Danai Gurira Explains Why Michonne Will Be A Better Character When The Walking Dead Returns
This article is more than 2 years old
For the most part, The Walking Dead‘s third season has been a huge improvement over the tedious season 2. One area that it has disappointed, however, is in the character fan-favorite Michonne, played by Danai Gurira, who was completely badass in the comic book but lacks a certain depth in the TV series.
Warning: Some spoilers for Walking Dead’s mid-season finale if you still haven’t seen it!
In an interview with E! Online, Danai Gurira opened up about Michonne’s motivations and why the character will be more developed in the second half of season three.
She’s kind of going through a becoming. In the first half of the season, she’s very powerful but she has people problems. She has trouble relating to them. [By the finale] you start to see that she knows she needs Rick and his group. She knows she needs community, and that sort of propels her into the second half of the season, which is probably closer to what people know from the comic books. She starts to try to take a different track, in terms of investing not only in herself and her own survival but in other people’s, too.
In the comic book, it’s easier to get away with being a singular character. You just show a quiet character in the background and the reader automatically thinks the character is mysterious. On a TV series, you have to give a little more information so the audience will have a connection with them. This is the dilemma with Danai Gurira’s Michonne on The Walking Dead. The actor is fine; but the writers haven’t given her much to do.
One of Michonne’s truer moments happened in the mid-season finale. Michonne was horrified at the discovery of the Governor’s zombified daughter, Penny, hidden in a closet. Here’s Gurira on her character’s motivations during the scene:
Initially, she thinks Penny’s alive, and she’s actually very gentle with her. But then she finds Penny’s a zombie and to Michonne, zombies are dead. She believes it’s a very undignified way to function, so killing the little-girl zombie is actually a merciful act. [It’s like] put her in a grave and put a cross on it and mourn her properly. But it’s also oh, wow, this is what he loves. He took what I loved away [Andrea] and tried to kill me, so this is my perfect act of vengeance.
With only eight episodes left in season three, The Walking Dead will surely build to an explosive climax, but the big questions remain, such as if the series will maintain the same level of quality in season four. Last month, AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a fourth season but also announced that current showrunner Glen Mazzarra will no longer be working on the series. For now, let’s enjoy the next eight episodes.
The Walking Dead returns to conclude its third season on February 10th on AMC. You can check out a new preview of the mid-season premiere below.
