The Walking Dead: A Killed Off Character Returns in Michonne’s Final Episode Opening Minutes

A long dead character reappears in the opening minutes from The Walking Dead 1013, “What We Become,” the exit episode for Danai Gurira‘s Michonne. The clip flashes back to the earliest days of the apocalypse, during a time when lone survivor Michonne used a pair of chained walker “pets” — ex-lover Mike (Aldis Hodge) and his friend Terry (Brandon Fobbs) — as camouflage from the dead, having removed their jaws and arms to prevent bites or scratches. Moving through the woods, the hooded Michonne picks up spent bullets before using her katana to cut down an approaching walker. Gunshots draw her attention, and she turns to see Andrea (Laurie Holden) fleeing from a pack of walkers.

The exhausted Andrea removes a bag of guns slumped over her shoulder before using the blunt end of her weapon to bash in a walker’s brains. Michonne watches from afar as Andrea drives her knife into the face of a second walker, doing nothing as Andrea collapses to the ground.

Another walker pounces on Andrea, too tired to fight back, and Michonne turns and walks away as a screaming Andrea is torn apart.

The archival footage is taken from The Walking Dead Season 2 finale, “Beside the Dying Fire,” which saw the band of survivors led by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) forced to flee the Greene family farm when it was overrun by walkers. There Andrea, cut off from the group and accidentally left behind, was rescued by an intervening Michonne.

Michonne and Andrea went on to form a close bond that only ended when Andrea was among the victims killed by Michonne’s foe the Governor (David Morrissey).

However this corrupted flashback comes about — whether it be dream sequence, hallucination, or something else — it happens as Michonne is away on Bloodsworth Island with lone survivor Virgil (Kevin Carroll). There she learns she’s been deceived by the supposed family man, who offered to supply Michonne with weapons capable of destroying Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) walker horde in exchange for a trip at sea reuniting him with his family in the midseason 10 finale, “The World Before.”

“There’s some meaty content with her that will hopefully be cool for the audience,” showrunner Angela Kang previously told The Hollywood Reporter of Michonne’s final episode. Michonne’s mission will see her confronted with “some really emotional and complicated decisions,” and will touch on Michonne’s heartbreak over the recent death of close friend Siddiq (Avi Nash).

“There’s going to be some stuff that will introduce some very interesting intrigue in her story as well. I hope we’ve done right by her,” Kang said of Gurira. “I think she’s just absolutely brilliant. That’s about as much as I can say without giving too much away.”

“What We Become” premieres Sunday, March 22 at 9/8c on AMC. The episode will be available for ad-free viewing 48 hours earlier on AMC Premiere, the cabler’s subscription-based premium service.

New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays on AMC. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.