'The Walking Dead' Season 3 Spoilers: Andrea and Michonne, Rick and Lori, and the Virus

The Walking Dead season 2 may have already ended with the finale, "Beside the Dying Fire," but that doesn't mean fans have to wait for teases about season 3.

Walking Dead Season 3 Spoilers

The season 2 finale introduced Michonne is what may have been one of the best scenes of the season, if not the series. Michonne, who will be played by Danai Gurira, who is looking forward to the role, saved Andrea after she had been running all night and day from walkers after being left behind at the farm as it burned. Andrea's going to be separated form the group, but Laurie Holden does point out that her character "believes they'll organize a search party and find her." If only she knew they think it's very possible she died back at the farm and won't be doing that. So she's away from the others and in the dark about the true nature of the virus and what happened to Shane. Holden did add, "When she finds out [Rick killed Shane], it will not go down well for Rick." Andrea had been taking Shane's side all season, so it's no surprise she's going to be doing the same even in his death.

At least with Andrea away from the group, she gets to spend some time with Michonne, and executive producer Robert Kirkman has revealed, "We're moving into a story where she and Andrea will persevere together against all odds." It's likely among Andrea's first questions will be the fact that Michonne has walkers on chains, and Kirkman did say, "We're going to learn who Michonne's zombies are, why she has them and what purpose they serve. It's wild." Will that be during a conversation between Andrea and Michonne perhaps before they (presumably) eventually meet up with the others (perhaps at the prison)? Andrea may very well be in the best place right now—away from the tension of the group and with someone who knows how to survive in this world.

Then there's Rick and Lori. She did not react the way he had expected when he confessed what happened with Shane—which was surprising since she was whispering in his ear that Shane was dangerous and he'd have to do something about that—and even physically pulled away from him. Where do they go from there? According to Andrew Lincoln, "They've overcome a lot, including Lori's infidelity, but this is a profound rift, a huge wedge. I don't know how they will ever get past this." She went from supporting his decision to keep Jenner's whisper to himself to being angry he killed Shane in a 'kill or be killed' situation. It's not like Lori was helping matters by going to Shane and admitting she doesn't know whose baby she's carrying. You would think she'd be happy it wasn't her husband who died out there—Rick didn't really have much of a choice—but perhaps you could try to blame her reaction on hormones. Either way, it does seem like it's up to her to fix things because Rick's just doing what he has to to keep his family safe and Shane was practically begging him to kill him.

Even though Lori dies in the comic books, that doesn't mean that she's going to die on the show, as Kirkman explains, "Certain deaths that take place in the comic books do happen on the series and others don't, so the audience will never be certain." (Though if Lori continues to act like she is, there are sure to be fans who won't mind if she dies like she did in the comics.) That's already been shown to be true with some of the deaths this season, and it's nearly impossible to begin guessing who could be the next to die.

The Virus

Kirkman also explained about the virus: "Some sort of event took place—we may never know what it was—that led to the virus being transferred, and it is now lying in wait within everybody." He also said, "It all comes down to whether or not there's been significant damage to the brain. As long as the brain is intact, even a severed head will come back to life." While it doesn't seem likely they'll be dealing with a severed head walker anytime soon—really, how much of a threat could that pose?—that is certainly interesting. Up until the end of season 2, they thought they were safe as long as they didn't get bit, but with Rick telling them they're all infected (which he knew since the CDC), it changes things (much like his declaration that there's no longer a democracy is sure to).

However, Kirkman did point to some hope: "Even though all our characters are doomed, the point of The Walking Dead is that they still have each other. They have their everyday lives to live, and that's what they'll be concerned with as we move forward." Yes, hearing that they're all infected is something that they're going to have to process, but for now, there's nothing they can do but keep going and staying alive. With the prison looming large in the distance, along with the Governor, they're not exactly going to have time to sit around and cry over the fact that they're infected. They have to focus on what they do have and where they go next.

What do you think of the latest about The Walking Dead season 3?

Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

© Meredith Jacobs 2012

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