The latest episode had a different final moment in the script.
Grab a bar of Dove becauseThe Walking Deadneeds to have its mouth washed out with soap!
In fact, it was just a throwaway extra take that Shaw did for fun.
Michael James Shaw on ‘The Walking Dead’.Jace Downs/AMC
Tell us about deciding to end on that very emphatic note.
ANGELA KANG:So that was not originally the line.
And that was just a free take that Michael did for fun and nobody thought we’d use it.
Josh McDermitt on ‘The Walking Dead’.Jace Downs/AMC
But my editor had put it in the cut that he and the director [Rose Troche] did.
And I was like, “We should just check the scripted takes, just in case.”
And, by far, that was the coolest, best take.
Khary Payton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Medina Senghore on ‘The Walking Dead’.Jace Downs/AMC
And we’re like, “Let’s just use it.
Which I just thought came through so clearly in his read.
So that’s how it came about.
Dan Fogler and Alex Sgambati on ‘The Walking Dead’.Jace Downs/AMC
What was the original ending?
Mercer’s original last line was “Time to take this place!”
It was much more cut and dry.
And that’s kind of the idea.
This was our take on the storyline that’s in the comics.
What were the circumstances that led to this point?
I mean, literally.
They’re standing right behind him.
So now there’s a part of the functioning government that is not on the side of Pamela.
What is it that finally pushes him over the edge?
Is it Eugene’s speech?
It’s been building with Mercer for a long time.
I think he knows very well that the system is broken.
Most people are just normal folks that are trying to get through their day to day.
He knows that this guy’s going to lose his life.
His sister is just devastated.
Yumiko comes and talks to him.
He can’t let anybody in on his thoughts, otherwise just there’s more danger.
The more anybody knows, the less secure the situation is.
But I think even before that point, he’s already thinking something’s got to happen.
There’s no choice.
Is that essentially how the conversation went?
Yeah, I think it was essentially, it’s me.
And he feels at that point, “Well, maybe that’s fair.
Maybe my time’s up.
I’ve already gotten to have a run longer than maybe I deserved.”
It comes right after Ezekiel tells him off for everything he’s done.
They have no reason to hate Annie.
And Negan doing this thing of saying “It was me,” that’s a purely selfless act.
There is nothing he gains from that.
Ezekiel doesn’t trust that, but there is nothing to gain from Negan doing what he just did.
And Ezekiel knows that.
So I think all of those things move Ezekiel.
Luke says the Commonwealth took over Oceanside.
So what happened to Rachel and everyone there?
We left that kind of ambiguous.
But we know that Commonwealth took over.
I think a lot of people died, but you never know, because some people might have escaped.
We know that Oceanside is very, very tough, but they were just told to run off.
So even the story for Luke is incomplete.
He just knows that probably a lot of people did not make it at Oceanside.
Maybe they were all killed.
He doesn’t know.
Or maybe they fought back and defeated some people.
Speaking of mysteries, where’s Coco?
Well, we’ll find out, won’t we.
[Laughs]
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
