Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has been gone, but she’s not dead. The fifth episode of season 9 of “The Walking Dead” revealed that she left the Hilltop with the mysterious Georgie during the big time jump that came at the end of Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) final episode. But she will be back.
Cohan, meanwhile, left “The Walking Dead” during season 9 after an ABC pilot she filmed, “Whiskey Cavalier,” was picked up by the network, and also after a contentious contract dispute in which she demanded equal pay with her male co-stars who had been on the show as long as as she had. Presumably, that’s why Maggie just kinda disappeared instead of getting any kind of sendoff.
So Cohan left “The Walking Dead” to try new things. Lauren Cohan later addressed the situation again in similarly ambiguous terms, saying that “there may have been some conversations” about her return to “The Walking Dead” but that we’ll have have to wait and “see what happens.”
That all probably felt like it was coming totally out of left field, considering how casually Maggie left the show last season. Her final episode also being Rick’s last didn’t help, since the episode basically functioned as Rick’s death episode. Maggie, on the other hand, just kinda wasn’t around anymore after that one, with only a couple mentions of where she went in subsequent episodes.
But Maggie is coming back. “Whiskey Cavalier” was canceled, and I guess Cohan and the powers that be at AMC have settled their dispute some way or another. At New York Comic-Con last year, AMC announced both that “The Walking Dead” was renewed for season 11 and that Cohan would return for that season.
But now, it turns out that Maggie will make her return in the current season, season 10. “We may see her at some other point this season,” Kang told Entertainment Weekly, “But I don’t want to say too much about anything.”
Well, after the most recent episode of “The Walking Dead,” we got a tease for the season 10 finale which showed, as we all would have expected by now, that Maggie will finally make her return in the next episode. You can watch that tease here.
But the coronavirus pandemic might have thrown a wrench into this whole situation. AMC said last week that Angela Kang and co. are not able to finish the season 10 finale of “The Waking Dead” at the moment, so the current run of episodes will end at the 15th episode of the season. The finale will air eventually — we just don’t know when. So her return will happen in the next episode, whenever it ends up airing.
Meanwhile, it’s long been theorized that the helicopter that carted Rick away belongs to the same group that we believe Georgie hails from — the Commonwealth, an actual large city of people in Ohio. If that theory pans out, and Georgie’s people are also the helicopter’s people, then there’s also plenty of reason for Rick and Maggie to cross paths in this new corner of the “Walking Dead” universe — perhaps during the big six-year time skip that we got in season 9.
But everything remains shrouded in mystery. If Georgie actually is with the Commonwealth, then Maggie’s return will be conveniently timed because the beginning of the Commonwealth story in the comics was intertwined with the end of the Whisperer plot, and at this point there’s no reason to think the Whisperers stuff will continue after the season 10 finale.
So, at least this won’t be a Heath (Corey Hawkins) situation — remember how he went out scavenging with Tara and then just never came back, his fate still undetermined? Maggie will be back. It’s just a matter of time now until it happens.
'Walking Dead' Leaders Ranked, From Gregory to Maggie to Ezekiel
On "The Walking Dead," plenty have tried to lead, but few have been successful. Here we look back on all those who led others to safety -- or their graves.
Gene Page/AMC
14. Gregory (Alive) of the Hilltop Colony. Gregory no longer is in charge, thankfully -- he was maybe not the kind of leader anyone ever needed.
Gene Page/AMC
13. Deanna (Deceased) of Alexandria. Deanna helped keep Alexandria together early on. She was a great judge of character, but did not recognize the walker threat for what it was. She died after the walls of Alexandria fell, leaving the community to Rick.
Gene Page/AMC
12. Dawn (Deceased) of Grady Memorial Hospital. Dawn took charge of the hospital when her predecessor failed to keep people safe, but her practice of requiring forced labor in exchange for meds earned her no friends, and eventually led to her death.
Gene Page/AMC
11. Natania (Deceased) of Oceanside. Emotionally scarred by their brutal defeat at the hands of the Saviors -- after which Negan had every male above age 10 executed -- Natania sort of fell apart, like so many characters do, because of the trauma.
10. Gareth (Deceased) of Terminus. Gareth and his fellow Terminus residents promised weary travelers sanctuary, only to kill and eat them cannibal style. He became obsessed with getting revenge on Rick, eventually leading to his death at Rick's hands.
Gene Page/AMC
9. Hershel (Deceased) of The Farm. Hershel kept himself and his family safe on his farm during the early days of the outbreak, eventually offering shelter to Rick and his group. But Hershel believed that the walkers could be returned to human form, which proved a costly mistake.
Gene Page/AMC
8. Alpha Wolf (Deceased) of The Wolves. The Wolves were a savage group who killed anyone who had something they desired. The Alpha Wolf was a good killer, but his people were ultimately wild and undisciplined.
Gene Page/AMC
7. Joe (Deceased) of The Claimers. Joe and his group lived as nomads, taking what they want when they want. He lived by a simple code of justice, but did not bat an eye when he or his people needed to kill. He underestimated Rick, Daryl, and Michonne, getting every Claimer killed.
Gene Page/AMC
6. The Governor (Deceased) of Woodbury, Martinez Camp. The Governor was all charm and class on the outside, but his inner workings were that of a cold blooded killer. After the citizens of Woodbury abandoned him for Rick, he eventually took over another camp, and subsequently led them to their deaths at the prison.
Gene Page/AMC
5. Jadis (Alive) of The Scavengers. With all of her people dead now, Jadis is not actually a leader anymore. But when she was a leader, by "Walking Dead" standards Jadis was extremely reasonable for somebody who leads a group of people who live in a junkyard. And making Rick do gladiator fights with armored walkers was pretty funny.
AMC
4. Negan (Alive) of The Saviors. Also no longer a leader, but when he was Negan ruled The Saviors through a combination of charm and savagery. He's fun to watch!
Gene Page/AMC
3. Maggie (Alive) of the Hilltop Colony. Obviously, she's much better as the boss of the Hilltop than Gregory ever was, and her pragmatism is currently a pretty nice contrast to the idealism of Rick post-Carl.
2. Rick Grimes (Alive) of Alexandria. Rick is a natural leader who has guided his group through hell and back. He has led them through countless battles with the both the living and the dead is is still standing to tell the tale. But for how much longer?
Gene Page/AMC
1. King Ezekiel (Alive) of The Kingdom. His kingdom is gone thanks to the Saviors, but his legacy is still pretty solid. He kept that place going as long as he possibly could have, and he wasn't a coward when it came time to choose sides in the war with the Saviors.
Gene Page/AMC
1 of 15
TheWrap looks back at the heroic and villainous leaders on the hit AMC series
On "The Walking Dead," plenty have tried to lead, but few have been successful. Here we look back on all those who led others to safety -- or their graves.