Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead episode "Scars." Read at your own risk!
The latest episode of The Walking Dead finally answered its big mystery about Michonne and Daryl's X scars, but that definitely wasn't the only interesting bit concerning Alexandria's leader. During a frank discussion she had with Lydia, whom Michonne welcomed into the community, it almost sounded like The Walking Dead already started planting seeds for Danai Gurira's eventual exit. For those who need a refresher on what she'd said, take a look below.
I’ve done things to protect this place. Some things I’m not proud of; some I try to forget. To save my people, I’ve had to risk others. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s what I had to do. I’ve made my peace with that. Might be easier if the only life I had to risk was my own. If I could just walk away and take all the risk with me. If that could somehow make everyone else safe, that wouldn’t be so hard. Think about that.
At first, it sounded like she was simply telling Lydia that Alexandria would be better off without her. She was definitely doing that, as evidenced by her hard stare at Lydia, but this also might've been early foreshadowing for what would need to happen for Michonne to leave Alexandria, to coincide with Gurira's absence.
In the first place, if Michonne was in a position where removing herself from Alexandria would truly make it a safer place, she'd assumedly leave without hesitating. Is it possible that Michonne could draw such a threat where her leaving Alexandria is the only way to solve the conflict? If that isn't the case, is this a hint that Michonne could be ready to take Judith and R.J. and walk away from all the other threats?
After seeing Michonne stick it out after that ugly incident that gave her those scars, it's hard to believe she wouldn't stay the course through any dangerous situations that put her friends and family at risk. Especially now that Judith reminded her that she doesn't need to keep others away on such a long-term basis.
An exception to that might be if Michonne leaves after discovering something new connected to Rick; at least, another clue besides his gun, which she's keeping in a box with Judith's name on it. If we can be sure of one thing, it's that she won't tell Negan about any of those potential discoveries.
Of course, there's more than one way to leave The Walking Dead, and though we all saw how things ended up for beloved characters like Carl, we probably shouldn't plan on Michonne biting the dust in the nearest future. Everyone gets unlucky eventually, but it's presumed that Danai Gurira will likely return for Rick's standalone movie after she leaves the TV show.
Whether or not it was intentionally written to give Michonne a reason to walk away from her current state of life – it's unclear how long she'd made her intentions to leave known – it could certainly be interpreted that way. We'll definitely be listening closely to Michonne's dialogue in the next two episodes to see if any other clues can be found.
The Walking Dead airs new episodes on AMC Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Keep up with CinemaBlend as the season continues for more updates and analysis, as well as the latest on Danai Gurira's status with the show, and how long she may be around in Season 10. For more on Season 9, be sure to read our helpful guide on the fair, and why it's such a place of importance in the comics.
