Maggie’s Phobia of Heights In ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Explained

The Walking Dead: Dead City’s second episode featured a rare moment of fear for Maggie when she faced an incident on a New York skyscraper. 

As zombies pursued her and Negan in the high-rise building, they had to escape by using a zipline. However, Maggie hesitated when she saw the long drop below her.

Maggie Greene, portrayed by Lauren Cohan, was an ordinary person before the zombie apocalypse. But after years of survival, she became one of the most skilled and strong characters in the franchise. 

She has shown fearlessness in fighting zombies and confronting formidable villains like Negan and the Governor. Therefore, her reaction to the zipline in The Walking Dead: Dead City was unexpected.

The zipline incident suggests that Maggie has a phobia of heights. She appeared to panic at the view below, which caused her to jump incorrectly on the zipline. She lacked enough speed, which made her barely reach the other side. 

The episode also implied her fear of heights earlier, when Maggie had to ascend a tall ladder and showed nervousness. This is a novel development for the show, as Maggie has never exhibited acrophobia in The Walking Dead before.

Her struggles in Dead City do not necessarily imply a continuity error. Maggie has faced many challenges in the past decade, but her journey with Negan in Manhattan is unprecedented for the character. Mostly, the group Maggie joined stayed in rural areas and never explored a city as large as Manhattan. 

She also never had to be at such a height in The Walking Dead, let alone use a zipline. Since it was a very unfamiliar situation, it is understandable that this aspect of Maggie’s character has remained hidden for so long.

The reason for this could be that Maggie’s fear of heights is natural and does not need a special explanation, especially since she is not accustomed to these situations. Alternatively, it could be related to the time jump in The Walking Dead: Dead City series premiere. 

The Walking Dead ended years ago, implying that Maggie could have faced difficulties that were never revealed onscreen. It is possible that she had a near-death experience at a high altitude at some point. If so, this could be something that flashbacks will reveal in one of the show’s remaining four episodes.

About The Walking Dead: Dead City

he Walking Dead: Dead City is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Eli Jorné for AMC, based on The Walking Dead characters Maggie and Negan. It is the first sequel to The Walking Dead television series, and the fifth series in The Walking Dead franchise, sharing continuity with the other television series. Jorné serves as showrunner.

Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan reprise their roles as Maggie and Negan from the original television series, with Gaius Charles, Željko Ivanek, Mahina Napoleon, Lisa Emery, Logan Kim, Dascha Polanco, and Keir Gilchrist also starring. Development of the series began in March 2022, with its title revealed that month and renamed in August. Additional castings were announced in October and November 2022. Principal photography began in July 2022 in New Jersey and concluded in October 2022.

The first season premiered on June 18, 2023, and consists of six episodes. In July 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 4, 2025.