As The Walking Dead continues to unfold the mystery behind the matching “X” scars spotted on Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Daryl (Norman Reedus), audiences will come to learn the “really f—ed up story” that occurred sometime during that six-year time jump, says “Stradivarius” director Michael Cudlitz.
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“Some of the stuff we know why it changed, and some of the stuff we’re going to discover. We will discover where those Xs come from. It’s a really f—ed up story,” Cudlitz told EW.
“It’s a big, really f—ed up thing that happened during that break. At some point, we will find out about it. You will find out eventually what that is. It was bad.”
Michonne was first seen with an “X” scar on her lower back in 906, “Who Are You Now?” A shirtless Daryl was seen with the same scar — in the same exact spot — in 907, “Stradivarius,” which revealed Michonne was on unsteady ground with Hilltop leader Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who quietly departed Hilltop sometime during those six years.
Now the stoic and isolationist leader of Alexandria, Michonne expressed a hesitancy to see Maggie and gave a cold reception to outsiders Magna (Nadia Hilker), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), Connie (Lauren Ridloff), Kelly (Angel Theory) and Luke (Dan Fogler) — suggesting that bad blood is the result of a run-in with strangers.
“She alludes to it in the council room when she takes the chances of the group that’s come there. She says that she remembers and that she knows that many of them do too,” showrunner Angela Kang told EW.
“They have obviously, in the six years that have passed, faced some probably human foes that have affected the way that they deal with new people and their level of trust. It’s definitely something that we’ll learn more about as the year goes on.”
Audiences are “going to find out what that’s about,” Cudlitz told Insider. “But that is something that connects them all, even though they’re all separated right now, we’re going to find out why.”
The yet-to-be-disclosed big event will be alluded to further in Sunday’s mid-season finale, “Evolution,” when Michonne gets a less-than-warm reception during her reluctant trip to Hilltop, which is currently caring for a rattled Rosita (Christian Serratos) after her encounter with a pursuing herd of walkers.
Kang confirmed with ComicBook.com that story will continue to unravel in the back half of the season, arriving in early 2019, with answers to come in the remaining back eight.
The Walking Dead airs its last episode for 2018 Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.
