Our list of the best quotes from the HBO Max dystopian action drama limited series DMZ (2022), based on the graphic novel of the same name by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Set in a near-future where America is fractured by a Second Civil War, the story centers on DMZ (Demilitarized zone), which is a ravaged Manhattan Island where no one goes in, no one comes out. We follow medic Alma Ortega (Rosario Dawson), who is desperate to find her missing son.
Copyright Notice: It’s easy to see when our selected quotes have been copied and pasted, as you’re also copying our format, mistakes, and movie scene descriptions. If you decide to copy from us please be kind and either link back, or refer back to our site. Please check out our copyright policies here. Thanks!
1. Good Luck
'You want to know how to inspire loyalty? You baptize someone with a new bada** name.' - Wilson (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Riley: I didn’t know the river was the boundary. I thought western New York was still US territory.
Alma Ortego: Well, the country line used to be further west, but it’s been the Hudson for a few months now. It’s hard to know. Feels like the border keeps changing day by day.
Alma Ortego: I’m separated from my family too.
Riley: You know where they are?
Alma Ortego: [points to DMZ on the map] There. I think.
Riley: Oh, s**t. For real?
Franklin: I’m hearing the ceasefire’s shaky.
Alma Ortego: They’ve been saying the ceasefire’s going to blow up for years.
Franklin: Right, and if it does, then the fighting will be over the DMZ and we will be stuck in an active war zone.
Franklin: You don’t know what you’re in for.
Alma Ortego: [referring to DMZ] I know that my son might be in there, and that I’d rather be stuck in an active war zone than be out here wishing I could look for him. You’re getting me in there tonight.
Franklin: [to Alma] You have no idea what you’re walking into. You’re on your own.
2. Advent
'The future isn't about kings. It's about partners.' - Alma (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Carmen: [to Parco] Look at us. Three years ago, we started with four blocks, and we’d shoot on sight to guard it. Now we got opened up roads, crew affiliations, free trade. That started with you.
Alma Ortego: Eight years and a civil war later, and this one’s still all bark.
Carmen: B**ch, I am right here. Say it to my face!
Alma Ortego: You know, you always wanted to be like me. Looks like you’re still trying. But this is impressive.
'Even a king kneels to the future.' - Wilson (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Parco Delgado: What do you want, woman?
Alma Ortego: I need to see Christian. Tell me where he is, and I’ll leave!
Parco Delgado: For one, he don’t go by that name no more. And he likes his privacy. Unlike you, I respect that.
Marcel: We come into this world naked and alone, right? And we leave it naked and alone. You got to get you and yours squared up. To hell with all y’all. You see, in the end it’s just you, and God. That’s it. It’s just you and God. That’s it.
Cedric: The preacher ain’t wrong. You’re looking for home. But home takes time. Making peace with yourself. That’s the first step to finding your place, and that takes real courage, Odi.
3. The Good Name
'All men who rule by and for themselves alone will succumb. In the end, the cycle is the cycle.' - Susie (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Alma Ortego: [to Odi] You know, that is what friends do. You know, they talk about things with each other. Maybe you should try it.
Cesar: There are forces way bigger than you involved here, and they’ve already set the outcome. That’s your warning.
Alma Ortego: You done?
Cesar: You shouldn’t have come back.
Alexis: [referring to the clinic] Alma, I inherited a horror show. We’re barely managing. I need help here.
Alma Ortego: So do these people out there.
'It's the pores. See, when you can see the pores, that's when you see that even the big bads are just people.' - Wilson Lin (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Alexis: You’ve been here all of, what, four days? These are real people, who have lived here through it all, and they believe what you say. Not Wilson, you.
Alma Ortego: Well, that’s good. Wilson protects people’s access to health care. That means a safe clinic. Look. No more lacking meds.
Alexis: Well, I’ve seen enough to know Wilson is no messiah. Just saying. You better know what you’re doing beyond getting that man elected.
Alma Ortego: [referring to Wilson] So, you’re the mother of the man who would be king?
Susie: I’m not his mother. I just took care of him. Now he takes care of me.
4. Home'A leader must discern what she must control and what she must cede to her people.' - Susie (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Athena: It’s amazing how a steady supply of toilet paper can turn a man into a god.
Alma Ortego: And in return what? He let you use Chinatown as a weapons depot with a ready militia?
Athena: Our deal with Wilson is irrelevant now. He wasn’t under any of the illusions he preached. He knew that one day war would resume, and on that day he’d have safe passage off the island.
Alma Ortego: [to Athena] If you’ve been watching, you know that Wilson was nothing more than a middleman in his neighborhood. I can give you a direct line to Susie. You’re playing for a foothold in the DMZ. I’m offering you real influence.
'It's amazing how a steady supply of toilet paper can turn a man into a god.' - Athena (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Athena: [referring to Susie] How can you know she’ll be amenable?
Alma Ortego: Her son was just thrown out of a window by the man stealing his landslide. She’ll be amenable.
Tenny: I need you to know that your son is gone. Skel will never leave this place. He’s stuck here. We all are.
Alma Ortego: No. He’s in there. I saw him last night when he looked at you.
Tenny: What you saw was shame and betrayal.
Alma Ortego: And guilt. And hurt. And love. Call it what you want, but that was the first moment I saw my son’s eyes. And I can see in your eyes that you know what I mean. So, no, I’m not giving up on him. Not yet.
'I can't undo the past. But I can try to repair the broken parts for the future.' - Alma Ortego (DMZ) Click To Tweet
Tenny: And always keep it dope.
Alma Ortego: You’re…
Tenny: Welcome to Radio DMZ.
Trailer: