‘The Walking Dead’ Season 11 Premiere Showrunner Interview

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 11 premiere, “Acheron Half 1” previous this level.

The Season 11 premiere of The Strolling Useless is atypical for the present in that it has two trains operating that by no means fairly meet. On one finish you will have a gaggle again within the remnants of Alexandria, coping with a extreme meals scarcity. On the opposite, you will have a smaller group being interrogated by who followers of the comedian know are a extremely organized society referred to as The Commonwealth. However the primary occasion of both storyline? Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) versus Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

“We knew that Lauren Cohan was coming again into the season,” The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang instructed Decider, “and it felt like we simply owed some story associated to the place she’s been, and the place she’s at now.”

After we final noticed Maggie earlier than her sudden return on the finish of Season 10 (and in that season’s “bonus” episodes), she had left Hilltop seeking a greater life. Which means she was gone when Negan, the person who killed her husband Glenn (Steven Yeun), turned a tentative ally of the individuals who Maggie trusted most. And when she returned, Maggie may barely comprise her rage even taking a look at Negan.

These simmering tensions boiled over this episode, resulting in a really, very darkish, literal cliffhanger. On the finish of the hour, because the group Maggie and Negan are each in is making an attempt to flee down a tunnel to security from an encroaching zombie herd, Maggie is left hanging from a ladder. Negan appears to be like at her, then makes the choice to again off, with Maggie tumbling straight into the herd.

“The dynamic between Maggie and Negan is basically actually fascinating to us as writers,” Kang famous. “And hopefully, it is going to be fascinating to followers who surprise what’s going to occur between them, too… In some methods they’ve moved in the direction of one another, and their philosophies. If he was a lot darker, and he or she was a lot lighter, and so they began going in the direction of the center… They’ve many factors of settlement on sure issues, however they simply can’t stand one another or belief one another, due to the previous.”

Persevering with, Kang added that the tip of episode second is, “a very specific instance of how that performs out in a really excessive stakes, tension-filled relationship, the place you will have two individuals which might be each very unpredictable proper now. That was driving loads of our selections, to give attention to a few of that, as a result of … We had curiosity as writers, by way of once you put individuals like that collectively, what occurs?”

Whereas Negan and Maggie push one another additional aside (assuming Maggie survives that fall, after all, wink wink), one character particularly is merging with one other. Over within the different storyline, Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) is making an attempt to flee from the troopers holding them prisoner, when Princess (Paola Lázaro) makes a stunning discovery: on the wall of the misplaced saved by the troopers is an image of none aside from… Yumiko.

Followers of the comedian books know what’s occurring right here, although true to type the TV present has remixed and tweaked some components. And on this case, for an excellent motive: this iconic plot level initially concerned Michonne (Danai Gurira), who has already left the sequence. Within the books, Michonne discovers that her daughter, lengthy thought useless, just isn’t solely alive, however residing with the Commonwealth. Right here, Yumiko discovers that her brother is alive and in search of right here, which leads her to return to captivity.

“This was one in all this stuff the place there is a vital objective, which is that it offers you a sure stage of preliminary belief that you just wouldn’t have in any other case, as a result of persons are sketchy within the apocalypse,” Kang stated. “And so, we felt that was one thing that was worthwhile to attempt to maintain onto the spirit of [from the comic]. However clearly since Michonne is gone, and Danai is off doing wonderful issues, we had to consider, what characters are you able to play that class dynamic with?”

In line with Kang, Yumiko got here to thoughts as a result of she had beforehand been arrange as a lawyer resulting from her relationship with Magna (Nadia Hilker) — a job that Michonne additionally held down within the pre-apocalypse within the books, so it was a straightforward one to at least one sub-in.

“A lot of our characters, being from blue collar professions, or having actually struggled earlier than the apocalypse hits within the story, there’s only a few people who have that extra elevated class,” Kang stated. “Yumiko was one in all our greatest choices to attempt it with. Clearly, a brother/sister relationship is completely different from a mother or father/youngster, however we determined to simply dive into the truth that it’s not likely precisely the identical story, and there are different issues that we will do with it that means.”

If you happen to’re confused, or haven’t learn the books, simply observe that standing shall be very necessary going ahead with the Commonwealth storyline — and which means Yumiko shall be entrance and middle. As for whether or not she’ll reunite along with her brother, you’ll simply have to remain tuned.

The Strolling Useless airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC, and streams per week earlier on AMC+.

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