The Walking Dead season 10 recently proved it can survive the show's main character departure epidemic. The very nature of The Walking Dead guarantees a high turnover of characters, as various members of the ensemble bite the dust with a regularity that would make George R. R. Martin think twice. However, recent seasons have charted a string of major losses that threaten the very future of the series. It all began with Chandler Riggs' Carl Grimes in season 8 when, under controversial circumstances, the actor was given the boot, and his character killed off by a fairly routine zombie bite. Shortly after Carl's demise, Andrew Lincoln decided to leave the main series due to the rigorous shooting schedule, and is only set to make movie appearances in the future.
Rick's departure subtly also marked a hiatus for Lauren Cohan as Maggie, the leader of the Hilltop and Rick's natural successor as the figurehead of the main survivors. Maggie has been in another, as yet unseen, community for most of season 9 and all of season 10 thus far, but The Walking Dead is confirmed to be losing another of its stars, with Danai Gurira announcing that season 10 would be her last in the role of Michonne. Losing 4 of its central cast in the space of 2 seasons has been a massive blow for The Walking Dead, and necessitated a change of emphasis from new showrunner, Angela Kang.
With another major player set to leave and viewing figures considerably lower than they were 3 years ago, question marks have naturally formed over The Walking Dead's future, but recent episodes have clearly demonstrated the current cast is capable of continuing the undead carnage. Since The Walking Dead returned from its midseason break, Michonne has been entirely absent from the story, with "Squeeze" focusing on the group of survivors stuck in Alpha's cave and Negan's misadventures with the Whisperers, and "Stalker" following Daryl and Alexandria. Against all odds, these characters have ensured that, despite being one of The Walking Dead's best, Michonne's absence hasn't been felt as keenly as you might expect.
On one hand, this has been down to smart and economical use of the main characters The Walking Dead does have left. Carol's gradual breakdown is giving her more spotlight than Melissa McBride has enjoyed for quite some time, and the growing tension between her and Daryl is one of the most compelling storylines on the show right now. Speaking of Norman Reedus' character, splitting Daryl off to go one-on-one with Alpha achieved exactly the desired result, and the tease of an eventual romance for the crossbow expert has fans fully invested. While the sex scene might've been a bit much, Jeffrey Dean Morgan also continued to evolve as Negan. His arc with Alpha has already deviated from the comics, and whatever comes next for the former villain will be a genuine surprise.
However, The Walking Dead season 10 has also made much more effective use of side characters in its second half, and this proves that the show has ready-made replacements for Michonne waiting in the wings. Gabriel and Rosita are both veterans of AMC's zombie apocalypse, relatively speaking, but have never quite made the jump to being top-tier central characters. In "Stalker," however, both carried the heart of the episode flawlessly. Motherhood has drawn a new side out of Rosita and Gabriel looked more badass than he's ever been, with Seth Gilliam previously underutilized on The Walking Dead. Lauren Cohan is also set to return as Maggie next season, and Thora Birch has seemingly joining the good guys moving forward, indicating the main cast of The Walking Dead might just have recovered from an outbreak of departures... unless anyone else decides to quit, that is.
The Walking Dead season 10 continues with "Morning Star" March 8th on AMC.