The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan talks Maggie’s return

Where has Maggie been since leaving The Walking Dead? When will we find out, and how will she adjust to her old surroundings?

Lauren Cohan (Maggie) is back on The Walking Dead, and I for one cannot contain my enthusiasm. It was a blow when Cohan and Andrew Lincoln (Rick) left the series at the same time, but now, the world seems a little more right-side up. Granted, I was very happy for Cohan when she hopped over to ABC’s short-lived series Whisky Cavalier as a lead. But I’m ecstatic that she’s back amid the zombies, and just 30-ish episodes before the show ends for good.

Maggie officially returned in The Walking Dead season 10 “finale” and will take part in an additional six episodes we’re getting early next year before season 11 takes us home. Cohan recently spoke to Cinemablend about what’s ahead for Maggie while also looking back on her journey since she left. What the heck has Maggie been up to all this time?

"I had a lot of my own suspicions about what may have happened, just knowing the things that Maggie was pursuing and what she was interested in as she led Hilltop and developed Hilltop when we were still in Season 9. So I had some suspicions about where she would be going. And when she came back, I knew that some of those desires had been fulfilled, that some of that exploring had been fulfilled. And as per Angela, what I knew beyond that was that some pretty unpleasant people had also kind of intersected with her path along the way. So I knew about as much as that. And I knew I would be coming back with a couple of friends; these friendships that had been developed through trying situations. So that was it, and the rest of it was kind of left up to my actorly imagination, knowing that it would all be fleshed out. But it’s relatively conceivable to paint pictures of wonderful things and horror things when you’ve been in the show for this long, and yet it was still beautifully surprising to see what, in actual fact, Maggie has been up to now that I have the script. [Laughs.]"

Another question Walking Dead fans have about Maggie: who the heck is the mysterious masked man she’s with?!

Image: The Walking Dead/AMC

I can’t wait to find out what the deal is there. What if it’s someone we know? Unlikely, but I totally love that idea.

Maggie has had some new experiences while she was away. What will this mean for her as she tries to acclimated with her old friends? “[S]he will have a lot to navigate,” Cohan said. “Especially as she’s re-confronted by these sort of old demons coming back home.”

"The comfort and the necessity of coming back to the Hilltop – even though the Hilltop is gone, she doesn’t know this yet – and coming back to Alexandria and her family is going to be incredible in many ways and incredibly challenging in many other ways. So the changes that she’s gone through, and what she’s learned and how she’s developed, is really going to be shown over these next 30 episodes that we have, [as well as how she deals with things]. Just the fact that I’m now raising my son and we’ll meet young Hershel, which is very exciting for me, as well as I hope it is for the audience."

Oh, yes, young Hershel! I cannot wait to see how he’s turned out!

And finally, we’re all wondering how will Maggie react to Negan, who’s been freed since she was last around. Will she learn to live with it, or will she plan revenge?

There is a lot to look forward to in the final episodes, and given Maggie’s tumultuous past, I think we’re in for a very wild ride.

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