Alexandria is a distant memory on The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 10, airing Sunday, February 27 on AMC.
The characters have spent years fighting zombies and battling to survive in the harshest conditions, but all of that changes thanks to the Commonwealth.
The storyline started with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) speaking to Stephanie on the radio. It was a risky endeavor, and McDermitt believes it was a big risk for Eugene to divulge the location to Lance (Josh Hamilton).
“I think that’s something he didn’t want to do,” McDermitt shared with TV Fanatic earlier this month.
“But he found himself in a position where he definitely had to do that, but he’s also trusting enough of the people he’s now living with.”
McDermitt believes Eugene thinks this new living situation will work out, and he thinks fans will see a more comfortable Eugene, who is “settling in” to life at this new location.
“This is the first time where he’s actually been able to let his guard down a little bit,” the star shared, adding that the Commonwealth is even more thriving than Alexandria at its peak.
Eugene’s risk to converse and meet with Stephanie helped his people in a big way, and McDermitt anticipates the only risks his character will take now will be of the emotional sort with Stephanie.
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know we don’t know much about The Commonwealth, beyond the fact that they’re allowing new people to enter.
The next episode finds a sudden influx of Alexandrians, and Josh Hamilton said that Lance is always open to having more people in the fold because he likes finding people that can help the community.
He places people where he thinks they’ll thrive the most. Hamilton says that Alexandria has many talented individuals and that Lance will be excited about placing them.
“What’s their specialty? What can they do?”
Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) quickly immersed herself into the Commonwealth, reuniting with her brother and landing a coveted position.
Eleanor says this storyline is crucial because she’s been thrown into the deep end.
“It’s a pretty privileged deep end,” the star adds.
“She gets given all this stuff, all of these adornments, a good side of the Commonwealth, good housing, and the good clothes.”
Eleanor says that Yumiko gets to see the inner workings of Pamela (Laila Robins), not just at the Commonwealth but also on a personal level.
However, Eleanor cautions that Yumiko is skeptical of her boss.
This is due to Yumiko’s relationships with the other survivors she’s worked with since she joined the show on The Walking Dead Season 9.
The star adds that her relationships with the people of the Commonwealth will never match up to Yumiko’s “chosen family.”
“We entered the show as a group, and we did everything together, and we die for each other, and we survived this long, and we can’t unsee that.”
“I don’t think anybody’s walking into the Commonwealth with rose-tinted glasses on.”
“Everyone is suspicious, and just because I have all this privilege that’s come with this lifestyle that’s been bestowed upon me, it doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m deeply suspicious and aware that things might not be as they seem,” the star concludes.
Eleanor shared that she changed her approach to playing Yumiko because she is no longer battling for survival at every turn.
“I’m not going to lie, I haven’t had a kill in a really long time, and it feels very weird,” the star shared.
“There are so many things about this season that feel weird in a great way. I think this is one of the reasons why The Walking Dead is still so successful. It dares to go to new places where it hasn’t been before.”
“But for me, I spent like the first two years in the woods in the same outfit and same ripped pair of jeans and shirts, and I got to kill a lot of walkers, and now I’m in suits, my hair’s cut, and I even wear a cocktail dress at one point. There’s not a Walker to be seen.”
The star said that she also misses Yumiko’s bow and arrow.
“I’m not going lie, it’s very strange, and it informs everything, you know?”
“I feel like I’m on a different show a lot of the time,” Eleanor concludes.
Viewers have yet to see much of Pamela, despite the character having been mentioned several times.
Thankfully, the second part of the season sheds light on the elusive character, her relationship with her son, and so much more.
“As in every mother-son relationship, it’s complicated,” Laila shared, adding that Pamela wants to raise Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson) to reach his full potential.
“Pamela herself comes from a long line of powerful people,” Laila revealed, teasing that the big questions will be in how these influential people continue to carry on the legacy.
Laila said there’s a lot to consider, including what people would change in the next generation to keep the power flowing.
“What is your own statement as an individual on the earth?” is an important question, according to the star.
“It’s got a lot of the ins and outs, and, it’s very exciting to see where the relationship goes as the episodes progress.”
For Rapp-Olsson, he believes Sebastian finds it difficult to “follow any vague semblance of your parents’ footsteps.”
“But when one is so heavily scrutinized in every single thing you’re doing, from day one, that kind of magnification can only put some kind of strains or burdens on the relationship.”
“We get to see how that dynamic actually gets tested over this.”
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.