Enid is slowly coming into her own in The Walking Dead Season 8. When we first met her, she was sneaking out of the compound to be amongst the walkers. We later learn the sad reason why life beyond the walls of Alexandria felt like the safest option to her.
We saw Enid watch her parents get eaten by walkers. We saw Enid eat turtle meat in the woods. We’ve also seen Enid get attached to Glenn and Maggie. Besides Carl, the Rhees were the only ones who wanted to keep her safe. Glenn refused to let Enid run away from Maggie and ultimately saved her from a horrible life beyond the wall.
Katelyn Nacon, who plays Enid in the show, confirmed during a The Walking Dead press conference her character will become more of a fighter in the show’s upcoming eighth season. However, fans will have to wait a bit longer before they learn all of Enid’s secrets, and she still has many.
"I would love to see more of Enid's background," Nacon said. "I don't think necessarily this season. I think a lot of it is more about seeing her progressing into an adult, more into a woman. When we first saw her, she was this angsty teenager, kind of closed off with a wall built up around her. But now we're seeing her become a strong character… getting ready for battle. I hope one day we learn more about her past. There's still a lot we don't really know.”
Nacon also said her character is moving beyond her JSS (Just Survive Somehow) mentality. She’s accepting that she wants to be a part of a community and have people she cares about. She wants to learn how to protect others more than she wants to protect herself. It’s a big shift in Enid’s attitude, a long way from the lone wolf persona she gave off in the beginning.
"For Enid, she started off in a very different place than where she is now,” Nacon said. “It was just about getting by, surviving in a way. I don't think there was a reason [for her will to survive] necessarily. It was just ‘survive somehow’. The main thing that was keeping her going was her parents death, and a lot of that changed when she met [Glenn]. He brought up the fact that we survive for people that can't, for people that we lost. And that's changed a lot for Enid.”
Carl helped Enid come to that realization, too. It’ll be interesting to see how their relationship progresses. Dating is hard enough as a teen, let alone while growing up in the zombie apocalypse.
Would you like to see an all-Enid backstory episode? Let us know in the comments below. The Walking Dead Season 8 premieres Oct. 22 on AMC.
