-Tonight, we have an epic "Talking Dead," covering both
the midseason finale of "Fear The Walking Dead"
and the series finale of
"The Walking Dead: World Beyond."
Plus, later in the show,
we're gonna have a surprise guest
and a very big announcement you won't want to miss.
So on "Fear," we found out that not only did Alicia
get bitten by a walker,
she may actually still be sick from it,
and her reunion with Strand very quickly
turned into a declaration of war.
And over on "World Beyond," Huck sacrificed herself
to destroy the gas meant for the Portland community.
Elton got bit protecting Hope,
while Silas infiltrated the ranks of the CRM,
and Jadis proved once again
she might actually be the ultimate survivor
of the entire "Walking Dead" universe.
But will Iris be able to warn the Portland community
and thwart the CRM's evil plans,
and are we looking at a "Fear" civil war?
I hope you watched the post-credits scenes
on "World Beyond," because did we just see a faster
and stronger walker of some type?
So on the show tonight,
we've got not one but two In Memoriams,
plus an exclusive sneak peek of "The Walking Dead,"
which returns to AMC Sunday, February 20th.
My guests tonight are Lennie James, AKA Morgan,
Pollyanna McIntosh, who of course you know is Jadis,
executive producers Ian Goldberg and Matt Negrete,
and later, we will be joined
by an amazing surprise guest that you will not want to miss.
I am Chris Hardwick, and this is "Talking Dead."
[Cheers and applause]
♪
Hello.
"Talking Dead" water.
[Cheers and applause continue]
When host Chris Hardwick hydrates,
he drinks "Talking Dead" water, not available in stores.
The conversation is just beginning.
We want to hear from you.
Please tweet us, hit us up on Instagram, @AMCTalkingDead,
or go to "Talking Dead"'s Facebook page.
Please say hello to my guests,
Lennie James, Pollyanna McIntosh,
Ian Goldberg, Matt Negrete, who --
There he is. Popped up on the screen there.
[Cheers and applause]
So... -Hello.
-We -- We have a lot to cover in this show,
so I just want to get right into it.
Lennie, "Fear" this season has been, like, one long,
mega-apocalyptic action movie.
What has it been like for you?
-It's been like being in one long action movie.
[Laughter]
But it really has.
It's been -- It's -- Each time you open the script,
you're like, "What are they gonna get me --
Have me doing now?" -Right.
-And, you know, ginning up a post-apocalyptic car,
a Pinto, and jumping in and out of submarines
and riding and running and jumping.
It's been crazy.
-And so what does it mean to Morgan
now that Alicia has been bitten
and we see what she's been through?
She might still have some lingering thing going on.
-Morgan's frightened of very little,
but I think the two things
he's learned that he's very frightened of is
losing Alicia and losing Grace and Mo.
And those are the things he's been fighting for.
I think, you know, Morgan's been fighting for a future
for the people that he loves,
even though he might not be a part of it.
-Right.
-And -- And that -- The thing that he's been banking on
is that Alicia was gonna be there
to lead them beyond him doing his Moses bit.
-Right.
-And -- And the fact that she's been bitten
and the fact that -- that he might lose her,
I think it genuinely scares him to his bones.
-So, Ian, let's talk about the fact
that Alicia has been bitten.
It didn't kill her.
Is there anything that you can say about the bite?
Does she still have whatever this thing is?
Or what -- what can you --
what can you -- what are you allowed to say?
We are willing to say?
-Very little, of course.
[Laughter]
No, I mean, I think what's -- what's exciting
and -- and interesting about it all
is that what Alicia is grappling with
is something that's sort of unique in the universe
in the sense that we've seen people get bit
and sadly succumb to the bites.
We've seen people get bitten,
chop off a limb, and survive and be okay,
but Alicia is in this strange limbo where she -- she survived.
It's a while later now.
She's still going,
but she's sick, she's still getting fevers,
and she's not certain why or what's -- what's wrong with her.
It's sort of like a chronic condition
that she's dealing with now, and she's uncertain about
what -- what it is that she's got.
It could just be sepsis, as Will says to her
in the episode, or some other infection,
but I think what's most interesting
is that she has this kind of sword of Damocles
hanging over her now where, you know, her --
her fevers could get her at any moment
or she might come out the other side of it.
