Showrunner Angela Kang Confirms Heath’s Fate on ‘The Walking Dead’
****Warning–Spoilers lie ahead****
Many of us are still trying to adjust to the thought of the absence of both Rick and Maggie from The Walking Dead. At the end of Sunday’s episode “What Comes After,” after Rick is seen being rescued by Jadis/Anne then being whisked away in the helicopter, we are pushed forward 6 years where a nearly 10-year-old “Judith…Judith Grimes” is literally following in her father’s footsteps…boots and all! But let’s be real…What about those that have been forgotten or left behind?
Pollyanna McIntosh all but confirmed that her journey would continue somewhere in The Walking Dead universe via a post on her Instagram account. Fans have been concerned whether she was written off the series or if we would ever see her again. No worries guys! But there is still one unsolved mystery and question left unanswered. What happened to Heath? You remember Heath, right? Yeah, so do I. After going MIA in season 7, Tara returns to ASZ to the news of Glenn, Abraham and Denise’s deaths. Mourning the loss of her best friend and girlfriend, of course, she would be consumed with grief but at some point, you would figure that she would mention that he vanished. Maybe the group would be worried about him to go look for him? Maybe? NOPE…Not a single word has been spoken about him since. It’s like he was erased from their minds…but not ours.
If you are anything like I am, you watch every episode over and over, analyzing every detail. Rewinding and pausing, making sure you missed NOTHING. In the tenth episode of season 7, “New Best Friends”, while Rick is at the top of the junkyard heap in The Scavenger’s community, eagle-eyed viewers noticed an RV parked in the distance. Since then and after Sunday’s episode, viewers put the puzzle pieces together and speculated that it might be the same RV Heath and Tara took on their run.
AMC showrunner Angela Kang confirmed in an interview with INSIDER that all the speculation was true, meaning that after Tara falls off the bridge, Heath must have come across Jadis and The Scavengers, taking him hostage and eventually trading him for supplies. It is also the same RV that Jadis/Anne is driving in Sunday’s episode.
“That was kind of the intention that we had in the back of our heads this whole time. Even back in that season where you know, we had to write the wonderful Corey Hawkins out because he had huge opportunities in the feature film world… those seeds were already set there.”
Corey Hawkins’ departure was due to other filming opportunities which included portraying Dr. Dre in the film Straight Outta Compton and the lead role in the Fox series 24: Legacy.
Both Kang and Robert Kirkman, creator of the comic series, hope for a return of Heath’s character:
“We are hoping to get him back and tell his story. There are definitely plans in place there. It’s just a matter of making sure that everything can line up because it is somewhat complicated.” – Robert Kirkman at NYCC
“I hope so too. He’s a wonderful human being and a terrific actor.” – Angela Kang regarding Corey’s return.
Chief Content Officer Scott Gimple has confirmed that Heath will, at some point, return to The Walking Dead franchise. Whether it be on The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead or one of the original films that AMC has in the works, it will be intriguing to see how and where Heath resurfaces.
I just want to know what “ppp” stands for or if it has any real significance.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm on AMC.
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.
