Maggie and Negan just can’t seem to not be a pain in each other’s side for too long. Right after they had a quite cordial and boozy chat in episode five of The Walking Dead: Dead City, Negan found a way to mess up his goodwill. We know that there will be fallout with Maggie, but episode six instead goes in an alternate universe direction to imagine a much more normal but still complex timeline for this duo. And, as we get to know a Maggie who isn’t hardened by the apocalypse, we also get the gift of seeing what Beth’s life would have been like, too. We caught up with Emily Kinney to talk about her big Dead City cameo, what she wanted for Beth, and much more.
Nerdist: The Walking Dead fans love fanfic, especially alternate universe ones that imagine characters who are no longer here. And we get that in a sense with this return of Beth to our screens. Why do you think Beth continues to resonate with fans years after her death?
Emily Kinney: I think there are a couple of reasons… I feel like there’s something about her age when the zombie apocalypse is happening. When you think about being a teenager, you’re coming of age and figuring out who you are… I think there’s something about her discovering who she was during an apocalypse. And there were really the powerful moments of her considering dying by suicide and then really getting to know her better through the episode with Daryl. I think people connected with her because she was someone who was really just starting to figure out who she was. She was also such a creative person and music is such a way that people connect.
Even if there were times when Beth didn’t say a lot, having her be a character that sang made people gravitate towards her in a really beautiful way and feel like they could connect with her and know her, even if she wasn’t the one chopping up all the zombies in the episode. And so I think her leaving made people be like, “Wait, wait, wait. We were just getting to really get into who she was going to be.”
For sure, she was so sweet and really just beginning her life. Speaking of music, we get a chance to get that part of her back in this episode because she’s a musician. When you envisioned Beth’s future yourself, how well did it line up with what we saw in this episode?
Kinney: You know what? As soon as I read it, it honestly felt very natural and I was like, “Oh yeah, yes, of course.” Even down to the styling of how she dresses called back to how she dressed during the show, with the braids in her hair and the bracelets and the stuff that she would wear back in the original Walking Dead. We tried to bring some of that into who she was as an adult as well. I feel like that first opening scene at Central Park, it really set up a great through line from the farm to New York City and how she got there, and it all felt really natural to me.
Indeed. What was it like to be back on set and reunite with Lauren Cohan as on-screen sisters once again?
Kinney: It was so satisfying. I never imagined I’d be back on the set, but it felt so easy and natural. It felt like a celebration in a weird way.
You two seemed to get right back into the stride! How do you think Beth continues to influence Maggie’s apocalypse life years after her death?
Kinney: I think it’s a matter of you don’t really forget where you come from. What was cool about this episode is all the references to what Maggie has going on back at the farm and her family and the people they’ve lost. I think that Beth and all the people that Maggie has lost, even if you’re in a new world, in a new city, how you grew up really sticks with you in so many ways. I know for me, I grew up in Nebraska in a small town, and then I moved to New York when I was 19. Even if as you change and change how you see the world and everything when you leave, how you grew up sticks with you in this way that you can’t shake. And so I think that Beth and all the people that Maggie has lost, they stick with her and they carry on with her.
Maggie is still that farm girl at heart, and I love that. At Nerdist, we always talk about all things that we love that are geeky and nerdy, whether it’s TV shows like The Walking Dead: Dead City, video games, or comics. What do you nerd out about and why do you nerd out about it, Emily?
Kinney: Oh my gosh. It’s hard for me to pick one. I mean, I want to say music. I actually do a show right now with Jam in the Van called Late Start, and the whole thing is music discovery. So I really love to find a new artist that only has a few followers on Spotify, and then I’ll just listen to their whole catalog. So I love finding new music. And I love to go see shows here in LA. And then I’ve also been really into the new show Widow’s Bay.
Oh man, I love Widow’s Bay.
Kinney: It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a show and been like, “I’m going to start over and watch it all again from the beginning.” And for whatever reason, it really got me and I just love it. So that’s what I’m nerding out about.
It is excellent. Final question: Describe this episode of Dead City in three words?
Kinney: Nostalgic, emotional, festive!
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