‘The Walking Dead’: Laurie Holden Wanted Andrea to Kill the Governor

Former The Walking Dead star Laurie Holden feels Andrea should have been the one to kill the Governor (David Morrissey), who manipulated and then terrorized Andrea before orchestrating her death in Season Three.

“I wanted to kill the Governor so early on, so yeah,” Holden admitted with a laugh aboard Walker Stalker Cruise when asked if she ever pushed back against decisions handed down from higher-ups.

“I pushed back. That whole cat-and-mouse thing, I would have liked to have been the one that got to take him out. Because I don’t particularly like the idea of that victimization. As a woman, I don’t feel like he should have won.”

The Walking Dead 314, ‘Prey,’ saw Andrea flee from the Governor-controlled Woodbury in an attempt to reunite with Michonne (Danai Gurira), a then newcomer to Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) group of survivors holed up in a nearby prison.

But the Governor pursued and then captured Andrea, ultimately imprisoning her in a torture chamber where the Governor unleashed a zombified Milton (Dallas Roberts).

Despite her attempt to free herself, Andrea was on the receiving end of an incurable walker bite and, after a too-late rescue from Michonne, Rick, and Daryl (Norman Reedus), shot herself in the head before she could succumb to the bite.

Andrea’s death was rewritten by Scott Gimple, who would replace Season Three showrunner Glen Mazzara after the latter was fired in part for his handling of Holden’s character.

“The one thing that I love about Scott Gimple’s ending with Andrea is that she’s reunited with all her friends, and there was something very healing about her being with Michonne, and Rick, and Daryl, and it was family again,” Holden added.

“And it was like, if there’s any misunderstandings, it was just a beautiful redemptive feeling. But I still wanted to take him out.”

The Governor would meet his own end in Season Four, first impaled with Michonne’s katana before his new girlfriend, Lilly Chambers (Audrey Marie Anderson), finished him off with a bullet to the head.

In 2013, Holden told TVLine Andrea’s death was “a shock to everyone,” explaining she didn’t receive official word until just “a few days” before shooting the Season Three finale.

“It was never part of the original story docs for Season Three. And it was rather unexpected,” Holden said.

“That said, this is The Walking Dead. This show is not conventional by any means — and we know that as actors going in. So you roll with it. You show up, you do the best job you can, and you honor the storytelling. Overall, this has been an extraordinary experience and I just feel so blessed to have been a part of it.”

Holden and director-producer Greg Nicotero later said at Walker Stalker Con Chicago in 2014 an alternate version of the script ended with Andrea surviving her ordeal and leading the Woodbury citizens to the prison, where Andrea and the survivors would be welcomed into the growing community fostered by Rick.

Morrissey has since said he hopes to one day reprise the role of the Governor “in any capacity,” arguing the character still has “a lot more to mine.”

Now in its ninth season, The Walking Dead premieres new episodes Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.