And it just makes her live with this ticking clock
and really just pushes her
in a way that she's perhaps never even been pushed.
-So we still don't know.
It could be like -- could be like Will said,
could be sepsis, could be some infection,
or it could just be some new iteration of what --
of this thing.
And we just don't know yet.
I mean, you know, but, of course,
you're not gonna say here on the show, damn it!
Let's talk about -- Let's jump over and talk about
"World Beyond" really quickly.
This is from SusansSymphony on Twitter.
"I'm so sad the series has come to an end.
I've fallen in love with these characters,"
and AnthonyRogueOne says,
"I want there to be a season three of 'World Beyond.'
It was so damn good."
Matt Negrete, congratulations on your two-season arc
of "The Walking Dead: World Beyond."
-Thank you. Thank you.
-It seems it really is kind of serving the function
of -- of setting up some things
for the "Walking Dead" universe as a whole.
It's planted some seeds for some things that
I assume will -- will come out later,
but none of these four leads became villains.
And I really thought -- I thought there was gonna be
some-someone kind of turning before the end.
Was that always part of the plan?
-Yeah. You know, it's -- it's funny.
When Scott and I first started talking about
what we wanted the show to be, it really was talking about
the idea that some of these characters
could become heroes and some could become villains,
and, you know, I'll say that there was definitely a villain
who became a hero in Huck.
But I wouldn't necessarily say
that they're all on the path to being heroes.
You know, it's interesting.
With Silas, I think
he's a little different than the others.
He's alone, he's in his own place,
and he definitely wants to be a hero.
But he's essentially gone undercover in the CRM
to try to get word to the right people
about what the military's done, but Jadis is on to him.
You know, she is very smart, as we've seen,
and she's very cunning
and she can be very manipulative.
And I think in a lot of ways, Jadis gets what she wants,
and so when we see Silas at the end there,
when he's got his full uniform on
and he flips his helmet down, he's in full-on soldier mode.
But we don't know where his true a-alliance
or his true allegiance really is,
so that, I would say, is a little bit
it remains to be seen.
So is he gonna be a hero?
Is he gonna be a villain?
And that's, to me, at least,
a question mark hanging over his fate.
-Yeah, and a-all these different "Walking Dead" shows
are essentially just different chapters
in this kind of overarching story
of like what's happening in this world,
what's happening in this universe.
And it seems like there's still a lot of stories left to tell,
but in the -- in the little bit of time that we have left
before we have to jump to commercial, Jadis reactions.
It's so wonderful to see you in person.
Congratulations on coming back to the show.
-Thank you. -You were fantastic, Pollyanna.
-Thank you. -SkymiiboTWD on Twitter says,
"Jadis has now become one of my favorite
'Walking Dead' universe characters to ever exist.
Pollyanna portrays her absolutely perfectly.
No one could do it like she does."
Mariannerox1 says, "Jadis is killing it.
Love the crossover from 'The Walking Dead.'
Pollyanna McIntosh rocks,"
And from CosplayCraziness, "Pollyanna,
what were your thoughts when you saw yourself
in the new CRM outfit?"
This new iteration of Jadis?
-Yeah. Dun dun dun.
I mean, what incredible costuming
they did -- they did with these characters
and for this wor-- this world that we're in,
and for me, it was like just bloody hot,
really, really boiling.
And trying to go for a pee on set was a whole thing
because there's so many layers,
but that's because they made it so well.
And, you know, it worked, so, it looks so good.
But that's scuba -- it's scuba fabric, you know,
and it's ridged scuba fabric.
So it's like having five or six wet suits on at the same time.
But it looked great, so who cares?
And it was really interesting, as well,
like, getting into the suit, the layers coming on.
It started for me with the hair.
I wanted to give you all another lovely haircut
that you could all enjoy how awful I looked.
-It was amazing. Honestly amazing.
-So I asked for a shave, you know,
to go around the side for the military element,
and then a sort of nod to Joan of Arc, as well,
because Jadis really thinks she's doing the right thing.
And, you know, it worked out, and together in the CRM uniform,
just thought, "Here we go. Crossing over."
-It was perfect,
and there's so much more to talk about
and just talk about Jadis' evolution
throughout "The Walking Dead" universe.
