UPDATE: ‘Walking Dead’ Star Admits Lori Never Redeems Herself

While The Walking Dead season 2 may have ended with viewers clamoring for season 3, there were still problems that fans had with the past season of the series. Specifically one person: Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies).

Speaking to the press following The Walking Dead season 2 finale, executive producer Glen Mazzara discussed the fans' not-so-positive opinion of Lori Grimes, as well as what they plan to do with her and Rick's relationship next season.

Here's what Mazzara had to say:

I think Lori is a compelling, interesting character. I think she is realistic in a lot of ways and she's certainly a character that people are talking about. So I don't find her irritating.

I think it's interesting that people are so focused on her and I think the work ahead of that is to see where the - in Season 3, we really have to look at the Rick, Lori relationship and what it means that, you know, she put Rick and Shane in motion to try to kill each other. So that's an interesting place to start and we'll certainly examine that character.

But, you know, I don't know if we really need to start creating false [story] beats to make her more likeable. That's not part of the plan.

Whether you love her or hate her (or really hate her), there's certainly a pronounced divide in the series fan base when it comes to Lori. As the survivors move to the prison (with the Governor), Rick and Lori's relationship will be put to the test. And while there's no way to know for sure if Lori will become less "annoying" as The Walking Dead season 3 progresses, she certainly does have intriguing storylines coming up.

The Walking Dead - Lori

Continuing, Mazzara touched upon the fans' criticism of Rick and Lori being terrible parents and how they're unable to keep track of their son Carl:

There have been scenes where he's sitting under a tree, he's whittling and the kid is obviously bored and trying to find out what else is going on in this camp.

I don’t know if it's plausible that he would always be within her eye line or wouldn't he, like most boys, try to give mom the slip and go out there and get in trouble? That feels plausible to me. If it means that she's a horrible parent, or Rick's a horrible parent, well, it feels real to me.

So I hear that criticism but it kind of feels like it's not really thinking it through to the way we are. It makes sense to us and if people don't like it, well, then we'll have Lori lock him in a cell when we get to the prison and won't have any story for that character. So I don't know what else to do. We're trying to tell interesting stories here, you know.

While you may not agree with what Mazzara has to say, you can't deny that he has certainly thought out both issues and made an honest effort to justify his position.

For The Walking Dead, season 2 was a necessary progressor to the greater overall story. Sure, there are a few storylines that felt a bit long, and a farm isn't exactly the most compelling visual setting, but it was needed in order to get the characters to the place they currently are.

And with the Governor and Michonne coming up next season – not to mention a wonderful prison environment – The Walking Dead season 3 may very well be the best season of the series so far.

…of course, for some, that may be dependent on whether or not they lock Carl up in a cell.

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The Walking Dead season 3 premieres October 2012

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