The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus misses Danai Gurira “all the time”

Norman Reedus has grown accustomed to saying farewell to fellow cast members on The Walking Dead. But to him, they’re not just coworkers — they’re family. In the past few years, the series has said goodbye to Steven Yuen, Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan, and now, Danai Gurira, who plays the samurai sword-wielding zombie killer extraordinaire, Michonne. Season 10, which kicks off this Sunday, will mark Gurira’s final appearance on the show. How she’ll exit, we’re not sure.

Reedus spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the new season, and what saying goodbye to yet another cast member has been like.

"Yeah, it was really sad for me. I had become so close to Danai and I just adore her. […] I can’t be mad at her like I can’t be mad at [Andrew Lincoln] to want to be with his kids. You can’t be mad at him if he missed them endlessly. Her last day, we had some fireworks and gave her a send-off. We miss Danai. She’s such a strong part of our cast and such a valuable member of our family and so I miss her all the time."

Losing Michonne is definitely going to be rough, folks. I don’t think I’m ready for it.

Having said that, we have plenty to look forward to on the show, so there’s no reason to get sad about Gurira just yet. “It’s full paranoia this season,” Reedus said. “It’s the group eating itself and having to deal with the consequences of just being trapped in all different directions. You can’t tell who’s on the good side, who’s on the bad side. Some people are playing other people for the wrong reasons and it’s kind of the breakdown internally, which is causing everybody to make these decisions that are just horrible, actually.”

With the Whisperers lurking about in the shadows, this is the absolute worst time for the survivors to start turning on each other, which of course means that what will happen because this is The Walking Dead and all things bend towards pain.

RELATED PRODUCT

Chicago White Sox Southpaw Game Of Thrones Mascot On Fire Dragon Bobblehead

Buy Now!

Buy Now!

Reedus also talked about Daryl’s arc in season 10, and where we can expect him to be when things get started.

"Daryl’s got the ghosts of all these other characters that used to be on the show, they’re haunting him. He’s finding himself being in these roles of decision-making for a group. He’s got people to protect. It’s a much different Daryl than we’re used to seeing. He just makes decisions based on whatever he felt he wanted to do or whatever. […] Then he’s put in this position of protecting other people, not just himself. So you’ve got a bunch of scared people making all these decisions in the wrong direction and Daryl’s running, trying to fix things and keep the group together."

Daryl didn’t really lead the group before now, so this is a big shift for him. But after losing Rick, things have changed, and it makes sense that he would have to step up and evolve.

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Speaking of Daryl, are he and Carol finally going to get together or what? We have to know!

"They’re exhausted from this battle that never seems to end, and routinely sort of daydreaming about where they’d rather be and what they’d rather be doing. I’m not saying it’s a premonition to the future, I’m not saying that it’s not. But it’s the two of them, two really good friends sitting on a log and having a moment just sort of daydreaming about what their lives could be if they weren’t trapped there doing that."

I think The Walking Dead season 10 needs to turn this friendship into a full-blown romance. We are so ready for it.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels