‘Walking Dead’ stars discuss Daryl and Carol’s friendship
The concept of a zombie apocalypse caused by a virus seems a little less outlandish these days.
But at least one lead star of “The Walking Dead” — which returns for a bonus batch of season 10 episodes this weekend — thinks being on the run from the undead is a walk in the park compared to the reallife pandemic we’re going through.
“The thing about the show is, it’s people coming together to get through something,” Norman Reedus, who plays long-haired loner Daryl Dixon on the hit postapocalyptic horror show, told the Daily News. “The only way you could do it during a pandemic is do it by phone or by Zoom or text message. You’re not really seeing people now, so it’s very isolating. It’s different.”
The extra six episodes of season 10 were the show’s first that were filmed during the pandemic. Season 10’s initial 16 episodes wrapped up in October when the last one aired after COVID-19-related production delays.
Melissa McBride, who plays Carol, Daryl’s best friend among their group of survivors, sees some similarities between the coronavirus pandemic and the fictional lives of the show’s protagonists.
It’s not lost on her that the toilet paper and paper towel shortages brought on by stay-at-home orders put shoppers in a similar position to the series characters making “runs” for hard-tofind food and supplies while constantly dodging “Walkers” and living villains.
“My mind goes to worst case scenario all the time,” McBride told The News. “I think, ‘What if there’s larger pocket outbreaks and then there’s a kink in the supply chain,’ which happened in a few places. Then it’s, ‘Where am I going to get my information from? I want to know what’s going on. I want to know what the statistics are, I want to know what the guidelines are. What if we’re unable to get information?’
“‘If I have to get out and make that one run, what am I gonna get? What’s most important that I can get in a hurry?’ There was a lot of equating in the beginning, people saying, ‘I feel like I’m going on a run.’ But it’s interesting, and you can’t not think about it,” she added.
The friction between Carol and Daryl will come to a head in the upcoming episodes. The pair has always been tight, with some fans even wishing they were romantically involved, but their relationship has been strained since Carol’s quest for vengeance led to the disappearance of Connie, a deaf survivor who Daryl was also close to.
“He definitely blames her for that but always thinks, ‘I bet I could have done something to stop it,’” said Reedus, 52. “He’s that type of a guy that, ‘If I’d just went a little extra inch, maybe I could have stopped it.’ He just doesn’t give up, that guy. So, it’s definitely her fault, but there’s a little bit of blame somewhere in there, which is also super sad.”
McBride, 55, said Carol believes she is “justified for what she did and realized that there were consequences and she’s just determined to make things okay somehow, some way.”
“The thing about the show is, it’s people coming together to get through something.
The only way you could do it during a pandemic is do it by phone or by Zoom or text message. You’re not really seeing people now, so it’s very isolating. It’s different.”
— Norman Reedus
The upcoming episodes come on the heels of the action-packed battle between Daryl and Carol’s group and The Whisperers, survivors who sported the skins of zombies to blend in with the undead hordes to carry out the commands of their evil leader, Alpha. Now that The Whisperers are out of the picture, there’s more time for character development.
“The episodes came out very intimate, which was a good break from the craziness of the Whisperer war,” Reedus said. “We kind of get into everyone’s head a little bit.”
DEAR AMY » I currently am wrestling with several serious food allergies. Lab bloodwork has just revealed an autoimmune disorder. I am scheduled to see a rheumatologist in two months.
My body is thrown into a vicious cycle for weeks after consuming foods that trigger allergies.
So, what should I do when I get together with friends or family for dinners and they try to make special food for me? I don’t want to risk even trying this food because of past experiences with bad reactions.
Recently, a host assured me that all of the ingredients were safe for me, only to learn later that they’d buttered the pan with margarine, which set off my allergies.
They just don’t understand how I have to pay for eating even a trace of that for the next three weeks, but they feel bad because I can’t eat what they eat, and they love food so much that they want to share it with me.
What I prefer to do is bring my own food, but of course people are either very offended or feel so sorry for me that they will try to make something just for me.
I try to avoid dinner parties at all costs with certain people because of this.
What can I say to people who insist I try their food because they made it just for me and they made sure they didn’t put anything in it that I can’t have?
I’m tired of being sick and tired of offending people.
— Sick and Tired
DEAR SICK AND TIRED
» It is hard to imagine a person with an undefined autoimmune disorder gathering with others for dinner parties during a pandemic, but, in the absence of that concern, you need only know this: You are responsible for your health and well-being. Don’t leave something so important to someone else.
Your question is full of anticipation and speculation regarding how others will (or might) respond to your self-advocacy. Don’t concentrate so much on how others might pressure you, and keep your focus on your own health.
The answer is that you must bring your own food to gatherings involving food, because you can only safely eat something that you have prepared. Communicate with the host beforehand: “I am on an extremely restricted medical diet because of my allergies, so I need to bring my own food. Will that bother you? I really don’t want to impose or make a big deal about it, but until I get my diagnosis sorted out, it is vital that I only eat food I’ve prepared myself.”
If you feel pressured, respond, “Sorry, no. I know this is a bummer and I appreciate your efforts, but I have to be very strict about this.”
If your friends and family don’t or won’t adjust to your needs, then yes, you will have to avoid situations where you can’t safely resist this pressure.