Lauren Cohan Teases The Upcoming Confrontation Between Maggie And Rick On ‘The Walking Dead’

Aside from Andrew Lincoln’s confirmed departure from The Walking Dead after season nine, fans of AMC’s zombie series have also found themselves confronted by the reality that Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Rhee, is leaving, too. It’s especially intriguing since, at the end of season eight, Maggie and esteemed leader Rick Grimes (Lincoln) found themselves at odds over the fate of the villainous Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who brutally murdered Maggie’s husband, Glenn. Rick ultimately chose to spare him.

Speculation abounds about what will come of the rising tensions between Maggie and Rick. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cohan addressed the matter when asked about it, and while she obviously didn’t spoil any details, references to “revenge” and “justice” stand out:

I need to serve up to [Rick] my observation that his method of grief resolution isn’t the same as mine. He gets peace from doing what Carl wanted him to do, and that’s great, but that’s not doing anything for me. And how is Maggie going to pursue some kind of personal resolution We’re not saying it has to be revenge, but she definitely is still trying to find what it could be. Not revenge, but justice.

When pressed about whether Maggie’s feelings of resentment were aimed only at Rick, however, Cohan was cagey at best. “I’m not gonna say she’s holding on to things towards just Rick per se,” said the actress of her character, “but she is realizing that she has to rely on herself and she has to make a decision she believes in and let the chips fall where they may.”

The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season premiere on Sunday, October 7th at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.