Why Maggie Gives Hershel The Watch

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3, episode 3, “Emigrants.”

The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 continues to set itself apart from the previous two installments, as the spinoff’s plot and tone keep evolving. Episode 3 was no different, focusing on Maggie and Renata’s new community and their attempt to build something bigger, with “Emigrants” serving as a pretty symbolic moment for Hershel.

Throughout the 40-minute adventure, Maggie and Renata’s settlement had to deal with the fallout of turning on lights inside the Statue of Liberty, which attracted two rival groups. Upon arriving, each of these factions had plenty of wounded members, resulting in Luis, Hershel, and the other doctors treating these patients despite the ongoing tensions.

While there was loss, chaos, and plenty of hostility, the heroes managed to save many lives, with Hershel stepping up massively. It marked a real positive turn for the character after frustrating viewers for two seasons, helping justify The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3’s Rotten Tomatoes score.

Although the leaders of these two feuding groups couldn’t put their grudge aside, the rest of the survivors came together to begin turning Central Park into a viable farmland. This feel-good outcome was made even better by Maggie and Hershel’s conversation, with Maggie handing down a pocket watch to her son.

The reason for this was that Hershel had finally proven himself worthy of carrying on his family’s legacy. The watch has acted as a symbol of approval from the Greene family, and while Hershel took some time to find himself, his actions in episode 3 confirmed he had the positive traits necessary to carry this watch with pride.

The History Of Hershel’s Watch In The Walking Dead

It has been a long time since Hershel’s watch felt significant in The Walking Dead, but it’s an item that has been around for years and holds plenty of history. Before the apocalypse even started, Maggie’s father was given the watch by his dad, holding onto it for many years before finding the right person to pass it on to — Glenn.

Having initially disapproved of Glenn and Maggie’s relationship, Hershel grew fonder of his eventual son-in-law, seeing Glenn’s true qualities and even offering him his blessing to marry his daughter. In doing so, he passed on his prized possession to Glenn, which felt like a huge deal since it was Hershel’s way of trusting the fan-favorite survivor to carry on the Greene legacy.

He held onto this family heirloom until his eventual death, as Negan brutally murdered Glenn in The Walking Dead season 7, prompting Maggie to place this watch on his grave. While Maggie intended this to be an item that would stay with Glenn forever, it was stolen by Gregory, who didn’t keep it for long.

Maggie recovered it and passed it on to Enid, since the young girl was like a daughter to her. While we never saw Enid return the watch, Maggie did end up in possession of it again before Enid’s death, hence why she was finally able to give it to her son in Dead City season 3’s latest episode.

Unless The Walking Dead runs for several more decades, it’s likely Glenn Rhee will be the last person to hold on to this watch in the televised universe — assuming he doesn’t suffer an untimely demise. As a result, he has a lot of expectations to live up to, showing how much faith Maggie now has in him.

Why Maggie Is Only Giving Hershel The Watch Now

Considering Hershel is well into his teenage years, it may feel rather late for Maggie to pass on this watch, but there’s a good reason she’s been withholding it. Back when he was just a child, Hershel wouldn’t have understood the weight of something like this and just seen it as any other present, making it almost worthless to him.

By the time he became old enough, Hershel was in a strange place, as he felt like a bit of a bratty teenager during Dead City‘s earlier seasons. After being abducted by the Croat and the Dama, he developed a strange relationship with the latter, even resenting his own mother due to the Dama’s influence.

In reality, it was Maggie and Negan’s tiresome Walking Dead feud that really bothered him, something Maggie is only just starting to get over. Simultaneously, Hershel has grown up and mellowed out, managing to repair the relationship he has with his mother while also transforming into a much better person.

His stint as Luis’ protégé in the hospital emphasizes that, and seeing him save several lives is what made Maggie realize Hershel was just like his father and grandfather. Hershel Sr. translated some of his veterinarian skills to save lives during the early days of the outbreak, while Glenn stuck his neck on the line for those in danger.

In fact, it was thanks to Glenn that Rick survived his first dangerous encounter with walkers, proving Hershel had some big shoes to fill. Now though, he’s finally resembling those who came before him and is old enough to understand the symbolic nature of this watch, proving that Maggie was right to wait for this moment.

What Hershel’s New Role Means For His Walking Dead Future

Under Luis’ mentorship, Hershel is becoming quite a talented doctor, making his survival crucial for The Walking Dead‘s future. After just a few weeks of teaching, Hershel has already stepped up to assist and perform surgeries that have been the difference between life and death, highlighting just how quickly he is learning.

So long as Luis stays alive for a while longer, there’s a strong chance Hershel may pick up enough skills to respond to almost any medical emergency. Instantly, this makes him a valuable survivor, as people with medical expertise are a rarity these days, and his natural ability means he could stop entire communities from falling.

It also indicates he will continue this journey of redemption, as he understands the value of lives and connections better than ever. Stepping forward and tending to strangers is something he may not have done in previous seasons, yet now, Hershel is even treating Negan’s injuries, despite the dark past with his father.

Hershel officially has a purpose, something he previously lacked, putting him on a much brighter road. For a long time, it looked like Hershel would mimic his awful Walking Dead counterpart from the comics, but after seeing him in Dead City season 3, his future looks promising.

If Maggie and Renata are to be successful with their New York community, they need people like Hershel and Luis to ensure the residents stay healthy, giving the teenager a clear mission going forward.

Will Maggie Eventually Take Over From Renata As The Group’s Leader?

Image via AMC

One of the other big talking points from Dead City season 3, episode 3’s ending was the future of the community, as Maggie and Renata talked privately about their work so far. They praised each other for building a home and keeping it safe, with Maggie even claiming Renata was the best leader they could have asked for.

However, she also went on to outline what is needed going forward, and it’s her plans that seem to be dictating how the community is run. Therefore, it seems plausible that Maggie will take over one day, but it doesn’t seem like something she wants to do, especially having led the Bricks and Hilltop.

Their dynamic as co-leaders works better, with Renata being the more inspiring people-pleaser and Maggie acting as a planner in the background. Still, if Renata were to die, Maggie would almost certainly fill her place, assuming she doesn’t end up back at the Commonwealth or another community before then.

While Maggie as leader makes sense given her experience, she seems happy with her position and just wants to build something that will last. If she’s successful, this may rule out her involvement in a Walking Dead crossover show, but it would at least give her and Hershel a proper home.

With that in mind, it feels like Maggie will only take over from Renata in the event of her death, since their current arrangement is so strong, making the fate of this group all the more curious as The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 continues.

• 

  Created by

  Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard

  First TV Show

  The Walking Dead

  Latest TV Show

  The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

  Upcoming TV Shows

  More Tales from the Walking Dead Universe

  First Episode Air Date

  
  October 31, 2010
  

  Cast

  Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Danai Gurira, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lennie James

  The Walking Dead is a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television series The Walking Dead in 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.