The Walking Dead season 7 finale: Sonequa Martin-Green’s Sasha is…

Tonight, The Walking Dead season 7 finale aired, and for almost the episode we had a good many fears regarding Sonequa Martin-Green’s character of Sasha, and for a perfectly good reason. Just remember for a minute here that Martin-Green was recently cast on Star Trek: Discovery, and that was a pretty clear sign that her character could be going the way of the dodo sooner rather than later.

The moment that we saw Michael Cudlitz back as Abraham, we started to feel even more that this episode marked the end of her time on the show. He was so close to her during the end of his own life, and one of the people that she relied on for some shred of happiness.

Sasha’s had a long run on the show, and it began all the way back in season 3. Losing her at this point doesn’t shake up the entire cast — all of the originals that were there (apart from the departure of Steven Yeun) at the start of the season are still going strong — but it’s still a big loss given that over time, she’s become a really important part of the story. She was resourceful, she was tough, and she overcame so much. Sasha was one of the series’ biggest survivors during her run on the series, given the fact that she somehow managed to withstand the loss of everyone from Tyreese to Bob to then Abraham. So many people who she cared about were dead — she and Maggie had an interesting kinship in that way.

How did Sasha die? It started to come about before she was put into the coffin. Eugene gave her poison to be able to control when she died, and then she burst out of the coffin at Negan as walker. Pretty badass, right?

Through the entirety of her run, Martin-Green was fantastic. We first came to know her through this show and Once Upon a Time, and she was one of the first Walking Dead cast members we interviewed (if you’re interested in that interview, you can check it out here, but remember that it was a while ago). We’re thrilled for her to have another role, though we wish that her casting announcement had been delayed until the end of this season in an effort to keep things a secret for as long as humanly possible.

What did you think about the way that the show handled the exit of Martin-Green, and the death of Sasha? Share now in the comments below.

Meanwhile, head over here to get some additional news regarding The Walking Dead finale and everything that unfolded from start to finish during it. (Photo: AMC)