‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’: What Happened to Hilltop?

Hilltop was Maggie’s home for most of The Walking Dead, which is why many fans expected it to take center stage in Dead City. When The Walking Dead ended, Maggie and the rest of the Hilltop residents were rebuilding. However, as Maggie and Negan take on The Croat in the spinoff, it is revealed that Hilltop was relocated and now seems to be called New Babylon. So, what happened to Hilltop, and what exactly is The New Babylon Federation?

Despite efforts to rebuild Hilltop at the end of The Walking Dead, the Barrington house was clearly destroyed beyond repair. Maggie blew it up in an effort to kill Lance Hornsby, who was trying to take the settlement by force after failing to assassinate Maggie. The new location of Hilltop is now part of a new confederation of settlements known as The New Babylon Federation, although its exact location is a heavily guarded secret.

To keep her people safe from raiders such as The Croat, Hilltop now has a strict security code that makes it harder to find. The community still has its adorable facilities, including schools, making it one of the most admirable settlements in the post-apocalyptic USA. So, if it is so difficult to locate, how did The Croat find it, and who is in charge of the community now?

Who destroyed Hilltop in The Walking Dead?

The destruction of Hilltop in The Walking Dead started when Whisperers set the settlement on fire with arrows.

After defeating the whisperers, the remaining residents tried to rebuild, an effort that took shape after Maggie’s return.

However, the walls, which were breached during the attack, left the people vulnerable to frequent hoards of Walkers, making it unsafe for residents.

When The Commonwealth showed up, they helped Maggie’s people kill walkers and gave them provisions before asking Hilltop to join them.

Maggie refused to cooperate with The Commonwealth because she didn’t trust their intentions.

She was proved right when it turned out that their governor, Pamela Milton, was turning settlements into labor camps.

When Lance Hornsby tried to forcefully take it in the show’s final season, Maggie evacuated everyone and tried to kill Hornsby by blowing up the Barrington House using biofuel.

After defeating Pamela Milton and restoring sanity to The Commonwealth, Maggie was determined to rebuild, although the main house was clearly destroyed beyond repair.

It is unclear when Maggie decided to relocate to New Babylon, but it was likely the best decision because Hittop’s defenses were also ruined in the previous attacks.

Where is Maggie’s new settlement?

While driving Negan and Ginny to Hilltop, it was revealed that Maggie’s new Hilltop is now located in New Babylon.

The exact location of New Babylon hasn’t been revealed in Dead City, but it is not far from New York, where Maggie and Negan went after leaving Ginny in Hilltop.

Maggie also confirmed that Hilltop still has a school, hospital, and the other amenities it had in its previous location.

Her decision to recreate Hilltop in the new location supports her comments in the main show that Hilltop was the people and not the geographical location.

The same people still live in the new Hilltop, which suggests that Maggie retained the democratic way of living and former residents of Hilltop and The Kingdom moved together to the new Hilltop.

Maggie also told Negan that The Croat scaled the walls before kidnapping Herschel, meaning they have strong defenses against Walkers like the old Hilltop did.

The Croat was still trying to get more information about Hilltop from Herschel, so he obviously didn’t have all he needed to subdue Maggie and her people.

Who are the Marshals in Dead City?

The Marshals are the law-keepers of the new federation of settlements known as New Babylon, which has a similar setup to The Commonwealth in the main show.

However, unlike in The Commonwealth, where the Governor had all the power, each state retains its autonomy in New Babylon, although the same law governs them.

New Babylon is like a mini-USA, and the Marshals are like the FBI, keeping law and order and hunting down criminals for crimes committed within member states.

However, the marshals are not a reliable law-enforcement force since they are judges, jury, and executioners when dealing with suspects.

Perlie Morgan summarily executed the mortel owner when he accused her of breaking the code by aiding and abating Negan even after she told him the truth.

Moreover, the types of punishments handed out by the laws in the New Babylon code are medieval in wording and extremely horrific.

Perlie Morgan said Negan would face execution by being sawed slowly lengthwise, meaning they have a very brutal set of punishments.

With such an oppressive regime in charge of the Federation, it is hard to understand why Maggie moved Hilltop to New Babylon, but more about the current state of Hilltop and New Babylon remains to be seen.