But coming up, we're gonna have a sneak peek
of "The Walking Dead" when it comes back in February,
we're gonna talk about the post-credits scene
in "World Beyond,"
and the surprise guest and the big announcement.
But first, before you jump off a cliff
rather than talk to an old friend,
let's slow things down and say a final farewell
to all those we've lost tonight on "Fear the Walking Dead."
♪
[Walkers growling]
♪
-This whole first half of the season,
Strand has committed himself to keep Alicia away
because he wanted to preserve the best parts of herself,
and I think it starts to work on him
throughout the first half of the season.
He finally admits it to himself, and so he seeks her out.
And by then, it becomes a little too late.
You know, he doesn't know what her journey has been,
what she's had to do to survive, what has happened to her.
He believes that, "Oh, there's a sign.
It must have brought you here,
and this is why we belong together.
Can't you see?"
And now it looks like they're going to war,
and that is not what either of them wanted to do
but seems to be the only thing that they can do.
And neither one of them gonna back down.
♪
[Cheers and applause]
-Welcome back to "Talking Dead."
That was the amazing Colman Domingo
on the pending war between Strand and Alicia.
We're back with Lennie, Pollyanna, Ian, and Matt.
Lennie, what was -- we talked about this a bit last week.
Some of us were surprised that Morgan was the one
who tried to poison Strand.
We were pretty shocked. Were you?
Did you feel like this was within the realm
of what Morgan would do?
-I did. I thought it was a really good example
of where Morgan is now and -- and how he shifted.
I mean, Morgan who walked out of Virginia
would never have seen himself doing this about,
you know, surreptitiously getting into someplace
and trying to kill -- kill some--
cold-bloodedly kill somebody. -Yeah.
-Where he is now, where this world is now,
the level at which they've got to survive,
and what he is now protecting,
yeah, he wants him dead and he wants him dead with blue liquid.
[Laughter]
-It's got to be blue liquid. -It's got to be blue liquid.
-It's so medieval.
Like, he basically has a kingdom and a castle.
-Yeah.
-And there is an attempted poisoning.
Like, it definitely -- -It's -- It's what --
I loved it, as well.
I loved kind of playing it because...I wanted it --
I wanted to play in a way
that if you go back and watch the episode,
you can see him putting it all together
and deciding what he's doing and when he's gonna do it
and when he clocks the blue and how -- and how it happens.
[Stammers]
When we -- When I was working on it with the director,
I was like, "Tell me when he does it.
Tell me when he realizes it. Tell me when he makes the --
Let's decide when he makes the decision,
and then let's bury it."
And then you go back and you see it, you can see it.
-So it is in there. -It's in there.
It really is in there. -That's really cool.
And talking about Strand and Alicia
and expanding this out, is this just a war between them,
or is this expanding to a bigger thing that's about to happen?
-It's expansive.
I mean, they're -- they're at the core of it,
and Morgan, you know,
obviously falls on the Alicia side of that equation.
But I think what we're excited about
and what we'll see in the second half of the season
is where the battle lines get drawn in surprising ways,
both the people that are inside Strand's tower
and those on the outside, and war and the prospect of it
and what people stand to gain and lose
creates some surprising decisions.
And I won't say anything beyond that,
but it -- it does go well beyond Alicia and Strand.
-And I think your allegiance and your loyalties
is a bit like Morgan ending up being the one
who's tried to poison -- poison Strand.
It's gonna be tested.
-Well, this idea of allegiances is so fluid, right?
Because Huck turns on Jadis the way Jadis turned on Rick.
You know, so are there -- Is t-- Is his loyalty a thing?
How did you -- How did you feel about that?
I mean, obviously in her case, it's like,
"Hey, I don't want it to be this way,
but I got to preserve this overall thing."
-Yeah, I think -- I think loyalty
is -- is a massive theme of this universe,
and I think it's a fascinating one to explore.
I think what's so cool about the moment you mentioned
with Huck when she turns on Jadis,
and that it is a bit of a callback,
I feel like, to Jadis turning on Rick
in -- in Alexandria.
Matt's nodding away.
I didn't think of it at the time,
but I think that's one of the, again,
the great things about this universe is just
there's -- there's always so many layers to everything.
There's always something for the fans to look out for.
You know, there's always something to be interpreted
the way the fans want to interpret it, as well.
