The Walking Dead Will Address Michonne’s Heartbreak Over Siddiq’s Death

The Walking Dead will explore Michonne's (Danai Gurira) heartbreak over the death of close friend and right-hand man Siddiq (Avi Nash), who was murdered by Whisperer spy Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) in 10x07, "Open Your Eyes." Michonne learned of the death over walkie talkie in the midseason finale, "The World Before," when making a library pitstop en route to Oceanside with daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming) and Luke (Dan Fogler). A teary Michonne remembered Siddiq and the long-lost Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) after encountering stranded survivor Virgil (Kevin Carroll), who brought to mind a phrase passed from Siddiq to Rick after the death of his and Michonne's son Carl (Chandler Riggs): "My mercy prevails over my wrath." When we next see Michonne in the second half of the season, Siddiq's loss will play into her final story.

"There are so many factors that go into [a decision to kill a character], and some we don't like to talk about, but there's always the story at the heart of it," showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter. "Avi has done an amazing job for us. We love him. We were writing him out for the story. It helped propel the story forward."

Back home at Alexandria, the fallout of Siddiq's death had major impacts on ex-fling Rosita (Christian Serratos) — mother of his child, Coco — and her current boyfriend, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), who loved Siddiq like a brother. Siddiq's death pushed Gabriel to commit a vicious murder in revenge, and we'll learn how Michonne reacts to the loss when we next see her midway through Season 10B.

"There's a tragedy at the heart of it all," Kang said. "That character is so connected to people — for example, Michonne. The heartbreak about Siddiq is going to play into her story. There are so many factors related to losing Siddiq, where his death has a ripple effect."

She continued, "In addition to telling a story that's hopefully deep and interesting for what that character was going through — a terrible trauma and PTSD — his reach is so deep with all of these characters. It really humanizes the conflict. They are fighting people wearing the masks of dead people, and there need to be real consequences to them."

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