Getting killed off of one of TV's hottest shows is something few actors would be readily excited about, but anyone who joins The Walking Dead knows that the gig might only be temporary. Still, that doesn't mean each and every death will feel particularly justified or emotionally pleasing. And former star Laurie Holden didn't mince her words recently when discussing the Season 3 death of her character Andrea, as well as what led up to it. Here's how she put it:
I think the departure from book Andrea to the screen was a mistake. I mean, it's not like I couldn't pull it off. I think the whole stuff that they wrote about Andrea and the Governor was complete and utter nonsense. I did the best that I could to tell that narrative and to justify it where Andrea kept her heart.
For those who need a brief recap, Andrea spent much of Season 3 within Woodbury's walls as a close confidante for The Governor, regardless of whether that actually made sense or not. As the season started to come to a close, Andrea became aware of her quasi-beau's overall plans to kill Rick's crew, but her attempts to warn everyone are thwarted, and she was put in The Governor's torture chamber, where a walker-fied Milton eventually chomped on her neck. She was at least given a somewhat honorable exit in taking herself out before turning into a zombie herself. Many fans felt it was a deserved death under the circumstances, as that small screen version of Andrea was miles away from the source material, but it looks like Laurie Holden wasn't too happy about the way any of it went down.
I doubt there will be a lot of comic readers disagreeing with Laurie Holden's sentiments, which she shared during a recent Walker Stalker Con event. After all, the comics' Andrea was always a morally grounded and dutiful character whose personality basically never strayed from the realm of heroism. So when the TV character first decided to stick around Woodbury to appeal to The Governor's more humane side, it was quite a kick in the teeth. And for anyone who blindly assumed she would later find her way back to being a badass, it was even more of a pisser when she was forced to spend multiple episodes tied to a chair before facing her death.
To be fair, Laurie Holden has appreciation for some details behind Andrea's death, but still doesn't like the way the character's story was gutted for TV. In her words:
I love Scott Gimple for giving me a gorgeous death with redemption so that you understood, and she wasn't a victim -- she died on her own terms. But I think that there was so much beautiful narrative that was lost, and that she should have been there for a long time and been the leader that [Robert] Kirkman created in the comic book.
It definitely seemed odd for The Walking Dead to kill off one of its female leads at that point, especially knowing how important Andrea got in the comics, both for the overall story and for Rick and Carl, with whom she eventually got familial with. Of course, the show basically slotted Michonne into that spot, with her warrior character taking on aspects of Andrea's storyline, from the Rick-lationship to the sharpshooting, so it's not like Andrea's presence was eradicated altogether. But still...Laurie Holden isn't the only one with regrets and thoughts about what might have been.
The Walking Dead is completely removed from the timeframe in which Andrea was a major player, and fans can find it kicking off Rick and Negan's All Out War when Season 8 hits AMC on Sunday, October 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Hit up our fall premiere schedule to see when everything else is hitting the small screen soon.
