The Walking Dead Star Confirms Their Character Is Alive and Will Return

Sydney Park hints little-seen Oceanside leader Cyndie will return to The Walking Dead. Since the discovery of her all-female community by Tara (Alanna Masterson) in Season 7, Cyndie helped form a militia for an uprising against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the now-defunct Saviors before the reclusive Oceanside participated in a coalition formed with the allied Alexandria, Hilltop, and Kingdom communities. Cyndie appeared in the Season 10 premiere, "Lines We Cross," where the survivors were forced to cross into Whisperer territory to combat a forest fire, and was last seen in the midseason finale, "The World Before," where Michonne (Danai Gurira) and daughter Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming) intercepted would-be thief Virgil (Kevin Carroll) at Oceanside.

Cyndie's people have since taken refuge in the abandoned hospital tower where survivors from across the communities are waiting out a walker horde steered by Whisperer Beta (Ryan Hurst), out to avenge murdered leader Alpha (Samantha Morton). The penultimate episode of the season ended with Rachel (Avianna Mynhier), Jules (Alex Sgambati), and other Oceanside survivors trapped inside the hideout, leaving Cyndie's status unknown.

"I can't say anything, but just know that I'm alive, y'all," Park told Where Is The Buzz TV when asked if Cyndie will return in the Season 10 finale currently postponed amid the coronavirus crisis. "I'm alive."

A sneak peek look at the season finale, "A Certain Doom," reveals Virgil returns to a seemingly empty Oceanside after parting ways with Michonne on Bloodsworth Island. Virgil chose to remain there alone when Michonne and a small group of survivors took what they believed to be the only boat off the island.

It remains to be seen if Cyndie plays a role in helping rescue the trapped survivors, but Park notes Cyndie was deeply affected by the clandestine execution of Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow) and other Saviors some 18 months after Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) called for peace when ending the war against the Sanctuary.

In the years since, Cyndie and Oceanside have grown closer to the other communities after avenging their male members massacred by Simon (Steven Ogg) and the Saviors.

"Cyndie has been through a lot. I think her killing Arat really kind of changed her," Park said. "It changed Oceanside, her grandmother in having to deal with the power struggle of that, seeing this character kind of suppressed in Season 7. And then just seeing her rise and seeing her strength as a leader was so cool to be able to portray, and I think she's at a place now where she's made peace with what the world is. As hard as it is, I feel like that's a never ending struggle to make peace with everything that's happened."

Park continued, "Just the loss alone is a lot for a young person to deal with. So now she's in her twenties, and Rachel has grown up, it's a lot. They've been through a lot, but she is I think feeling better now that she has more of a community. She's got all of these other people that have been brought into her world that have gone through the same things. She's no longer isolated with just all these women in the dang woods, she's got a little bit more variety, more selection. She has more of a family now."

The Walking Dead next airs "A Certain Doom" as a special episode later this year. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.