be open for a second season.
The way the mission is developed ends up lowering the quality of the episode. The production wastes the subway block (was hoping we'd have something cool in this scenario) and the back and forth of the characters is kind of empty, without much suspense or tension, except perhaps for the well-directed sequence of Negan in the parking lot. But from the moment the undead come into play, the episode becomes fun, with the old antagonists of this universe gaining strength in numbers in a block with good camera work. Some choreography choices are strange, like the fact that the characters didn't enter the ring before they died like mosquitoes (oh, how good it is to kill people who don't matter!) or Tommaso's senseless survival, but my namesake Kevin Dowling doesn't do too bad in the director's chair with the big battle of the episode. There is a slight claustrophobic quality in the direction that is also interesting, along with dark lighting that creates a good atmosphere - the soundtrack, however, remains indifferent in the work.
The fact that we don't have any monologues is a bonus, with good dramatic developments for the protagonists without people spilling six pages of script. With Negan, the insertion of the flashback at the beginning of the episode works both to establish the antagonist and to put a "front" to what has haunted the character, with the reunion between him and The Croat being a highlight with the villain acting as a showman and being disappointed with his former mentor's new personality. With Maggie, her sequence of investigating the desperate rooms to find Hershel, the rescue of Ginny, and the return of her leadership during the episode's climax are good moments to work on the character's anguish and strength.
Make no mistake, "Everybody Wins a Prize" is nothing special and does not demonstrate the potential that Dead City promised at the beginning, as the underground and neo-western tone of the series has practically disappeared, and we have seen little of the destroyed New York in the last three episodes, but it is an honest and enjoyable episode in its obviousness, with good developments for the main duo. In fact, the division of the plot between Negan and Maggie is welcome to shake up the narrative. The fact that the ending with the characters entering the sewer is the best scene can be seen as both a merit and a demerit to the quality of Everybody Wins a Prize, but it definitely left me curious for next week.
Starting to see the patterns that struck down the original
garyvines-0129012 July 2023
So, one of the things that started to bother me about TWD was that, there would be some bad guy with a posse of bad guys that would have some lair or fortress or building and for whatever reason the good guys would need to break in and a large group would do so, only to be bamboozled or hood winked or tricked or trapped. So you'd think that these 2 leads, who went through all of those things could have anticipated something like this. And why did the group that they found agree to do soemthing this dangersoud in the first place. All I could think while their group was getting gobbled up was, "if I were one of the ones in charge who put my people in harms way, I would be feeling terrible and be pissed aat Maggie and Negan for somehow getting my people into that mess in the first place." The leader of the bad guys has already done the "kill someone in front of a prisoner to prove a point" thing which is boring at this point. The whole storyline about the Marshall chasing Negan is stupid. Maggie isn't as a dynamic a character as she was on the original. She has a pissed off troubled look on her face at all times, which I guess in light of the current situation that's ok, but the character is tough, smart and clever and she's only showing tough right now, the smart is someone gone and diluted. The writers also need to make up their minds about the Negan Character. It's been many years now since the fall of the Saviors, so why resurrect that storyline and the evils of Negan again. I missed it too, who the hell is Ginny, its annoying that she doesn't talk and even more annoying that she found and followed Negan and Maggie. I don't like where this is going. Its starting to make all the same mistakes that TWD and FTWD started to make and I don't want that.
predictable
yvolpe-9755910 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I am lowering my score cos there us nothing new here. Its the same old story of "get the latest psycho ". The Croat being a leftover from the saviors which Negan had created now they hear the old taunting whistle amidst the Croatian music the Croat's moniker. And this music distracts from the ongoing gore.. Another walking dead fight ensues as Maggies group moves forward to kill them all. Maggie seems determined to find her noy Hershel but he may be long gone? Maggie's team keeps finding tortured boys that look Asian and who have turned. Its like bread crumbs they are to follow. I think Negan can carry the series better than Maggie. This show is filler while we wait on Rick and Michonne show.
It could have been more....
nickybk-980957 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the first 3 episodes and was really hoping that we would see the "Old Negan" but so far we just see an old Negan (in age). He looks fragile and like he can't be arsed. Maggie is like the vengeful Maggie we saw when Glen was killed, which I like but the chemistry between LC amd JDM doesn't seem to be there. It's like this is a paycheck series rather than a story finisher for Negan and Maggie. LOVED the UFC cage scene as it gave a little nod to when Rick and the gang got to the Prison (which is my favourite season of TWD by a country mile). It got 5 because of the story, it just seems to fall short, but acting and camera work, spot on. Hope this gets better for the last 2 episodes. Is a Negan Maggie showdown needed???? Absolutley it is.
Repetitious annoying music.
gurpee666-110 July 2023
I wonder if the actor Zeljko Ivanek was actually drunk while filming season one episode four, everybody wins a prize? It sure seems like it, and the music roughly beginning at around 45:50 started to sound like car horns and it was so repetitious and annoying. I actually turned the audio down the point of good music during a scene is to intensify/enhance the scene and not bring attention to the music it was really annoying! Anyway I'm glad I got to see this for free at my friends house I don't think I'm going to be subscribing to AMC anytime soon! After all they were beating a dead horse with the last couple of seasons of The Walking Dead.
Episode 4
bobcobb30127 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The show is called The Walking Dead: Dead City. It is a spin-off of the most successful zombie franchise of all time and yet we had to wait this long to really get a big encounter between the stars of the show and the zombies. It is kind of odd to see most of the fighting done outside an octagon MMA cage instead of inside it, but maybe that is poetic justice?
Kind of exciting, but I think the show still needs something original and its signature tone or voice. Outside of a few acts of violence and some lines from Negan, there just isn't a lot of buzz or originality in anything this series has done.
Kind of exciting, but I think the show still needs something original and its signature tone or voice. Outside of a few acts of violence and some lines from Negan, there just isn't a lot of buzz or originality in anything this series has done.
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