The Walking Dead Showrunner Teases the “Interesting Intrigue” Raised by Michonne’s Endgame

The Walking Dead on Sunday entered into the endgame for Danai Gurira's Michonne, and her final story to air in the back half of Season 10 will introduce "interesting intrigue," teases showrunner Angela Kang. However Gurira ultimately departs, her exit was set up in the Season 10 midseason finale, "The World Before," where Michonne and daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming) encountered stranded survivor Virgil (Kevin Carroll) at Oceanside. When Michonne learned Virgil lives on a naval base that has weapons needed to eliminate Alpha's (Samantha Morton) walker horde, Michonne and Virgil set sail on what should be a four-day trip, but the risky mission might bring more questions than answers.

"She goes off with Virgil and there's a little bit of a trip there, so no, we won't see her right away when we come back, but I won't say exactly when she comes back in the back half," Kang told The Hollywood Reporter. "But there is more story for her. There's some meaty content with her that will hopefully be cool for the audience."

This journey with Virgil will see Michonne going through "some really emotional and complicated decisions," Kang added. "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. I think she's just absolutely brilliant. That's about as much as I can say without giving too much away."

Asked if TWD is in the endgame for Michonne, Kang confirmed, "Yes, we are."

Executive producer Denise Huth was the first to tease a mystery surrounding Michonne's exit, suggesting the audience might be left with just as many questions raised by the sudden disappearance of Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes:

"To send a character off the show, and [decide] how we wanted to do that… I know Angela and the writers spent a lot of time discussing it in the build-up to this season. It is tricky. It's a very difficult thing to do," Huth told Radio Times. "I think it's going to be great — I think it will ultimately be very satisfying and also raise a whole bunch of other questions."

There is now the possibility Virgil could be Michonne's key to finding the missing Rick, who disappeared more than six years earlier by the events of Season 10. If this exit strategy is somehow tied to Rick, Michonne could be spun out of TWD and into the movie side of the franchise, rejoining Lincoln in what is planned as a trilogy of theatrically released movies.

The Walking Dead Season 10 returns with new episodes Feb. 23, 2020 on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.