Hilltop was the home of numerous central survivors inThe Walking Deadfor many years, but the community suffered a peculiar fate after the original series ended. Despite starting on an unprotected camp sight somewhere in Georgia,The Walking Dead’s main characters managed to travel far and wide across many communities, eventually establishing some key locations. Alongside Alexandria and the Commonwealth,Hilltop was one ofThe Walking Dead’s main settlementsby the end of the show, with Maggie becoming leader in season 7. Since then, she has helped the group thrive despite being involved in several wars.
Even after being attacked multiple times, Maggie and Hilltop continued to rebuild and byThe Walking Deadseason 11’s ending, it looked like the place was finally at peace along with the show’s other prominent locations. Unfortunately, this optimistic conclusion didn’t last too long for the people of Hilltop, as by the timeDead Cityrolled around, things had changed drastically for them. Although they remained united and healthy,Hilltop underwent some massive changes in the few years that passed betweenThe Walking Deadseason 11 andDead Cityseason 1, with Maggie offering an insight into what happened.
Maggie Claimed Hilltop Never Really Recovered From The Whisperer War
DuringDead Cityseason 1, Maggie told Negan that Hilltop had to relocate after he “helped burn it down”, alluding to the Whisperers' attack on the community. Although Negan killed Alpha and helped kill Beta - the Whisperers' two leading figures - he did briefly join the villainous group so that he could take it down from the inside, which he pulled off flawlessly. However, with Maggie and Negan’s long-runningWalking Deadfeud continuing inDead City, she clearly didn’t get over the fact he didn’t at least warn Hilltop about the plan that ultimately destroyed the location beyond repair.
Despite the rebuild seeming successful in season 11, it’s clear too much damage was done, asMaggie confirmed that Hilltop relocated, withDead Cityrevealing it had been renamed to “The Bricks”. In addition, the Croat was able to infiltrateMaggie’s new version of Hilltop inDead Cityand kidnap her son, showing the new location made her people far more vulnerable to Manhattan’s factions. Considering Hilltop was still a thriving faction even after battling the Saviors, it can be assumed that the fire damage caused by the Whisperers ruined the terrain and buildings, forcing a fresh start elsewhere.
Where The New Hilltop Is Located Compared To The Original
Hilltop Relocated From Virginia To Somewhere In New York Or New Jersey
Having originally been located in Virginia, Hilltop was forced to move further North, with the community finally settling somewhere in New York or New Jersey. Maggie and Negan’s spinoff show never specifies exactly which state The Bricks is in, but it’s clearly within the vicinity of Manhattan considering the Croat launched an attack and Maggie was able to return there duringDead Cityseason 1’s ending. Considering Maggie and the other main survivors were originally situated in Georgia, they presumably had already explored large parts of Southeast America, hence why they opted to continue North.
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Hilltop’s residents could have traveled further West, but with the Commonwealth located in Ohio, it would have been a large trip into the unknown to find a new home, and they may have ended up far away from their allied communities. Therefore,setting up camp in New York or New Jersey was the best outcome, but they didn’t anticipate so many hostile communities in the area. There are still plenty of unknowns regarding The Bricks' location and how fortified it is following the previous attack, but I’m hopefulDead Cityseason 2 will explore this in more detail.
The Walking Deadseason 11 wrapped up in an optimistic fashion, showing all the main survivors starting the next chapter of their lives having created peace and harmony in each community. However, while the flashforward ending hinted at Hilltop thriving, the relocation proves this wasn’t actually the case. Despite “Rest in Peace” showing Hilltop with healthy-looking crops and buildings,Dead Citysuggests that didn’t last long. While it’s unclear what exactly changed, it’s possible that only certain parts of the community were intact, while others continued to suffer from the fallout of the Whisperer War.
IfThe Walking Deadcontinues making such major decisions, it could eventually make “Rest in Peace” feel completely redundant.
As a result, Hilltop’s fate is another example ofThe Walking Deadspinoffs impacting the endingof the original series, as the happy ending now feels like false hope. The franchise continuing through individual projects always meant things were going to change, butseason 11’s finale no longer feels like a true conclusion for the series since an entire community fell off-camera. Fans haven’t seemed too frustrated by the decision to relocate such a prominent settlement, but ifThe Walking Deadcontinues making such major decisions, it could eventually make “Rest in Peace” feel completely redundant.
WhetherDead Cityseason 2 offers more insight into what happened in Hilltop or not is yet to be seen, but it remains one ofThe Walking Dead’s most fascinating stories to happen off-screen. Throughout the entire series, multiple communities have fallen, and it has often been the most exciting part of the show.Watching places like Hershel’s farm, the prison, and the Kingdom get destroyed was heartbreaking yet extremely entertaining, which changed the story massively. Likewise, seeing Alexandria and Hilltop suffer attacks before rebuilding also made for great viewing, proving it’s a huge strength of the franchise.
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With that in mind, it seemed like a no-brainer to depict Hilltop’s collapse on-screen and focus on the relocation, yetThe Walking Deadopted not to do this. The obvious explanation is thatDead Citywas always supposed to focus on Maggie and Negan in Manhattan rather than Hilltop as a community, but it would still be a strong one-off episode. Even if it didn’t happen inDead Cityseason 2, I would love to see a future project to explore when exactly Maggie and the rest of the community knew Hilltop was no longer sustainable.
Additionally, seeing the internal decisions on what they should do next alongside the difficulties they faced while on the road would be great. It’s still not clear what sort of resources they had for their move or if Alexandria and the Commonwealth helped, and they may even have run into trouble while traveling as such a large group, potentially losing members of the community on their way to the Bricks. Therefore, Hilltop’s fall and rebuild still has a lot of potential, and it remains one ofThe Walking Dead’s best under-explored storylines.
