If you caught The Walking Dead’s new episode, Who Are You Now, on Sunday night, you might have been a little surprised by a couple of things. This was the first episode post-Rick’s “death.” Six years had passed by that brought on some new faces as well as familiar ones.
One scene, in particular, may have shocked viewers. Michonne and Rick supposedly had a son together, R.J. “We talked at the beginning of the season about what happens after war,” showrunner Angela Kang tells The Hollywood Reporter. “One of the things you often see is baby booms. It’s sign of hopefulness. We wanted to show that Rick and Michonne were committed to each other, fully. They hadn’t gotten married the way others had; there was no proposal, no ring. And yet, they’re the couple who are completely committed to each other. It seemed like a sign of their commitment and their optimism for the future. They believed they could bring a new child into this world and they could make the world better for that child.”
Rick and Michonne wanted a child, whereas, back in the earlier seasons it was not a welcomed idea. “It’s very different from when Lori [Sarah Wayne Callies] was pregnant at a very different time in the apocalypse,” she continues. “Back then, they were worried that the baby wouldn’t even survive. It made sense because it was all so fresh and new. If their baby cries, what happens to her, or to us? Michonne and Rick lived in a very different time, and we wanted to show that.”
Angela Kang is living up to her ideas of a fresh, new show. The time jumps have set the course for a new beginning. The zombies are now evolving. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Watch the trailer below for next Sunday’s episode on AMC at 9/8c.