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The penultimate episode of The Walking Dead was a tough watch. While the internet was incensed at little Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming) being shot by Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins), the community was equally heartbroken when Lydia (Cassady McClincy) lost her arm.
When Lydia was separated from her boyfriend Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari), she held on to his hand, but a walker bit her. Ironic indeed because The Walking Dead's character hails from the world of The Whisperers, a villainous group that had learned to live in symbiosis with zombies. There was no choice but for Jerry (Cooper Andrews) to chop off her arm to prevent the infection from spreading.
What made this otherwise brutal scene special was how Ross Marquand, who plays Aaron, reminded Lydia of how much she was loved. We spoke to the actor as part of a roundtable ahead of the big finale.
Ross Marquand, who has been a part of The Walking Dead for many seasons now, was just as moved by filming the difficult scene as viewers at home were when they watched it.
Ross Marquand says The Walking Dead star Cassady McClincy is able to access a deep well of sadness when she wants
The Walking Dead is a ruthless show, and even the protagonists suffer a fate as vicious as the antagonists. While mentioning that the episode was tough to shoot, Marquand stated:
"Yeah, I think that was such a heartbreaking episode for so many reasons – Judith getting shot, of course, Lydia losing her arm. That one was really tough to watch because Cassady is such a sweetheart of a person."
Cooper Andrews, the third man in the scene, kept stating how he was moved to tears by McClincy's anguish during the scene on Talking Dead. Marquand was full of love and admiration for the talented young star, saying:
"And you could tell that there was so much genuine anguish on her face. Even though she’s such an incredibly sweet, incredibly kind person, at the end of the day, she’s able to access this deep well of sadness in her whenever she needs to, and it’s just incredibly heartbreaking to watch."
Further continuing with praise for his co-star, he added:
"She’s a really fantastic actor, and I don’t think Cooper and I had to work all that hard because she was bringing her A game, and it was very easy to react to her because it genuinely felt like she was in pure agony that whole time."
Fans can catch the final episode of The Walking Dead on AMC or AMC+ this Sunday. Elsewhere in the same roundtable, Lauren Ridloff assured our audience that there wouldn't be too many dry eyes once they're done watching the finale. Khary Payton also told us how much we'd love the episode.
Join us at SK Pop for one last time as we bring you coverage from one of the most iconic shows ever made this weekend. And, of course, breaking news about the spinoffs to follow.
