The Walking Dead is set to return on February 12th with the back eight episodes of the seventh season, taking us to the 99th episode of the series’ run. Viewers should probably expect at least one or two character deaths along the way, but there’s one character that seems more destined to show up on The Talking Dead In Memoriam segment than others: Sasha Williams.
Sasha is a television-created character, so there’s little in the comics that might provide hints as to her fate in season seven. However, her character does have echoes of a comics character, Holly, who also dated Abraham Ford and died a particularly heartbreaking and gruesome death in this section of the comics.
Aside from her similarities to Holly, however, the more pressing concern for Sasha is that the actress who plays her, Sonequa Martin-Green, has another job lined up. She’ll be the lead in Star Trek: Discovery. CBS has already delayed its Star Trek debut until after the season finale of The Walking Dead because they don’t want fans to confuse lead actor Sonequa Martin-Green’s characters. While notices announcing the casting of Martin-Green were careful to stress that the production schedules of the two shows do not conflict, CBS was worried enough about character confusion to delay the release of Star Trek.
If they’re that worried about character confusion, it’s hard to imagine that they’d want Martin-Green to continue on with The Walking Dead for another season, not when she’s supposed to be the face of a series meant to help launch CBS All Access.
Scott Gimple, The Walking Dead showrunner, is not ruling it out, however. “Sonequa Martin-Green can do anything,” Gimple told Entertainment Weekly.
“I’ve seen her battle a horde of walkers this year while simultaneously battling a stomach flu that would have had most people crying in the dirt. She can fulfill the duties of a Lieutenant Commander on a Constitution-class starship whilst battling walkers, Saviors, and whatever gets in Sasha’s way. We’ve had to juggle before. I will certainly juggle for Star Trek any day of the week. Okay, maybe not on Sunday.”
That is presumably the company line for Gimple, who wouldn’t want to give anything away. However, the show doesn’t have much history with a cast regular working on two shows simultaneously. Lennie James, who plays Morgan, briefly pulled off the feat, shooting the British TV series Critical while also starring in The Walking Dead, but that series wound down as Morgan’s role beefed up. Meanwhile, Corey Hawkins — who plays Heath — managed only one appearance in the last 12 episodes after signing on as the lead in the 24 reboot for Fox (the character is currently MIA). Jon Bernthal (Shane) and David Morrissey (The Governor) also left the show soon after they were hired to play the lead in other series (both of those characters, however, were also scheduled to die in the comics).
More importantly, Sonequa Martin-Green does not sell Sasha’s continued existence on The Walking Dead as well as Gimple does. “Well, I can’t say anything,” she told EW. “I can say that the story is as impactful and powerful and dynamic as it always has been, and there’s nothing to worry about where that’s concerned.”
That’s exactly the kind of non-answer someone who was about to be killed off would give.
In other words, the odds of Sasha dying in the season finale have risen dramatically.
If she is killed off of The Walking Dead this season, I hope she has a chance to bookend Abraham’s final, heartbreaking message to her with her own set of double deuces.
(Via Enetertainment Weekly)
