The Walking Dead 905: Meaning behind ‘What Comes After’
The Walking Dead episode 905 solved the mystery of what the title “What Comes After” could possibly mean, and it turns out it isn’t about Rick after all.
When titles for The Walking Dead season 9 were released, and upon learning that episode 905 would mark the end of Rick Grimes’ tenure on the series, fans speculated that “What Comes After” had something to do with the period of time after he left the show. As it turns out, Michonne is the one who utters the phrase to Maggie with regard to Maggie’s plan to kill Negan.
Maggie arrived in Alexandria with the intention to kill Negan. She executed Gregory (with good reason) and she practiced using the crowbar on a walker in preparation for seeing Negan. Her plan was to exact the revenge she’d been denied for too long.
Upon her arrival in Alexandria, Michonne greets Maggie at the prison and she knows what Maggie wants. Maggie’s mind is made up and after all of this time nothing is going to stop her. That’s when Michonne asks if Maggie is willing to accept “what comes after” she kills Negan. Michonne knows that there’s a lot more at stake than the simple gratification of killing the man who killed her husband. Killing Negan in cold blood (it has been at least 20 months since Glenn died) will not go unnoticed, and that’s the least of Michonne’s worries because she also knows that Maggie will have to live with the blood on her hands.
Maggie insists that she’s ready for it and that she’s willing to take on whatever happens after she kills Negan. For her, killing Negan is the ultimate salve to heal the gaping wound of Glenn’s death. But when she sees Negan and hears him begging her for death she changes her mind. She sees that Negan is suffering and his suffering is better than giving him the out that he wants.
Michonne talking about the consequences of her actions with “what comes after” killing someone is very much an indication that Michonne is thinking like someone who is drafting the plans for a future community that is guided by laws and principles. As much as she’d love to kill Negan herself, she knows that it’s ultimately not worth it. It’s not worth having the blood on her hands and it’s not worth the consequences that will surely come with it.
Next. The Walking Dead 905 recap: What Comes After. dark
Now that Maggie has received the satisfaction of knowing Glenn’s killer is suffering, it looks like this is the last we will see of Maggie for a while. Not only is there a six year time jump at the end of the episode, but The Walking Dead showrunners confirmed that “What Comes After” was Lauren Cohan’s finale performance in season 9. There’s hope that she’ll be back at some point in the future, but for now she’s leaving for her new show while a new future takes shape on The Walking Dead.