Lauren Cohan Talks The Walking Dead’s Final Season: Blood, Sweat, and Tears (Exclusive)

Warning: this story contains spoilers for Sunday’s “No Other Way” episode of The Walking Dead. “The woman who left six years ago is not the one standing over you now,” Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) warned Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to start Season 11 of The Walking Dead. “There’s a little bit of her left in me, and that little bit is the only thing keeping you breathing.” After Maggie’s mission to Meridian provided only a temporary respite for a starving Alexandria, that little bit of the old Maggie might be gone — the final casualty of the costly war with the Reapers. But out of the ashes of the Hilltop, burnt down during the Whisperer War, Maggie Rhee rebuilds.

 “I think that there’s a lot that comes up for her to do with this, ‘Will we, won’t we play ball with the Commonwealth?’ It’s difficult to rebuild to begin with, and it’s really difficult to rebuild when you don’t have any food or resources,” Cohan tells ComicBook in an exclusive postmortem on Sunday’s Final Season Part 2 premiere. “We’re gonna see a lot of challenges. The group, and Maggie, and the people at Hilltop are definitely gonna be hit with a lot of challenges.” 

We spoke to Cohan about Maggie’s vendetta turned truce with Negan, what’s coming up with Hilltop versus the Commonwealth, and the explosive start to the second part of The Walking Dead‘s three-part series finale. 

New World Order

COMICBOOK: The first eight episodes saw Maggie leading this mission to Meridian to save Alexandria at any cost. Now she’s back rebuilding and leading the Hilltop. What can you say about Maggie’s story in these next eight episodes of Season 11? 

LAUREN COHAN: There’s not too much I can say, but I think that there’s a lot that comes up for her to do with this, ‘Will we, won’t we play ball with the Commonwealth?’ It’s difficult to rebuild to begin with, and it’s really difficult to rebuild when you don’t have any food or resources (laughs). So we’re gonna see a lot of challenges. The group and Maggie and the people at Hilltop are definitely gonna be hit with a lot of challenges, as far as that. And we, as an audience, we’re gonna really get to try to peek under the hood of this Commonwealth, which Maggie obviously finds very suspicious. So we’ll see!

Life and Death

COMICBOOK: At the start of the season, Maggie tells Negan the little bit of the old Maggie left in her is the only thing keeping him alive. You’ve said this is because Maggie has to keep alive the part of herself that doesn’t indulge in the kill-or-be-killed attitude. What does it mean for Maggie that she chooses to kill the Reapers in Episode 9?

LAUREN COHAN: I think that that event comes after a long string of losses, and a long string of seeing that the Reapers can kill and can outnumber them, and can take away everything that’s precious to Maggie and her people. And I think it’s really a combination of knowing that if they are not gone and eliminated, they could still come for them. But more than anything, it’s the duty that she feels to Elijah, who is one of her last remaining family members from the Wardens. So it’s important to her to protect him. And it’s also an impulse that, that I think, as you go further and further in this world of war, it’s hard to know when to believe sometimes. And it’s hard to have hope and not want to just take out anything that could hurt you and your family for those characters.

What We Become

COMICBOOK: Negan makes Maggie promise [in Episode 1107] they’re “even” if he continues with her to Meridian. In 1109, Negan tells Maggie promise or not, it’s a matter of time before she does to him what she did to the Reapers. Do you think Negan is right or wrong about Maggie? What is she feeling when Negan leaves? 

LAUREN COHAN: I think that he’s right and wrong (laughs). I think that what she said at the beginning of the season is absolutely true. Like, the good in her wants to prevent the other side from prevailing. And there’s never any guarantees. And as you see people go through more and more torment, and try to hold on to who they were, and who they hoped to be, that’s really what makes the entire human condition fascinating to me is, can we do it? Can they do it? And will they do it? So that’s what’s been such an interesting conflict between Maggie and Negan for me is that constant challenge.

The Best Defense

COMICBOOK: When Negan says he’s going to be on his own way and leaves, is Maggie relieved? Is she angry her husband’s killer is now roaming free? Where do you think Maggie is at when she goes for her knife? 

LAUREN COHAN: The moment when she grabs her knife, I think, is a preparation for Negan maybe eliminating her as a threat, and to stand in defense of that. But I think that, I don’t know if it’s relief or just another piece of information on top of what has been a traumatic few events. The rest sort of remains to be seen.

The Rotten Core

COMICBOOK: The episode ends with a six-month time jump and Daryl in Commonwealth trooper armor outside the gates of Hilltop. There’s friction between Maggie and Daryl. What can you tease about what looks like Hilltop vs. Commonwealth?

LAUREN COHAN: I think it kind of just goes back to what I said in the beginning because I don’t wanna say too much (laughs). But I think that there’s a dream that maybe they could have something good to offer, and maybe there could be good out there and people that can help you and support you and make your life a bit easier in the apocalypse. But is that itself too good to be true? And I think it’s just very difficult to trust at this point in the game for many of these characters, including Maggie. So we’ll see what happens.

A New Beginning

COMICBOOK: In the final issue of the comics [spoiler warning], Maggie is president of the Commonwealth. What was your reaction to that, Lauren? Do you think your Maggie is on the same path?

