The world of The Walking Dead got a lot bigger in Season 7 thanks to the introduction of new groups of survivors hailing from places like The Kingdom and Oceanside. The biggest wild card group had the be the Scavengers, who are based out of a junkyard and are led by Jadis. Actress Pollyanna McIntosh recently spoke with CinemaBlend's own Adam Holmes, and she had this to say about why Jadis and the Scavengers are so strong as a community:
It's something that we've created from nothing, so we know our worth and our value and our capacity. We've created it as a community together, so we also have been bonded and strengthened by that. We've made use of what's there and we've made it better, which is a big theme of the whole story. And we're safe, we're very well protected with the hive situation that we have and we're very well organized. I think it also puts people off their guard when they come to us, that we live in this situation, but there's nothing less clean about it than any other place.
We still don't know too much about the Scavengers other than the facts that they're led by Jadis, are unafraid to double-cross their allies, and have found a way to not die of tetanus despite being based in a junkyard. The one thing that is quite clear from the show (and from what else Pollyanna McIntosh told CinemaBlend) is that the Scavengers are an adaptable bunch who aren't afraid to cross lines and change tacks if that's what it takes to survive. Sure, they live in a junkyard in the zombie apocalypse, but their lots in life don't seem all that terrible by Walking Dead standards.
Of course, given the events of the Season 7 finale, they may be a little less safe moving forward. Pollyanna McIntosh already explained why Jadis doesn't regret betraying Rick, so Rick and Co. may come to consider the Scavengers just as bad as the Saviors. The alliance of Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom at the end of Season 7 means that Rick likely has a formidable fighting force to command, and while they'll undoubtedly focus their energies on the Saviors as they go to war, they may be willing to take the time to go after the Scavengers.
All things considered, Jadis should probably be glad that Michonne survived her brutal encounter with one of the Scavengers. The retribution from the Grimes boys would be swift and absolute if the Scavengers' betrayal resulted in Michonne's death. Luckily for everybody, Michonne was still alive (if a bit bloodied) at the end of the finale, and even Danai Gurira's Avengers casting doesn't mean that something bad will happen to Michonne.
Unfortunately, we're still months away from seeing everybody go to war on The Walking Dead. I wouldn't bet against Rick and Co. (not least because they have a tiger), but Negan still has quite an arsenal of weapons and plenty of people to wield them back at The Sanctuary, and who knows how many people Jadis actually has huddling among the junk? Even if Negan might not be around as much in the beginning of the season, we're probably in for plenty of action right off the bat.
Swing by our breakdown of what we know so far about The Walking Dead Season 8 for a peek ahead, and don't forget to check out our summer TV guide and 2017 Netflix premiere schedule to discover all your viewing options while we wait to return to the zombie apocalypse on AMC this fall.
