The final season of The Walking Dead saw the Commonwealth (CW), run by Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) and her Deputy Governor Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton), take over the communities of Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside. One year after the resistance stood up to the CW, life became much better under Governor Ezekiel Sutton (Khary Payton) and Michael Mercer (Michael James Shaw). What happened to Hilltop that required Maggie (Lauren Cohan) to leave?

The last episode of The Walking Dead, which aired in November 2022, experienced a one-year time jump and revealed drastic change all around. Ezekiel was positioned as Governor, a role he was made for, Alexandria was thriving, and it appeared that things were also moving forward at Hilltop. When Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and the others visited the community, gardens were being planted, and things looked like they might be improving.

In The Walking Dead: Dead City, Maggie and her son Hershel (Logan Kim) no longer lived at Hilltop but instead resided at an old brick factory simply called The Bricks, located near New Babylon. It seemed odd that the only explanation was when Maggie told Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) they could no longer live there because he helped burn it down.

Now, what she said was true: Negan had infiltrated the Whisperers and was on their side during the war, which saw much of Hilltop burned. But in season 11, Hornsby’s soldiers blew up the Barrington House, causing much more damage. This is likely Maggie’s way of reminding Negan of his past transgressions, but it is a strange way to wrap up the Hilltop story.

Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee – The Walking Dead _ Season 11, Episode 15 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC /

In reality, the Barrington House set was no more and located in Georgia, where filming for Dead City was set in New York and New Jersey, but there could have been a better way to explain why Maggie and Hershel would leave the only family they have left.