SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 13 (titled “What We Become”) of AMC’s The Walking Dead . Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all available episodes and wish to avoid spoilers.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the latest episode of The Walking Dead saw the departure of fan-favorite, Michonne ( Danai Gurira ). Along the way, various characters and situations were remembered, including Michonne’s introduction to Andrea (Laurie Holden) in the Season 2 finale. While Gurira was not actually cast yet for the role, the latest episode of The Walking Dead recreated the scene in order to place her within in it, according to Insider .
In addition to replicating the scene to include Gurira, AMC also managed to use previously unseen footage from the original shooting of the Season 2 episode in order to cut it and create an expanded scene.
“Our production folks did an amazing job of re-creating some of our sets and lighting to shoot new footage,” said showrunner Angela Kang.
“Then our VFX and post [production] team merged old footage with new footage to create something that feels like it might’ve been in the show, but never actually existed until now.”
What if Michonne didn’t save Andrea? Watch the intriguing opening minutes of Sunday’s all-new #TWD : https://t.co/qMwjq5OqgG pic.twitter.com/0xs25kGAeN
— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) March 21, 2020
While the original encounter saw Michonne helping Andrea escape a group of walkers, in the new scene, Michonne actually walks away and leaves Andrea to die. Kang revealed that they were trying to show an alternative reality to the one already seen. During Episode 13, Michonne was given drugs by newcomer Virgil (Kevin Carroll), and that is why things played out as it did.
As well as Andrea’s reappearance in The Walking Dead , AMC explored the idea of Michonne never meeting Rick Grimes ( Andrew Lincoln ) and joining with Negan’s ( Jeffrey Dean Morgan ) group instead. Once again, using previously filmed footage, the new version of Michonne’s reality saw her present with Negan during the horrific moment when people were bludgeoned to death with his baseball bat, Lucille. Except, this time around, it was Michonne brandishing the weapon.
Special effects were used once more in an imagined encounter between Rick and Michonne that saw him ending her life. Using an iconic shot of Rick pointing a gun, AMC enhanced the image by doing things such as making Rick’s hair longer. As Insider points out, the network has a relatively small budget when compared with HBO’s Game of Thrones and it would make more sense to use special effects and previously filmed scenes to recreate the past events rather than getting the actors in to film for Season 10.