Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) ventured off to sea with a new mysterious character, Virgil (Kevin Carroll), on Sunday's mid-season finale of "The Walking Dead."
With Gurira set to leave AMC's zombie series this season, you may have been nervous that was the last we saw of Michonne, but there's more of her character to come when the show returns in the new year.
"There will be more," showrunner Angela Kang told Insider Michonne's story line. "Obviously, she has limited episodes this season."
The Hollywood Reporter reported in February that Gurira would appear on a "handful of episodes" on season 10.
Gurira joined the show as the katana-wielding warrior on season three and became a love interest of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). The latter vanished from the show when he flew off in a mysterious helicopter on season nine.
Gurira will soon follow suit, but Kang says Michonne still has much to do. Her current objective is to get a hold of weapons to fight off Alpha's pesky Whisperer threat.
"She does still have a meaty chunk of story coming up," Kang said. "I hope people tune in to see her send-off. It's a pause on that story, not a goodbye yet."
On Sunday's episode, Virgil tells Michonne he's desperately trying to get back to his family. He says he lives on Bloodsworth Island on a fortified naval base, a real location in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. But, Michonne's not sure if she can trust him. After all, the group just found out they had a secret Whisperer living among them all season.
Is Virgil's community connected to one of the three mystery communities associated with the helicopter that took Rick away on season nine? Kang wouldn't say much on that.
"That remains to be seen," said Kang. "We'll find out when we pick up with their story."
"What Michonne sees in the moment is [that] maybe there's something to going to this island and seeing if there's something to helping us end this war once and for all," Kang added of a reason to send Michonne off. "As the person who's head of security for Alexandria, she feels like she has a responsibility to her people and she's also sort of moved by, as much as she hates to admit it, the idea of this guy trying to get back to his family, especially in the wake of Siddiq's death."
Kang mentioned that it was Siddiq (Avi Nash) who brought up the idea of "my mercy prevails over my wrath." That's something that's brought up during a conversation between Virgil and Michonne as she's trying to decide what to do with the stranger. It's an emotional moment on the mid-season finale as it reminds her of Rick.
"It's the thing Rick said when he saved Negan. All of these things are floating around in her mind about what's the right thing to do," said Kang of Michonne's decision to set off and leave Judith (Cailey Fleming) behind. "[It makes her think] let me at least check it out. It's enough to intrigue her to go and see what's there."
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