'The Walking Dead' Season 6 News: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, TWD Showrunner Dish On Richonne Shocker
Sunday's episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead" was definitely far less bloody and chaotic than the previous episode, the midseason premiere in which Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her sons became zombie chow and Carl (Chandler Riggs) lost an eye to Ron's (Austin Abrams) shotgun. But, this being "The Walking Dead," the episode wasn't without its shockers, either.
In one of the final moments of "The Next World," Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) are relaxing on the couch when they start holding hands. Sparks fly and they begin kissing, which eventually leads to them spending the night together and being woken up the next morning by new character Jesus (Tom Payne).
Entertainment Weekly spoke to "The Walking Dead" showrunner Scott M. Gimple about the new Rick-Michonne romance, who revealed that getting the two together was all about "finding an everyday context." According to the TWD boss, that moment on the couch was all about Rick and Michonne coming to realize — at the same time — that their bond went beyond friendship. The fact that Alexandria is currently safe and everything is — for now — peaceful, afforded the two a moment to really see each other as more than just warriors and survivors.
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"These are two people who have found kindred spirits in each other, strength, respect, support, loyalty," Gimple told EW. "But the world has been screaming in their faces and clawing at them for a good part of their acquaintance. For all they've been through, when the world stopped screaming and clawing for them, they realized what they had."
Meanwhile, Gurira and Lincoln have revealed how they reacted to learning about the new romantic pairing. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lincoln admitted that it was a "strange" and "trippy" experience to have the two characters, who previously had more of a familial relationship to each other, suddenly become romantic partners.
"Danai was brilliant and so funny on set and said, 'Let's just go for this; I don't want to talk about it too much. Let's just go for it,'" he told THR.
"We didn't feel awkward; it felt very organic," Gurira added.
"The Walking Dead" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
