Will The Walking Dead season 8 mirror comics with enormous death?
In a recent edition of the Robert Kirkman series, one of the most heartbreaking deaths occurred in the form of Andrea. Rick Grimes’ longtime love interest was killed off in a move that ripped many readers’ hearts out. Obviously, this character is very different than the Laurie Holden version on the show, who was already killed off. Nonetheless, this is a watershed moment that fans of the show should still be considered about.
In explaining why he made the move to eliminate Andrea from the chessboard, Kirkman had the following to say (per Syfy Wire) in the letters page of the issue:
“..I had plenty of time to change my mind. I had plenty of time to just not do it. I am in control of this story after all. But honestly, sometimes it feels like I’m not. This was one of those times. I don’t like this. I don’t want this. I want Andrea to live. I want to write more stories with her. I want to see her and Rick grow old together, watching Carl grow up and have kids of his own. I want that kind of happiness for these characters. And yet, here we are. Andrea is dead and the story moves on. I don’t know why this had to happen… but I know it did. I know this is another important turning point in the life of this series. I know Andrea’s death will mean something, that it will resonate in the stories moving forward for years to come. But I still don’t like it. It still upsets me. I loved Andrea and I will truly miss her.”
The easy summation here is that Kirkman thought it was necessary to kill the character, even though he loved her very much on the show and did not want to see her go. This is a difficult thing to digest, and it will probably be a struggle to do so for many weeks still for readers.
As for how this applies to the show, the big fear here is that at some point down the line, maybe Scott M. Gimple opts to do something similar to Michonne. Often with the series, when they don’t replicate events from the comics directly, someone else comes in and stands in their place. You should worry for Michonne, but you should also worry about everyone else close to Rick; or, you should worry about anyone with a love interest or a potential love interest.
If the show falls in line with how the comics are paced, odds are that this is more of a season 9 or season 10 story, if that. It’s just something to be aware of.
As for other news…
Be sure to visit the link here to see some of the potential new characters being cast for The Walking Dead season 8 at the moment. (Photo: AMC.)