The Walking Dead Weirdly Writes The Commonwealth Out Of Canon

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3, episode 2, "Haven."Between Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom, The Walking Dead has featured plenty of strong settlements with substantial populations, yet the franchise is suddenly forgetting one of its biggest. Ever since the outbreak, our central survivors have desperately looked for a place to call home, and they finally found it in season 10 through the Commonwealth.

Despite the community harboring several major secrets and corrupt leaders, the main heroes eventually liberated it, making it safe for everyone. Places like Hilltop and Alexandria remained allied communities where some main survivors lived, but the Commonwealth was by far the biggest we'd seen until the Civic Republic was properly revealed following The Walking Dead's ending.

While Rick and Michonne also managed to free this settlement from evil leaders, the Commonwealth remains the place most of our favorite characters reside, yet The Walking Dead: Dead City is pretending like it doesn't exist. Ever since arriving in New York, Negan and Maggie have had intense run-ins with several hostile groups, making it nearly impossible to escape Manhattan.

However, come season 3, Maggie has started her own group with Renata, and the two have built something truly special. While the duo believes their new home has lots of potential to be a thriving community, Negan disagrees, claiming it needs more people than even the Hilltop or the Saviors to be the kind of safe Maggie wants.

Weirdly though, both Maggie and Negan failed to mention the Commonwealth as an example of what could work, or a place they could return to if they want real security, raising questions over why The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 features no mention of the duo's former home.

How The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 Weirdly Ignores The Commonwealth

With Negan leaving the Commonwealth with his family while Maggie remained leader of Hilltop, it's understandable that this place may be in their rearview mirror. That said, they were both heavily involved in the fight to make it a safe place for all, making it very suspicious that neither one mentioned it while talking about what makes a good community.

Negan even referred back to his time in charge of the Saviors, using his shortcomings as leader to highlight what Maggie needs to do with this New York-based faction. Bizarrely though, neither chose to mention the best example of a thriving community as a source of inspiration, seemingly pretending like they didn't spend plenty of time there.

It would've made sense for Negan to bring up the Commonwealth and its strengths before citing how hard it would be to replicate, rather than ignoring it for older communities. Neither Hilltop nor Sanctuary exist anymore, which may be Negan's point, but he could've then brought up the Commonwealth to highlight how many had to die for it to flourish.

Considering it looks as though Negan actually wants to help Maggie in Dead City season 3, it only feels right to address the one community that actually resembled the old world. Instead, the spinoff has erased its existence from the pair's memory, which is a part of a much bigger problem.

Why Maggie & Negan "Forget" About The Commonwealth

Negan and Maggie's departure from the Commonwealth is still somewhat recent in the timeline, meaning there has to be another reason at play for them ignoring such a significant community. At first glance, it could be put down to how much they've experienced since the apocalypse started and the number of different homes they've had, but this still doesn't add up.

The Commonwealth is pretty unforgettable and would surely hold some relevance to Maggie and Negan since it's where they began mending their relationship. Therefore, the reason is more likely down to plot convenience, as references to this thriving community would make Maggie and Renata's vision seem pretty small in comparison.

Viewers would likely question why Maggie doesn't just mention the Commonwealth and suggest taking Renata's people there since it's run by Ezekiel and Mercer, who would happily welcome them in. Likewise, comparing it to something like Hilltop is more tangible since the various groups in New York and its surrounding area could eventually eclipse its size.

In contrast, the Commonwealth is far too big, having around 50,000 residents, something Maggie's new community could never achieve. While Dead City is still focusing on the past with the likes of Beth returning to The Walking Dead through the spinoff, clearly, the main focus is on building a settlement for the future from the ground up.

If Maggie and Renata were to succeed the Saviors' population of about 600 or so, it would feel significant, since we'll get to see this empire grow right from its inception, whereas mentions of the Commonwealth suddenly make it all feel less impressive.

As a result, it's likely Maggie and Negan still have very fresh memories of this place, but for the sake of the plot, neither chooses to mention it. For some fans, it'll be easy to just forget about this community for the duration of Dead City season 3, but for others, it exposes a massive issue with the spinoff.

Ignoring The Commonwealth Highlights Dead City's Biggest Issue

In isolation, ignoring the Commonwealth might not seem like a major issue, but it exposes one of Dead City's biggest weaknesses. Ever since the spinoff started, fans have been left confused about when the show actually takes place, as Hershel's age makes it seem like at least several years have passed since the main series.

Instantly, that puts Dead City much further into the timeline than Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live, making it further removed than these shows. To make matters worse, the duo have also avoided mentioning certain characters and almost seem to have forgotten about any Walking Dead history that isn't directly related to their own conflict.

By far Dead City's biggest sin though is making it seem like Maggie has no remaining allies, hence having to turn to Negan. When the Bricks community was in trouble, she could've easily gotten a message back to the Commonwealth, whose numbers would've dwarfed anything New York and New Babylon had to throw at them.

In fact, pretty much all of Maggie's troubles could have been solved by contacting the Commonwealth, assuming she had the patience to wait for reinforcements. Instead, Dead City has contradicted The Walking Dead's finale as Maggie simply hasn't utilized her various allied communities, while Negan has also avoided suggesting that it may be worth contacting her old friends.

These simple factors make it feel too late to ever have a Walking Dead crossover show, as it would have to take place sometime after Dead City ends and explain why Maggie waited so long to reach out.

While it's undoubtedly important to isolate the story to create drama and evolve Maggie and Negan's relationship, Dead City has been too reliant on these smart survivors conveniently forgetting about their useful connections, which really hurts the franchise's overall continuity.