I mean, for me, you know, Jadis turned on Rick
because she needed to do that.
She needed to do that for -- for her reasons
and for her right reasons, in my opinion,
and -- and Huck in the same way
had to do it for -- for her people.
So it's just there's no black and white good guys,
bad guys in this world.
You know, there's -- It's so layered,
and it makes me proud to be part of it.
-It is, but there was that really magical moment
during the arrest at the end where she said --
where she basically says, "Oh, there it is."
It's really kind of about your, you know.
-Yeah, but the colonel is also a, um, narcissist, as well.
[Laughter]
-So it's not really right or wrong.
Um, Matt, when Huck's husband talks about his CRM buddy,
is this -- is this a "Fear" callback, a cross-reference?
-Yeah, it 100% is that.
Like, you know, I know we all remember,
I think it was Season 5 of "Fear,"
we learned that Beckett was a helicopter pilot for the CRM,
and -- and he talked about this cabin
that his family had in the Smokies.
And, you know, we later went on to see that Isabelle killed him
and then went on a relationship --
have a relationship with Al, but, like, long story short,
we really felt like it was important to show
that there is this connectivity between the shows.
It's all part of this one universe,
and the CRM has had its hands in all three of the shows
in some respect.
And if you think about,
you know, a character like Dennis,
he goes back to the beginning of this year and he was a soldier,
he would have probably crossed paths with with Beckett,
and so it was a nice way to kind of show that,
yeah, all of these shows, while very separate
in lot of ways, are also very much connected.
-Well, coming up, we're gonna discuss the post-credit scene
after "World Beyond" tonight featuring Dr. Jenner
from way back in "The Walking Dead" Season 1.
We're gonna be joined by our surprise guest
with a big announcement,
but first, before you get that military bowl cut,
let's slow things down and say a final farewell
to all those we've lost tonight on "World Beyond."
[Laughter]
♪
-I'm proud of you.
You're the future, kid.
Never forget that.
♪
-Don't carry this.
♪
And remember, no matter what they tell you...
you're not one of them.
♪
[Cheers and applause]
-Welcome back to "Talking Dead,"
and now it is time to reveal the surprise guest
we've been teasing.
Surprise guest, please be revealed!
Kim Dickens, ladies and gentlemen!
Kim Dickens!
[Cheers and applause]
Kim...I imagine...
Kim, since you're here,
you might as well announce the thing.
What's going on?
-Well, I just wanted to say, um, Madison is back.
-Yes!
[Cheers and applause]
Welcome back.
So, Madison is coming back to "Fear the Walking Dead."
We can confirm this.
-We can confirm it. She's alive.
-I'm very glad to hear this,
despite the fact that I feel like when Madison
"supposedly" died on the show a few seasons ago, I was like,
"Wait, so Madison's dead?" "Yep, she's dead."
But no, she's not. Here she is.
How long have you had this secret that you been keeping?
-I-I've had the secret, I think, probably since this whole year.
Like, the end of last year, I got a text from Colman,
who was on set, and it said, "Girl, you need to call me."
So I called him, and he was on set.
I said, "Why? What's going on?"
And he goes, "Well, someone's asking about you on set,"
and I was like, "Why are they asking about me?"
So turns out they were sort of, you know, trying to gauge
my temperature and sort of, you know, availability
for a conversation with them, and I said, "Absolutely."
So we all talked.
Ian, Andrew, and Scott and I Zoomed early January,
and -- and they gave me their pitch.
And I was more excited than I even imagined I would be,
so we've known for -- for almost the whole year.
-Well, I am so -- I'm so glad,
and it's so good that you didn't shoot,
like, a close-up death scene for Madison seasons ago...
-Yeah, me, too.
-...that it was sort of open-ended.
A lot of people since that happened have saying,
you know, the fans are like, "Please bring Madison back.
Please bring Madison back,"
so what went into this decision and how did you manifest it?
-Well -- -You know, from from Day 1 of --
Kim, you do you want to go first?
-I'm sorry. -No.
-No, no, no, please. -Okay.
-I'm not used to being a mystery guest.
[Laughter]
-You're not a mystery guest anymore.
Now you're -- Now you're just -- Now you're the guest.
Now you're our celebrity guest. Ian?
