The Richonne romance on The Walking Dead was never supposed to happen, according to one former cast member. Laurie Holden, who played Andrea on the hit AMC series, recently attended the Walker Stalker Convention in New Jersey as a panel guest. Holden revealed the original plan for her character was similar to The Walking Dead comics.
In the comics, Rick eventually falls in love with Andrea, who becomes his partner. Andrea also becomes close with Rick’s son, Carl, to the point where he begins to call her mom. It came as a huge shock to Holden when she found out her character would die in Woodbury in The Walking Dead Season 3.
“Well I had an 8 year deal, I was supposed to be there until the end,” Holden told the panel crowd, according to FanFest . “ I was supposed to end up with Rick. I was supposed to save Woodbury on a horse, and I was buying a house in Atlanta. I got the call at 10 o’ clock the night before, while I was shooting, from the show runner who is no longer a part of The Walking Dead , saying that they couldn’t write the episode and that he was killing my character. So we all got the script everybody on the set was sobbing. I felt like I got shot. None of it was supposed to happen the way it did.”
However, Andrea’s death left the door open for a Michonne and Rick romance, something the comic books never explored, despite the deep understanding and mutual respect the two characters have for each other. In the comics, Rick comes to rely on Michonne and she quickly becomes family to him. Michonne turns to Rick in her darkest moments and they miss each other when they’re not around.
There was never any indication of romantic interest in the comics, but there was definitely chemistry between actors Andrew Lincoln (Rick) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) on The Walking Dead show. Fans quickly coined the term Richonne to ship their favorite characters, and the two ended up realizing their feelings for each other during The Walking Dead Season 6.
What do you think about the Richonne romance? Should the show have kept Andrea around? Let us know in the comments below. The Walking Dead Season 7 premieres on AMC this October.
