A lot can happen in 99 episodes.
With The Walking Dead closing in on that big 100, there’s a tremendous amount of nostalgia and wistful reminiscence lingering over AMC’s undead juggernaut. And though the show’s ardent fanbase have cut together some truly inspired, gut-wrenching highlight reels, not to mention Entertainment Weekly’s celebratory portraits of Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and the gang raising a glass, this timely retrospective isn’t free of criticism.
Take Laurie Holden’s recent comments as an example. For three seasons, the actress played the part of Andrea, before she was ultimately killed off at the hands of David Morrissey’s demented Governor. But in the eyes of Holden, that subplot between Andrea and her manic captor was “complete and utter nonsense,” as she largely feels The Walking Dead made a mistake by deviating from Andrea’s arc in the comics.
I think the whole stuff that they wrote about Andrea and the Governor was complete and utter nonsense. I did the best that I could to tell that narrative and to justify it where Andrea kept her heart.
Speaking to those in attendance at Walker Stalker Con (via Screen Rant), the actress then praised series showrunner Scott Gimple for allowing her on-screen character to salvage some redemption before biting the bullet.
I love Scott Gimple for giving me a gorgeous death with redemption so that you understood, and she wasn’t a victim – she died on her own terms. But I think that there was so much beautiful narrative that was lost, and that she should have been there for a long time and been the leader that [Robert] Kirkman created in the comic book.
The Walking Dead will shuffle back onto our screens on Sunday, October 22nd – October 23rd for those across the pond – and the Powers That Be have vowed to deliver a breathless, edge-of-your-seat instalment that will effectively banish any memories of trudging through the quieter moments of season 7.