-You know, from -- from Day 1 of the series,
Madison Clark has been the beating heart,
lifeblood, emotional epicenter of this show.
She's a warrior, a hero,
and the way that the story went in Season 4,
we always saw as the end of one chapter,
a very important chapter in the Madison Clark story
and one that had huge ripple effects on the characters
that survived her.
And her influence continued to be felt
in a very big way, even in her absence,
and we always knew that while it was the end of that chapter,
there was more to be written in the book of Madison Clark.
And there were many more chapters that we wanted to tell,
and it was about aligning the stars
and making sure it was the right story
at the right time to -- to honor the character
and to bring her back in a way that was surprising
and new and exciting.
And we found the moment
and honestly could not be more excited to have Kim back.
-It's not a flashback, right? She's back back.
-Oh, she's back. -Okay, good, good, good.
Make sure you're not trying to pull a fast one on me, Ian!
-No, I will not be coy here.
-Because I'm very excited that Kim Dickens is back on the show.
Lennie, what does it mean for you to have --
to have her back, to have Madison back?
-I said this to Kim.
It's like a tick on my bucket list
because I get to work with her,
because we -- when I came over from -- from "Walking Dead,"
we didn't -- didn't get a chance to work together,
and part of the thing I was excited about
when coming over was working with Kim.
So I get to do that now, so, um, I'm a happy fella.
-Kim, thoughts on what has happened on "Fear"
since Madison's absence?
-Well, I was able to tune in in Season 7,
and I just think it's -- it's gone epic beyond epic.
It's incredible to watch.
It's -- It's, like, visually stunning,
and the work that everyone's doing
is so exciting and impressive.
And I watched it, and I was like,
"Well, that looks like a show I'd really like to be on,"
so it's gonna be fun to go back
and -- and work with all the new characters
and -- and find out what's happened.
And I don't know.
I'm a little nervous
about that war between two of my favorites.
-Well, I'm just -- I'm so excited to have you back.
Do you have any words for the fans
who for these last few years
have kept "bring back Madison Clark" trending?
-Yeah, I mean, in the last few years,
I've been able to seize a lot of that support online,
and I just want those fans to know
that it -- it's really meant the world to me,
and I think it probably had -- made a significant impact
on my being able to come back.
But it really just warmed my heart
that -- that they had such passion
for the show and for the character,
and it's -- it's -- I just want to say thank you.
-Is there anything you can tease about what we can expect
from Madison's return?
-[Chuckles] Come on.
-I'm just trying!
I always ask because I hope that someone, like, slips up
and, you know, something comes out,
but is there anything just --
-You want me to slip up?
It's so much pressure.
I think it's just -- it's like Madison 2.0.
I mean, a lot has obviously probably happened to her, right?
-Alright. -There'll be a lot to unload.
-Okay, that's a good answer. That's a good -- That's --
That's the best we can expect.
Can't give anything away, I know.
I know I always ask.
I apologize, but, Kim,
I want to thank you so much for joining us.
I'm excited to have you back on "Fear the Walking Dead,"
and I look forward to seeing you here in person next year.
Thank you so much for your return,
and thank you so much for joining us today.
-It's been a blast. Thank you. I'm so happy to be back.
-Great to see you.
Please, a huge round of applause for Kim Dickens!
Not a flashback...confirmed by Ian Goldberg right here.
When we come back, we have a message from Scott Gimple
about the post-credit scene from "World Beyond"'s season finale.
We'll be right back on "Talking Dead."
[Cheers and applause]
-[Speaking French]
[Gunshot]
-I want to know more about these "variant cohorts"
you referred to in our last communication.
We haven't seen anything like that seen here at all,
nothing close.
I hope this finds you as well as you can be.
I hope you don't lose faith.
The day will come when we are going to beat this thing.
At least, that's what the "other Dr. Jenner"
keeps telling me.[Growling]
And as you know, she's smarter than me.
Solidarité. A bientôt.
♪
-Welcome back to "Talking Dead.
That was a portion of the post-credits scene
at the end of the "World Beyond" series finale,
showing a very fast-moving and strong walker.
Um, it's time now to read a statement from Scott M. Gimple
about that coda.
This is from Scott.
"The coda after 'World Beyond' had everything to do
with the past and future of 'The Walking Dead' universe.
