Jayne Atkinson Believes She Is THAT ‘The Walking Dead’ Character

In being cast on The Walking Dead, Jayne Atkinson took a role unique to the AMC series, but believes the role to be tied to a major player from its comic book source material.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 8×12, The Key, follow!

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Atkinson debuted in The Walking Dead Episode 8×12 as Georgie, a friendly face offering supplies from a happy place far, far away. Simply asking for luxurious items such as records, the character came bearing much-needed food for the Hilltop community. Not only does she come from a location where she remains untouched by the apocalypse but Georgie also bears a striking resemblance to the Commonwealth leader Pamela Milton.

“I can’t imagine that there isn’t [a tie to Pamela Milton], but I was not told that,” Atkinson told ComicBook.com. “And my son actually showed me that picture of her, and I thought, first of all, it looks like me. And the two flanking guards could be Hilda and Mitch. So perhaps she’s being modeled after this character. And I think because of the kind of work that I do in the industry, I can’t help but think they’re thinking, ‘Leader.’ I think they’re thinking someone who is used to leading people. They must. So there might be a parallel, but I was not told that.”

The Commonwealth community is thriving, 50,000 survivors strong, in The Walking Dead comics. Located in Ohio, the community didn’t come into play until years after the All Out War story pitting Rick against Negan had concluded. Still, showrunner Scott Gimple may be setting the stage for a larger story as he dishes the reigns over to Angela Kang for Season Nine and beyond.

“Wherever [Georgie]’s from and however things happened, she has not been touched physically in the way that everyone else has,” Atkinson said. “So I wouldn’t say psychologically she hasn’t, but, however, she has come out of this more than just surviving. She is somewhere where she has been able to — and with maybe a group of people — but somewhere where through wit, through will, and maybe through connections, she has been able to thrive. I liken it to Shakespeare in some way. She seems like she’s from an elite group. She may have been. And she’s coming in, perhaps even in somewhat disguise, to check out her kingdom. And she’s going around trying to find the right group where she can seed very important information and hope. As she said, ‘There’s very few like you out here.’”

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.