"It Was Strange Timing”: Lauren Cohan Reveals ‘The Walking Dead’ Moment She Couldn’t Wrap Her Head Around in New “I’ve Never Said This Before” Episode [Exclusive]

The Walking Dead star Lauren Cohan has been through a lot during the franchise’s time on air — both through her character’s storyline and the actress’s personal professional journey. Ahead of her conversation with host Tommy DiDario on his I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario podcast, Collider is excited to share a sneak peek of their interaction during which the performer shares one of the most head-scratching scenes during her run on the flagship series.

The moment in question takes place after she and her character’s partner, Glenn (Steven Yeun), make their way out of the brutal clutches of The Governor (David Morrissey). While Glenn was badly beaten by The Governor and his followers, Maggie was nearly raped by the leader in one of the most sadistic and hard-to-watch scenes from the show’s 11-season run. On the podcast, Cohan recalls thinking that the reunion scene that followed felt like an odd choice, explaining,

“There was a storyline where after Maggie has this interaction with The Governor, and it’s not a pleasant interaction… It’s funny, I have never talked about this before… I didn’t think her and Glenn would have this moment of passion that they had afterwards, because I felt like it was strange timing. I still don’t know how I feel about it.”

Even though the intimate moment felt like it might be out of place and not true to how a victim in Maggie’s shoes would handle and process the assault, Cohan added that she was ultimately happy for the chance to show some love on a series that was so focused on death.

“But I do know that the scene and Glenn and Maggie having that moment I am very, very glad of because there is so little tenderness in the show. It was a celebration to see that couple to be together in that way and their whole storyline — falling in love and the passionate things that came with that. But I do remember at the time being like ‘She just went through this ordeal with The Governor, is that where her brain is going to go to having this relation with her husband?’”

 

The Difficulties of Saying Goodbye

Like other shows such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead was a title where even the most beloved characters were constantly on the chopping block. In what’s become one of the series’ most infamous scenes, Yeun’s Glenn is beaten to death in front of a pregnant Maggie by way of Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) barbed-wire baseball bat. Acting out those sequences were a different type of challenge for Cohan, who added,

“But there were times I felt dread for depicting the moments of loss that Maggie had, but they’re obviously the things that are so great about the show. The things you dread are when your friends get the call and the scene of them dying is coming and you don’t want to do it. It’s a rare experience to feel so deeply with people and connect.”