There is another big story
that will be told relating to that scene,
and we can't wait to start showing it to the world.
The universe is unfolding, and to that end,
hopefully, this is not the last we've seen of the characters
from 'World Beyond' or of Jadis.
This is a big story,
and in some ways, it's hopefully just starting.
Big thanks Noah Emmerich, who played Dr. Jenner,
for coming back in this world,
and thank you to everybody who is taking this journey with us.
It's going to go to some places
and with some people you'd never expect."
So that is -- uh, that is from Scott M. Gimple.
Matt, is there anything that you want to add
about the post-credit sequence?
-Oh, uh, that's a great question.
I'm probably gonna take a cue from the book of Mr. Gimple
and -- and not be too specific in my answer, you know,
but -- but I'll say that there's a lot packed into those --
those last five minutes.
There's a lot of clues in there, so I would say
if you've just seen that coda once,
you probably haven't gotten
the whole -- the whole thing from it.
So I would suggest watching it a few times.
Turn on your closed captioning, open up your Google translator,
and -- and see what you learn
because there's -- like I said, there's a lot packed in there.
-Excellent. So, this is fast-walker reactions.
SherlockNorms on Twitter,
"The post-credits scene in 'World Beyond'
just changed 'The Walking Dead' universe forever."
Muted Jack on Twitter says, "'World Beyond' just pulled
'World War Z' the movie out of the bag.
Damn!
Guess the Americas have had it easy so far."
But we had -- We did see early on in the series
of the first "Walking Dead" show,
there were some walkers that had some motor skills,
although this is -- this is pretty fast-moving
that we've seen here.
Lennie, with all of Morgan's fighting skills,
is he ready for a fast-moving walker?
-I can't wait.
[Laughter]
I'm like, "Bring it on."
I've been waiting for walkers to catch up...
for years.
I'm like, I stand there waiting for them to come,
stick a stick out,
wait for another one to come, back it in.
-They -- They are shockingly -- -I want them running at me
so I can swing and take them all out at speed.
-They are shockingly fast
because it's like they turn -- and, like, they don't --
we don't see them move fast, but it always happens
on this show like, "I wiped them all out.
Anyway, I think we should go. Aah!"
And then like right there. Like, where did they come from?!
-They only -- They only move fast when you're not looking.
-Yeah, when you're not looking.
-But I can see them coming.
-They're like the Weeping Angels in "Doctor Who."
They just, like, they move real fast
when you're not looking at them, maybe.
-I'm really looking forward
to killing some fast-moving walkers.
-This is from LawrenceBoydsMom1720
on Instagram.
Pollyanna, did Jadis save Rick because she cared
or because she needed a way into the CRM?
I feel like she alluded to this in the last episode, but what --
-Can it not be both, guys? Can it not be both?
-Can it be both?
-I mean, she -- she -- she spent a lot of time with Rick.
She has a lot of respect for him.
She had a lot of -- lot of -- a lot of care for him,
and -- and I feel it was
a genuine response to his situation.
And then, "How am I gonna save him?
How am I gonna get him on there? I'm gonna say this.
This is how it's gonna work," you know,
and I don't think she was thinking as far ahead
as getting into the CRM.
I think she was thinking about getting out of there,
getting to a safer place,
and getting him to a safer place.
And then, like Jadis does, from that point forward,
she has to, uh, keep doing what's right in her world view.
-Yeah, I mean, she can do anything, really.
She can infiltrate anywhere.
She literally turned a junkyard into a home.
Like, she's -- she's managed all these different groups.
Like, she really is a formidable force in this universe,
and it's been so fun to see her come back
and, you know, join this other show
and hopefully moving forward.
Ian, what can you say about Al's whereabouts in "Fear"?
-Well, the episode that we saw her in with Isabelle, 706,
is the last time we're gonna see Al on "Fear"
for the foreseeable future.
We really wanted to give her that rarest of things
in the "Walking Dead" universe, which is a-a happy ending,
you know, so we got very excited and thought that, you know,
we're just thrilled with how the episode turned out
and her reunion with Isabelle,
and then just sort of deciding to throw caution to the wind
and embrace their love for each other
and hit the -- hit the -- the wild blue yonder
of whatever comes next.
