The Walking Dead season 8 star Katelyn Nacon teases 'horrific' midseason finale - interview

A spoiler-free chat with one of the AMC series' leading stars

After seven episodes, the first half of The Walking Dead season 8 is set to draw to a close for 2017 with what many fans are expecting to be a devastating episode likely to end in death for one of the main characters (feast your eyes on the trailer here).

The Independent spoke with Katelyn Nacon, the actor behind the character of Enid, who will feature heavily in the midseason finale having last been seen driving away from the Hilltop with Aaron (Ross Marquand) in a bid to rid the world of some Saviours.

Without giving anything away, Nacon teased the “horrific” events to come, whether she'd be game to crossover with the spinoff series as well as offering final word on the long-standing theory that her character is still a member of the faded faction known as The Wolves.

What can you tease about your scenes ahead with Aaron?

We're the only two in a car together so It's kind of obvious that we’re gonna have scenes. It seems like this season everyone has their different ways of handling Negan and the war so with Aaron and Enid, you’re going to see their way of going around the whole situation. We’re also going to see a change in Enid because with everything that's been happening, she’s been in this place of 'Am I supposed to be more like Maggie?' or 'Am I supposed to be more like Jesus?' I know I want this war to be over and I want Negan to be gone, but she doesn’t really know exactly how to get to that point and how to make her actions become reality. So we’re going to see a bit of a change in her as she goes along on this journey with Aaron.

If Enid could share more screen time with one character, which would you pick?

Apart from everyone? I've never worked with Melissa [McBride, Carol]. I would love to do that because I love that character, she's amazing. Enid and Carol? They'd be awesome together.

Some fans are still inexplicably convinced that Enid could be a member of The Wolves. Could it still be a possibility?

I mean, there’s always a possibility on this show because there's always some kind of bad guy and some kind of mystery and Enid has a lot of mystery surrounding her. She’s very closed off and doesn't let a lot of herself show. So I think there's always a possibility; I’m never going to rule anything out so I don’t get in trouble. I always love hearing different theories: she’s on the side of The Wolves, she’s on the side of The Whisperers, or for The Saviours - she's Negan's daughter even. There's a tonne of stuff. But I love it. The fans are very invested in Enid - I love hearing what they have to say.

Are there any personal question marks surrounding your character Any times where showrunner Scott Gimple approached you to perhaps play something in a different way without telling you why?

Not necessarily. I thought for a second Enid might be one of The Wolves because there was one line that kind of set a lot of people off. She's talking to Carl and there were Wolves in the house and she says, 'That's how we were able to...' and then she gets cut off. I was like. 'Wait, does that mean she knows how The Wolves were able to get in? What doe that mean?' But I talked to Scott and he was like, 'No, that means something different, you’re going the wrong way.' It was a good thing I asked! That was the main time where I thought maybe these fan theories are right, but otherwise, I think I've had a basic understanding of Enid and where her character seems to be going.

It was recently announced that Lennie James was leaving the show for spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead. Would you be up for switching shows one day in the future?

I honestly didn’t see that coming. I found out at Comic-Con when they were going to announce [the actual crossover]. I'm interested to see how they do it. I'd always be open to it, of course - I'm always open to everything. As long as I never die, that’s great.

The Old Man Rick future scenes lent credence to the theory that Carl could one day surpass his father as the show's leader. Do you see that happening?

Well, that’s how it’s written in the comic books - it's very very prevalent - so I feel like it’s definitely a possibility. Carl really does become a huge leader role in the community so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the routes they want to take. But at the same time also this is a show that can veer clear of the comics as well so it’s just whether or not they want to try and keep it in Rick's realm or have a younger leader

Are there some Glenn-style awful moments ahead fans need to brace themselves for?

Do you know what show we’re on? There is going to be some tough stuff to come but I feel like it will come with a silver lining because there are a lot of horrifying things to come, but also a lot of beautiful things that comes with it, comes because of it. It's a big win-lose situation because it is a tough show to get through - it can punch you back - but I would say that a lot of beauty comes from the horror. We have to wait and see what's going to come after and how it's going to affect the show.

The Walking Dead season eight airs every Sunday in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening on FOX. It will also be available on NOWTV

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