LAUREN COHAN: Mm, I don’t wanna say anything cause so much happens this season! As we know, there’s a lot that we take from the comics and carry into the television series, but there’s also a lot that we switch to different characters or that we pop up at different parts of the timeline. And, you know, I think the fun for everybody, I know myself included, is often the not knowing. So I will keep it there (laughs). 

What Comes After

COMICBOOK: To extend that, you’ve said there have been murmurings of an extended story with Maggie after The Walking Dead ends. Do you know your Walking Dead future beyond the series finale?

LAUREN COHAN: I am gonna keep that a secret too (laughs). I appreciate and I admire your efforts! 

The Heart’s Desire

COMICBOOK: At this point in the comics, Maggie gets a new romantic interest in Dante, who is one of those switched-up characters on the show. Is Maggie moving on from Glenn something she’s capable of at this point in her story?

LAUREN COHAN: Ohh. I mean, Maggie is moving into more of life by taking care of her and Glenn’s child. And I think that’s pretty much the limit. There’s always a hope of these characters experiencing happiness, but I can say that it’s gonna be a little while until we sort of see beyond basic survival for her at least, and for protecting Hershel. That’s the love we get to see. And I’m so glad that we get to do that, you know, and so glad that she has that the reason in her son to keep fighting and keep pushing. 

COMICBOOK: I love your scenes with Hershel. He’s just like a little Glenn. 

LAUREN COHAN: Me too! 

This Sorrowful Life

COMICBOOK: This episode is about choices. Alden told Maggie he trusts her to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is or how much it costs her. When Maggie returns to find Alden has died and turned, does she feel like she made the right choice taking this trip to Meridian?

LAUREN COHAN: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know if she does. It certainly doesn’t feel like it. And the scene with Callan [in 1103, “Hunted”], when we filmed that, it was like she and Alden could still be in conversation in this sort of private place away from the war [in the church] … I don’t wanna say too much either. I don’t know. It’s hard to say because it costs them so much. And there’s a real twist of the knife that by the time they’ve come home, by the time they’ve come home with this food, which has cost the lives of so many. And like Father Gabriel says in the end of the episode, ‘So many didn’t make it. All so we could survive.’ And then the Commonwealth turns up with food, supplies, and everything. The balance of war is always a very difficult thing to know, and to know the cost, and to understand, and to justify the cost. So the rest remains to be seen this year.

All Out War

COMICBOOK: We’ve seen your action and stunt work in Mile 22 and Whiskey Cavalier. This is an intense, action-packed episode, and it’s especially physical for Maggie. She’s running, brawling, shooting, stabbing, fighting. What was filming that like?

LAUREN COHAN: Yeah, you name it. You take any form of defense and that’s what happened (laughs). The episode was obviously an emotional as well as a physical kind of onslaught. And I have to say, however, that that is what we hope for as actors. And I definitely enjoyed the physical challenges of this episode so much. We had a lot of amazing choreography and we had time to learn it and to do it. And the scene in the hallway was incredibly fun and it’s all very necessary for me to feel how I do at the end of the episode, and for Maggie to be where she’s at, going through that physical stuff is like the linchpin. I think just the way that the stunts and all the fighting was able to further character story was awesome to me. Because that hallway scene showed you a lot with characters, and showed you the expectation that Negan was gonna sort of get himself clear and then disappear, and then came back, and the motivation for Maggie to do what she did after seeing Carver’s reaction and breaking Elijah’s leg, and just being just so glib about everything there’s a lot. I don’t think that an opportunity was missed in the episode by the writers and by everybody involved to further the story. It’s never like fighting for fighting’s sake. And in this episode, especially, it just felt really on point. I loved it.

Days Gone Bye

COMICBOOK: You’ve been with The Walking Dead since 2011. As the show begins airing the second part of its final season and begins filming its final episodes, how are you feeling about the end?

LAUREN COHAN: You know, I kept thinking that I would know how it would feel as we got closer and get further along in the season, but you really don’t know until things have ended. I’m just, I’ve been drinking in this whole season. I’ve just been drinking in every moment with people and just trying to soak up where we are together. Not to rush it, not to… I guess not to rush it is really is really the thing. It’s made us all feel more present than ever, which is always a good thing. And just the gratitude for people being invested in a show for this long, and for it to come from such an awesome comic and get carried into another art form that people care this much about that we care this much about, that we wanna put literal blood, sweat, and tears into and help everybody feel the same way. I count my blessings every day. And I think that being in this last year with people who are like family to me, who I’ve known for this long, is — it’s hard to describe it in anything. But how it makes me feel, it’s hard to put words to feelings.

COMICBOOK: I’ve been watching since 2010. It’s good to have you and Maggie back for the chapter. 

LAUREN COHAN: That’s really nice of you to say, thank you. It’s definitely felt right to be back with everybody, for me just to come here. And I’m glad that that resonates with you, too. Here’s to another awesome 16 episodes! 

New episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season air Sundays on AMC and AMC+. Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter and ComicBook’s @NewsOfTheDead for TWD Universe coverage all season long.