But they're out there,
and we hope that there's more story.
There ismore story to tell with them,
and we hope that, uh, we get to see more of them.
But for now, that's -- that's Al's goodbye.
-Well, then as -- then, what we should absolutely do
is have a huge hand for Maggie Grace.
-Yes. Yes.
-Phenomenal.
And I do hope we get to see her again at some point.
Pollyanna, what was the significance
of Jadis taking the last name Stokes on "World Beyond"?
-Well, Gabriel Stokes was someone who she did --
yeah, remember him? -Interesting.
Yes, interesting.
-Was someone who she had
a genuine relationship with, I feel,
and if she could have been a Mrs. anything,
it would have been a Mrs. Gabriel Stokes, I believe.
But with Jadis, there's always a bit of wit and irony,
and I kind of giggled a bit when I saw that, as well,
because her being a wife
and settled at this point in her life,
it would just not -- not Jadis at all anymore, you know?
So it's part paying homage to him.
It's part survival again
because she doesn't want to give anything away
and tell anyone what her real anything is.
And then I think there's a little bit
of a reminder of like, you don't -- of the wit part
of you don't get to do that anymore.
You don't get to settle down and be Mrs. anybody.
You don't get to -- you know?
-The thing I love so much --
One of the things I love so much about Jadis
is how consistently efficient she is at taking what she needs.
Like, the idea that we first
saw her kind of running this junkyard colony
and taking bits and pieces of what they needed,
being able to --
and kind of scavenging and forming something,
that's what she has continue to do,
even with taking the names, taking the uniforms,
taking the haircuts.
-Yeah. Yeah. -That's what she's masterful at.
-Taking the haircuts. -Taking the haircuts.
Taking the haircuts.
Before we go to break, I do want to show you all this.
This is the "Walking Dead" sherpa blanket,
featuring Morgan and Strand, which I think this is
one of my favorite artworks
from the entire "Walking Dead universe,"
and you can go to TWDUShop.com to pick one up for yourself.
It's very cozy! Look at this on the other side.
Now it's winter. Oh, it's time for this!
And of course, everyone in the studio audience
will get one to take home with you.
Coming up, we have the exclusive sneak peek
of "The Walking Dead," which returns February 20th,
I've been promising.
We'll be right back. We'll see you in a minute.
[Cheers and applause]
♪
-Hi, I'm Nate from Kansas,
and I love the "Walking Dead" universe.
I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism
when I was 8 years old,
and I just will always love the show for,
you know, supporting the idea of just diversity
and bringing characters like Elton and Eugene.
And my favorite character is Morgan Jones
because I think Morgan is the definition of change
in the "Walking Dead" universe.
He has changed and evolved and developed
so many times in this universe,
more than any other character I've ever seen.
I just want to thank everyone
who helped bring "The Walking Dead" to life,
and I can't wait to see what happens next for Morgan
in the "Walking Dead" universe.
[Cheers and applause]
-Welcome back to "Talking Dead."
That was this week's featured fan,
Nate Hawthorne, on what "The Walking Dead" means to him,
and if you would like a chance to be featured
on "Talking Dead" like Nate, send us a 30-second video
of yourself explaining how "The Walking Dead"
has impacted you at fansubmission@talkingdead.TV.
And now Nate is gonna ask a question via video,
so let's roll it.
-My question is for Lennie.
Do you have a favorite moment
from the episode you directed this season?
-That is a great question. -Oh, wow.
-That is a really fantastic question.
-What a fantastic question.
I am -- I actually -- I'm not --
am I allowed to say I directed two episodes this season?
-As long as you don't spoil the second.
-I guess you just can't say what your favorite moment is
from the one that hasn't aired.
-From the one that hasn't been out.
There is the scene -- There's one scene that I --
I said I loved, which is it's the scene with Sherry
and -- and Dwight around the table with Alicia's character,
and -- and it's where he recognizes her
as being the big wrestler in my episode.
And -- And he just laughs his ass off,
if you don't mind me saying that,
and he acts like a 12-year-old boy.
And it's not what Dwight usually gets to do.
It's not what we normally see him doing,
and he -- and Austin, when he was doing it,
exploded while he was doing it.
And he was so full of joy,
and -- and I had said to him -- my note to him was like,
"You are a 12-year-old boy who's just met your hero."
