Warning: The next comprises spoilers for the Season 11 and collection finale of The Strolling Lifeless. When you haven’t watched but, assured — you need to try this earlier than studying additional.
Sunday’s collection finale of The Strolling Lifeless (learn recap right here) left us with plenty of emotions. Shock (a glimpse of Rick and Michonne!). Happiness (Judith, Jerry and Canine lived!). Unhappiness (R.I.P., Rosita!). Even ambivalence (so no “Donnie” in spite of everything, huh?). But it surely additionally left us with a ton of questions. Right here to reply a few of them for TVLine is showrunner Angela Kang.
TVLINE | Was it at all times the plan to have Rick and Michonne make a shock look within the finale, or did that come after their restricted collection was introduced?
From the primary pitch concerning the finish of the season, I put my want listing out to the universe and AMC and all of the producers, and stated that the present was not full with out bringing again Rick and Michonne not directly. I do know that that’s not fully as much as me, there’s plenty of stuff that must be labored out, however that was my want. After which it took many, many, many months for it to truly come collectively. For some time, I used to be like, “I don’t assume we’re getting them.”
TVLINE | I believe followers are gonna be fairly completely happy that you simply bought them.
It makes me completely happy, too!
TVLINE | How did you arrive at Rosita being the large loss of life within the finale?
Christian Serratos volunteered! I used to be speaking to her about our plans for the finale, and I kinda made a joke about blah, blah, blah deaths — until folks need to volunteer. And he or she was like, “Are you open to the concept of possibly Rosita dying on the finish?” Then she laid out a extremely passionate argument for a way she felt that was the appropriate alternative for her character’s story, how bravely she would do something for her little one. So she instructed me to consider it. I did, then I talked to the writers and the community and Scott [M. Gimple, the franchise’s chief content officer] and stated, “I feel we are able to do a extremely lovely model with Christian.” So it began along with her.
TVLINE | I do know Luke and Jules bit the mud, too, however… was there any temptation to go larger and have extra characters die within the finale?
We talked about each iteration of it. In some methods, doing extra carnage makes every particular person loss of life appear much less significant. Additionally, it is a story that within the supply, the leads die. It’s type of about how that cycle of life ends, after which the following technology is left, proper? So I used to be like, “When you’re actually going to be taking all these different figures off the desk, I don’t know that you simply even get the identical influence from killing somebody who’s additional down the tier.” Rosita type of provides you that, symbolically.
TVLINE | I used to be slightly stunned that Annie survived. I assumed her loss of life may spark slightly little bit of compassion for Negan in Maggie, whether or not or not he deserves it.
For Annie, we have been truly at all times considering that she could be alive to go away [her and their unborn baby as] a risk for Negan for the long run. We simply thought there was one thing attention-grabbing about him having had this marriage. However that’s for the following present to cope with!
TVLINE | You and I’ve talked loads about Daryl and Connie, and also you stored telling me that I wasn’t loopy to assume there was a vibe there. However we didn’t even get a kiss in the long run!
There is a vibe. But it surely felt like they have been type of ships that handed within the night time, in the end. The story that we meant with Connie type of shifted when [Lauren Ridloff] went to do a Marvel film, to be sincere. This was some time again. Generally, when issues like that occur, the trail shifts. So we’d have truly leaned into that slightly extra if she wasn’t lacking for a giant chunk of the story.
TVLINE | Was the unique plan for Carol to go away with Daryl when he set off searching for Rick and Michonne?
Yeah, that was the unique plan till a pair months earlier than we shot it. [Ed. note: Melissa McBride was initially set to star with Norman Reedus in a Daryl/Carol spinoff; in late April, the news broke that she would not be a part of the series.]
TVLINE | Had been you upset that the spinoffs have been introduced on the time they have been? It type of tousled what ought to have been some actually suspenseful moments, like… would Carol go off the cliff? Would Negan be executed?
Yeah. I don’t need to get myself in bother. [Laughs] It was undoubtedly on a inventive stage type of difficult, as a result of when issues are introduced isn’t actually within the fingers of the actors or producers or no matter. That’s extra the studio having to make bulletins for their very own timing causes. We are likely to get a really quick heads up earlier than it occurs. It was upsetting to the actors, and we have been like, “Argh, a few of our tales, with the idea that these items wouldn’t be spoiled, play completely totally different now.” However we simply make the very best of it and hope that the emotional stakes nonetheless carry it doesn’t matter what.
