Throughout its run, The Walking Dead<\/a> has made sure to adapt big, memorable moments from Robert Kirkman\u2019s graphic novels, from settings as beloved as Hershel\u2019s farm and Alexandria, to near unshakeable deaths like Glenn Rhee\u2019s. But that\u2019s not to say it doesn\u2019t take artistic licence from time to time.<\/span><\/p>\n When it does dare to deviate, it tends to play around with how long certain survivors stick around for. For example, fan favourite Carol Peletier, who\u2019s played by Melissa McBride, dies early on in the comics, while her daughter Sophia \u2013 who succumbed to a walker bite on screen in season 2 \u2013 lasted until the final page. Additional characters who\u2019ve had their timelines altered include Andrea, Abraham and Grimes siblings, Judith and Carl.<\/span><\/p>\n Since Andrew Lincoln\u2019s Rick scarpered in season 9, other survivors like Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) have shifted into focus.<\/span><\/p>\n With Danai Gurira\u2019s Michonne no longer around, the first chapter of the zombie drama\u2019s three-part final season saw Yumiko adopt one of the former\u2019s storylines from the comics, as she discovered that a long-lost family member, her brother Tomi (Ian Anthony Dale), was alive, and a member of the mysterious Commonwealth. (In the original source material, Michonne learns that her daughter, Elodie, is there).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She was also a lawyer in her pre-outbreak life, like comic book Michonne; something that awards her great privilege within the walls of the latest community. But now, ahead of the second block of season 11 episodes, showrunner Angela Kang has insisted that Yumiko is much more than just a substitute for one of the franchise\u2019s most popular players.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely elements of comic book Michonne, but also, like, it\u2019s not too similar because she\u2019s a different character,\u201d she told <\/span>RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cIt was so useful to have that character who actually gets thrust into the upper echelon, so she has a level of power that some of our other characters don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe just has a different view on what the Commonwealth is. Yumiko\u2019s a very, very smart character, she\u2019s incredibly capable and so she\u2019s going to find herself in some situations where she\u2019s really got to use that sharp mind that she has to navigate things on behalf of herself, and her family and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut, you know, I\u2019ll just say, Eleanor does some exceptional work in the season so I\u2019m excited for people to watch it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Echoing themes from season 5, where Rick, Daryl, Carol, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and co first stumbled across the gated town of Alexandria, and found themselves struggling to trust and adjust to a slower, more civilised way of life, 11B is set to see the majority of the gang try to settle in at the Commonwealth.<\/span><\/p>\n Some inevitably find it an easier task than others, but regardless of their personal struggles, the sense of newfound security in some makes way for something that The Walking Dead hasn\u2019t seen much of lately\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWithout getting into specifics, romance <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> a part of the story of the Commonwealth. So yeah, there\u2019ll be some of that kind of storytelling,\u201d teased Kang, keeping schtum on whether Princess (Paola L\u00e1zaro) and Commonwealth army general Mercer (Michael James Shaw) will become an item like their comic book counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n The first two episodes hint at a possible reconciliation for Carol and estranged husband Ezekiel (Khary Payton), and continue to highlight the bond between Daryl and Connie (Lauren Ridloff) \u2013 but whether or not either pair will find the time to properly mine those relationships remains a mystery for now.<\/span><\/p> \u201cA lot of the time, when we\u2019re in the middle of people-in-battle plots, those things just fall by the wayside, but you know, they\u2019ve carved out a little bit of a different life for themselves,\u201d Kang noted. \u201cIt\u2019s The Walking Dead, though, so there\u2019s always things that feel fraught, even in the middle of happy moments as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We wouldn\u2019t expect anything less. 11B\u2019s first episode, titled No Other Way, sees Aaron, Rosita (Christian Serratos) and the other survivors still positioned within a devastated Alexandria try to stop the horde of walkers that were swept in by the storm in 11A\u2019s last episode.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe always want to keep innovating the way that we do the action. There\u2019s always a certain amount of limitations we have, with time and budget and now with COVID safety, but we\u2019re always looking to do something we haven\u2019t done before. Something that\u2019ll be a new challenge for our people,\u201d Kang explained.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe decided long, long ago, before the pandemic even started, that we wanted to flood Alexandria to really show how damaged it is. The production wound up building a whole tank for it, with water-warming for the kids and, you know, it could empty itself in seconds and all that stuff,\u201d she continued.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of safety measures, we have to do things differently whenever it comes to stunts, and we have to be extra cautious because you have people in close quarters and sometimes in situations that are tricky, but we\u2019re always trying to be responsible whilst also pushing the envelope.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really fun for us as writers and, yeah, hopefully it gives the audience some fun stuff to watch from home as they\u2019re still sitting through this pandemic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Walking Dead<\/b> season 11 returns in the US on 20th February on AMC, before arriving in the UK the following day exclusively via Star on Disney Plus. You can\u00a0sign up to Disney Plus for \u00a37.99 a month or \u00a379.90 a year<\/a>\u00a0now.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n Check out more of our Sci-Fi<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Friday, 11 February 2022 at 12:00 am By Amy West Throughout its run, The Walking Dead has made sure to adapt big, memorable moments from Robert Kirkman\u2019s graphic novels, from settings as beloved as Hershel\u2019s farm and Alexandria, to near unshakeable deaths like Glenn Rhee\u2019s. But that\u2019s not to say it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":11072,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/02\/walking-dead-boss-on-why-yumiko-is-more-than-michonnes-substitute.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Friday, 11 February 2022 at 12:00 am By Amy West Throughout its run, The Walking Dead has made sure to adapt big, memorable moments from Robert Kirkman\u2019s graphic novels, from settings as beloved as Hershel\u2019s farm and Alexandria, to near unshakeable deaths like Glenn Rhee\u2019s. But that\u2019s not to say it…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/11071"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Eleanor\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/02\/walking_dead_yumiko_Mercer-7abc857.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"walking_dead_yumiko_Mercer\"\\"\/")
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