And that's what he did, and he did it to the nth degree,
and it was just beautiful to watch.
And it was lovely being in the room and seeing that happen,
but for Dwight as a character, for us to see the joy in him,
I just thought it was -- thought it was beautiful.
And it was one of the moments I absolutely loved.
-First, you directed the episode with Aisha Tyler.
-I did. Yeah. -That was a great episode,
and the -- and the -- the wrestling,
like, all the wrestling moves.
-And they kept the tune that I picked in "Welcome to Jamrock."
They kept that in for the -- for the kind of sequence,
and I had thought that that's the, you know,
her and, you know, her and her husband
when they walked into the ring, that's the tune
that they would -- would have playing, so --
and it was just it was a fun episode.
It was a heartbreaking episode,
but it was also an episode that I love
because it was one that fed into one of the things
I think "Fear" does really well,
which is to tell its love stories.
And I think that this was a really good love-story episode
because you had this sadness of Aisha's character's love story,
but you also had the growing of Sherry and Dwight's love story
and there being a new chapter and the birth of the Dark --
The Dark Horses.
And it was a lot of fun to do,
and it was great working with Christine and Austin and Aisha.
-Matt, what went into the decision to have Elton
get bitten in one of those last moments?
-Yeah, it was -- it was interesting watching
this episode of "Fear" this week.
It's almost like there was a theme night of farewell --
farewell to arms, almost.
Like, it was just interesting that they both lost --
both lost their -- their left arms,
but, you know, I'll say for -- for Elton,
it was really about cementing his arc
for the season and for the series.
You know, he started off as this observer of the world,
and he was really more of a participant
than he was a part of the world.
And, you know, ultimately, you know,
he went through a lot with Hope, and he learned a lot
and he learned a lot through Asha, as well.
And so it was really about him coming to the realization
that it's not so much about the facts
and knowing everything about the world.
It's really about those little moments,
how they stack up to a life, and really the fact
that there is no beginning and there is no end.
It's really about making the most of every --
every moment you have, and -- and so that was part of it.
And also, I just -- I loved the idea of ending the series
seeing Elton looking badass with one arm, so...
-Well, before we go to break,
I want to remind you to go to AMCPlus.com
for early access to the shows you love.
When we come back, we'll have that "Walking Dead" sneak peek.
We'll be right back on "Talking Dead."
[Cheers and applause]
♪
-Welcome back to "Talking Dead."
It is now time for our exclusive sneak peek
of the next episode of "The Walking Dead."
Check it out.
[Whistle blowing]
♪
-We need to get to the window!
[Walker growling]
♪
If we could reach this, but it's too high.
-No! [Screams]
♪
[Indistinct shouting]
♪
-Oh, come on!
You know, people say if anything happens to Daryl, we riot.
I think if anything happens to Judith, we riot.
So we got to -- We got to --
We got to wait 'til February, but really quickly,
Ian, what can you tease about Season 7 of "Fear"
for the second part?
-Well, now I can say
we will be seeing the return of Kim Dickens
as Madison Clark.
-That must be nice to be able to say that.
-Yeah, yeah, that's -- that's pretty exciting,
and, of course, we also have what was promised
at the end of 708,
which is this impending civil war
between Alicia and Morgan and Strand
for -- for control of the tower and how all the battle lines
will be drawn accordingly on both sides.
So lots of lots of exciting stuff.
-Well, we have less than a minute.
I just want to say congratulations, Matt Negrete,
on two seasons of "World Beyond."
Fantastic job, and again,
not a traditional series ending in the sense
that it's a chapter in this larger universe.
So great job.
It's been so wonderful to get to know you,
and thank you for everything.
-Thank you so much. Yeah, no.
Thank you, and thanks to the fans who watched the show.
And I also want to say thank you to the cast, the crew,
just everybody who made the show possible.
It's been the hardest thing I've ever done
but also the most rewarding, and I couldn't have done --
done it without everybody who played some part in it.
So thank you, and I look forward
to hopefully seeing these characters again
in some iteration at some point in the future.
-Thank you so much, and thank you to all my guests.
Thank you for watching.
Happy holidays, and I'll see you in February!
So much! So excited!
Have a great everything! Bye-bye!
[Cheers and applause]