AMCLucille was swung, the credits rolled, and the dust is far from settled on The Walking Dead.
Nearly two weeks have passed since the AMC hit wrapped up season six with a massive cliffhanger, leaving viewers to obsess over who was on the receiving end of Negan's murderous bat attack for the next six months, and fans are still pretty peeved with the creative decision to offer up no resolution. Such a negative reaction may have lesser shows concerned over whether their audience will abandon them out of frustration, but this is the No. 1 show on cable we're talking about here. And star Lauren Cohan thinks the reaction from fans is all part of the viewing process.
"I think the reaction is almost in keeping with the emotional peaks and troughs that the show takes us through. I'm really glad that the show is coming back with information. It's not like people are being left hanging and it's the end of the series or anything," the actress told E! News. "So, I would say it's really a testament to people's dedication, but I feel like this is going to be the longest six months. I really do feel the pain of it."
As Cohan sees it, this sort of agony is what we come to the AMC hit looking for. "It's brutal. It's so brutal. But this is a brutal show. I feel like we're all kind of communally addicted to the stress experience that we have watching the show and then the release of seeing people make it out of situations," she added. "So, we'll definitely be having a big resolution when we come back, right off the bat, so that should be of some relief to people. But I know how painful the cliffhanger is."
And as for what's coming next—and who won't be back—Cohan would only admit that the cast has "some idea" of what's in store. "But we also don't have any black and white clarity for ourselves," she added.
If those final moments of season six with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his tense game of "eeny meeny miny moe" proved too taxing on the nerves for some, Cohan warned that there won't be much respite from those levels of tension in season seven. "I think there will be some answers right off the bat, and it will be very, very intense. And then we'll be exploring avenues and relationships that we haven't yet, but you'll definitely be taken on the roller coaster ride," she said. "I mean, the season comes back with a pretty intense, explosive start. That much I know."
The two nights spent filming Negan's big arrival are still hard for Cohan for talk about—and not because she's been ordered to remain tight-lipped. "We're so depleted and emotional in the scene. I can't even really talk about the night. Not just to you, I can't talk about it with my cast mates or remember it without having a very physical memory. It was so weird," she admitted. "It was effectively a giant funeral for one of our loved ones and we just don't know who that is. There was a lot of hugging and embracing...during the filming those two nights. You can imagine...We're pretty broken up about the whole thing."
So, was she able to watch the episode? "I watched the episode kind of through my fingers," Cohan said. "I could've easily not known what was going to happen for how surprised I was at the emotional level of that finale. It was pretty good. I mean, I definitely could really have avoided watching, but the funny thing, I think, about the show is I really enjoy watching it as a fan and I sort of detach from even having privy to the information or having been a part of it."
As her hiatus winds down—production on season seven begins in Atlanta in just a few weeks—Cohan's been keeping herself busy with charity work. On the afternoon E! News spoke with her, she was teaming up with Jessica Seinfeld's Good+ Foundation and Subway to deliver sandwiches featuring the chain's new carved turkey breast, as well gift cards, to families in need in the New York area. "They all have a Subway in their neighborhood and it's just a way of helping out with these families. I'm super passionate about this foundation. And Subway was gracious enough to bring on some new fans of their new turkey sandwich. It just kind of worked out really well for all of us because I wanted some sandwiches for these people and we got them."
Is her charity work a way of washing away all the darkness from her day job? "I've always been into very hands-on charities and charitable causes," she revealed. "So, I work with God's Love We Deliver when I'm here in New York. I'm just beginning to work with Good+. And I work with a foundation in Atlanta called Atlanta Music Project. It's after-school homework help and music lessons for underprivileged kids. I love really experiential, hands on, immediate contact causes, so Good+ is something that really ticks those boxes and I'm really excited to work with them. So, it's not just the Walking Dead thing. I think it's one of the most gratifying things in life, period."
The Walking Dead returns for season seven this fall on AMC.