‘The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne Hints Flashback Episode Will Detail Maggie’s Exit

The Walking Dead star Tom Payne suggests an upcoming flashback episode in the back half of Season Nine will offer details surrounding Maggie’s (Lauren Cohan) quiet exit from Hilltop and fully uncover the mystery surrounding the ‘X’ scars spotted on Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Daryl (Norman Reedus).

“There is absolutely the potential for Jesus to be back for a flashback episode. There’s a six-year jump that happened, within which we don’t know [what happened]. There’s a bunch of unexplained stuff,” Payne told Serieously when asked if the freshly killed off Jesus will reappear in Season Nine’s back eight.

“And Jesus has been at the Hilltop with Maggie, and we’ll maybe find out how Maggie left and what happened in that storyline, maybe how Michonne and Daryl got their scars, maybe if Aaron and Jesus had a thing. So yeah, there’s lots of different loose ends which absolutely could be explained by a flashback episode.”

Despite his return in a future episode this season to be set during the time skip that followed the “death” of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Payne noted Jesus is “definitely dead” in the current timeline.

Siddiq (Avi Nash) informed a surprised Michonne in 907 Maggie quietly exited Hilltop sometime during those six years, taking son Hershel and joining mysterious benefactor Georgie (Jayne Atkinson) and relocating “someplace far,” where Maggie is helping Georgie with “a new community.”

Cohan, who has since boarded ABC spy dramedy Whiskey Cavalier, departed the series in 905, the same episode that sent off Lincoln.

Showrunner Angela Kang and Chief Content Officer Scott Gimple said in a statement issued through Talking Dead Cohan’s last episode this season was 905, but were careful to point out plans are in place to bring Maggie back to the mothership series — even if in a smaller capacity — in Season Ten.

Alternatively, like Lincoln, Maggie could resurface in a Walking Dead movie, which Gimple said is “absolutely” a possibility.

The lingering plot thread surrounding those matching scars on Michonne and Daryl will also be explored in the back half of the season, which Walking Dead star-turned-director Michael Cudlitz warned is “a really f—ed up story.”

Payne further teased there “might be more” matching ‘X’ scars yet to be revealed. “We haven’t seen them on anyone else yet, but there could be,” he said.

Kang confirmed flashbacks to the unseen era skipped over between episodes 905 and 906, which resulted in some unspecified bad blood and a significantly strained relationship between the previously tight Hilltop and Alexandria as well as those eye-catching scars.

“We’ll definitely be telling the story of what happened there, and what’s kind of exciting about a six-year jump is that there is the opportunity to go back and tell some of those stories. So we’ll see some of what has happened,” she said.

“But it’s a deep, emotional story for Michonne, and for Daryl too. So I’m excited for people to experience that. It’s something that certainly has had an effect on Michonne in a deep and particular way. So that’s something that we wanna tell people what that’s about at some point.”

The Walking Dead returns with new episodes Sunday, February 10 on AMC.