“Presumed Dead” Character Returning to ‘The Walking Dead’

In Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead, a character might just be coming back from being presumed dead.

Episode 8×02 of The Walking Dead is titled, “The Damned.” The official synopsis for “The Damned” reads, “The plan involving Alexandrians, Kingdommers and Hilltoppers unfolds. As Rick continues to fight, he encounters a familiar face.”

That familiar face might be a “character that we may have thought was dead,” according to The Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero‘s recent chat with Yahoo. Nicotero was tightlipped on who might be returning but promises Episode 8×02 is “fantastic.”

“It’s a direct continuation of the war and the attack on the satellite [outpost], which is exciting,” Nicotero said. “And it’s possible that there may be a character that we may have thought was dead pop up. Who knows?”

With a full roster of characters who have gone missing or been left for dead without having been explicitly shown dying, there is a number of faces which can return on Sunday night.

Heath

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple confirmed as much, though it is “not a huge chance” fans will see him in Season Eight.

“We definitely have not seen the last of Heath, period,” Gimple said. “I will say that. I don’t mean to disappoint the Heathies. He will be on the show. He will be within The Walking Dead again.”

Of course, the possibility of Heath being somewhere in this world does not mean the character is alive. There is a strong possibility the group will stumble upon a reanimated version of the character somewhere in their travels.

Heath’s return, however, might come with an explanation of the “PPP” keycard’s significance from the “Swear” episode or even the introduction of The Whisperers, who likely won’t appear until Season Nine. Season Eight does promise to end the war between Rick and Negan, once and for all, allowing plenty of time for Heath’s story to become relevant again.

The Governor

The Governor falls into the category of characters who officially died off-screen. The last time David Morrissey’s face was on the screen, he was certainly dying from the strike of Michonne’s katana, but he was later presumably finished by a bullet to the head which was shown off screen.

Photos of Morrissey wearing make-up indicating the bullet did strike his head has since surfaced, but if The Walking Dead wanted to consider those photos out of the show’s canon they certainly can, though most likely won’t.

Speaking to CinemaBlend, Morrissey was asked if his murderous character could take down Lucille and Negan. “I don’t think there’s a world where Negan and The Governor can exist together,” he said. “I think they would have to take each other on, and you know, it’s obvious that there would be one winner in that, and that would be The Governor.”

It’s cool to think of a scenario where Rick teams up with a redeemed Governor to take down Negan, or a case where Alexandria has to suddenly deal with two powerful enemy factions, but neither seem likely.

Sherry

Dwight’s wife disappearing was one of Season Seven’s more surprising turns. The character has played a major role in The Walking Dead comics, especially lately, so her casting out does not fit the grand scheme of adapting the source material to television. 

Sherry’s disappearance comes with actress Christine Evangelista’s casting on The Arrangement. Typically, cast members on The Walking Dead do not recur on other shows, but Evangelista may very well be taking a leave of absence as Sherry’s husband Dwight finds the motivation to betray Negan and the Saviors in favor of Rick and Alexandria. 

Sherry can easily be sidelined for the war between Rick and Negan (it might actually enhance her chances of survival) only to return and lead the Saviors in a strike against those who conquer their group further down the line. Given the slight differences in Sherry’s characteristics, often appearing more humane than her comic book counterpart, there is a chance the AMC series has elected to alter her role for television.

Morales

Morales has long been a fan-favorite for an epic return on The Walking Dead. He was last seen in the show’s first season, electing to head for Birmingham, Alabama rather than Atlanta to explore the CDC. As fans and characters have seen as the show goes on, the entire country is plagued with the zombie virus, and Morales’ family likely did not find good news if they survived long enough to see Birmingham.

The actor who played Morales on the first season of the AMC zombie drama took to Twitter to campaign for a return to the apocalypse. Tweeting side by side photos, one with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan holding his precious and iconic Lucille bat, the other featuring himself in character bashing a zombies brains with a baseball bat.

If the show could come up with a plausible explanation for the character to end up in Virginia, crossing paths with Rick Grimes and company once again near Alexandria, fans would be shocked to see the familiar face. The conversations which would ensue as Morales learns the fate of characters he knew such as Andrea, Merle, Glenn, Jacqui, and Dale would be a welcome trip down memory lane. 

Andrea or Lori (Walkers)

 

Andrea and Lori required being put down for different reasons, but suffered the same, off-screen, bullet to the head fate.

After being bit by a reanimated Milton, Andrea was offered the easy way out before becoming a walker, accompanied by Michonne. As unlikely as it is to think Michonne allowed her to become a walker, she is a character who chose to bring her boyfriend and brother with her in chains rather than put them down.

Lori’s death is largely debated among fans as her young son Carl was required to put her down after she died giving birth to Judith. The moment, like Andrea’s, happened off-screen. 

While both seem like unlikely scenarios, the possibility of either character having literally dodged the bullet and becoming a walker only to migrate north towards Rick and Negan’s war isn’t entirely impossible. After all, the two armies are making a lot of noise!

Still, don’t bet on this one…

Duane

Morgan’s son Duane might be the LOST‘s Walt equivalent on The Walking Dead: a young boy cast out of the show as the actor grows up too quickly, only to return for important scenes in the show’s future.

Duane became a factor once more in Episode 7×13 when Morgan retreated to his terrifyingly insane state of mind following the death of Benjamin. It was similar to his appearance in Season Three when Rick and Michonne discovered him hiding out in a self-made sanctuary, designed to keep enemies and the dead away.

In his shattered mentality, Morgan told Rick that Duane was killed by his reanimated wife as a result of Morgan’s inability to put her down. In the world of comic book movies and TV shows, especially The Walking Dead, you should never consider somebody dead without seeing a body and a zombie. Duane’s return is one of the most unlikely of the series but is not impossible!

According to Morgan actor Lennie James, Morgan’s biggest regret revolves around his family, and a factor which drives him still today.

“Morgan didn’t put a bullet in his wife’s head,” James said. “I think he’d be a different man today.”

“The whole dilemma, the crux of the dilemma in Morgan’s life was pulling that trigger. If he didn’t pull it for the right reasons and he should’ve pulled it.”

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

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