The ‘Walking Dead’ Time Jump Will Have A Huge Effect On One Of The Show’s Main Characters

Maggie has been pregnant with her and Glenn’s child for [checks notes] six years now, but in the time jump-assisted ninth season of The Walking Dead, she’ll have finally given birth to baby Hershel (Lil’ Ass Kicker has been patiently waiting for a friend). Not only that, but her son will be about a year old, and “a big part of what Maggie is focusing on is building a world for him,” actress Lauren Cohan said on Talking Dead. “A big part of her conflict this year is finding peace of mind with allowing Negan to live, and being a good leader, a good mother, and how she’s going to let those two desires co-exist, essentially.”

New showrunner Angela Kang picked up where Cohan left off, telling Us Weekly that season nine will see Maggie as a “working mother” (and maybe the new villain). She continued, “She is an incredible leader of Hilltop. When we start off the season, Hilltop is in the best shape of all the communities. She really came in and her background as a farmer’s daughter is so valuable in the apocalypse. She has built Hilltop from what it already was into an even more thriving and dynamic community, but she’s actively mothering this beautiful child that we’ve all been waiting for, the son of Glenn. You see her balancing the things the way that working mothers do. I myself am a working mother and many of our viewers are. You figure out how to juggle. That’s part of her life.”

Another minor, but heartwarming change coming to The Walking Dead: Michonne will be wearing a part of Carl’s shirt in her hair. “What’s interesting about that little piece in her hair is that we talked about in the beginning of the season – myself and the actors – about different things that people have for memories,” Kang said. “A lot of our actors carry little mementos and things in their pockets, stuff that fans never see because it’s part of their internal thing that they’re doing. Some of our characters have little tokens on their costumes so they can carry those things that are important to them, those kind of daily reminders of why they do the things they do, why they fight, the things they do to stay alive.”

Michonne gets to honor her surrogate son, and Maggie doesn’t have to wear a fat suit. It’s a win-win! The Walking Dead returns on October 12.