‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Episode 6: Alanna Masterson Explains Tara’s Big ‘TWD’ Return

The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6 was quite surprising for fans after Tara Chambler finally reappears after disappearing with Heath in a supply run, something that actress Alanna Masterson recently clarified.

In an interview with Variety, Masterson admitted that she was not informed that last night’s The Walking Dead episode titled “Swear” will be all about her character even after she was given the script.

According to Masterson, she was only aware that she will be returning for The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6, but she was as surprised as many to learn that her character would be doing the things she did on “Swear.”

“I knew in the beginning of the season I wasn’t coming back until Episode 6, and then I got the script and saw I was going to be jumping on cars. They gave everyone else training except for me, and I was just nursing a baby and having to do all my own stunts.”

tara is always the last one to find out. she was the last one to know about noah, denise, glenn and abraham. ?? #thewalkingdead #twd pic.twitter.com/WMaADfdX00

— taci (@twdspunisher) November 28, 2016

While she was away, there had been a lot of commotion caused mainly by Negan and his crew in The Walking Dead Season 7, something Masterson was not very happy about.

“I knew what was happening in the script, and I was pretty bummed to not be a part of it,” she explained in another interview with Entertainment Weekly about Tara’s return.

Apparently, her character remained safe from Negan but was away at the time when her friends needed her, something she would have changed if she could.

“When I found out that I wasn’t going to be in any of them, I was like, ‘Oh, where are Tara and Heath? Like, where did they go?’ So I knew I was safe from Negan, but also to have to see two of my closest friends go was pretty rough.”

The interview then went on to discuss the most recent TWD episode. Those who haven’t watched The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6 and do not wish to read spoilers should look away now.

“Swear” started with a flashback to a story half a season ago explaining what happened to Tara after she left with Heath (Corey Hawkins) on a supply raid. In the episode, two girls we now know as Rachel and Cindy (Sydney Park) found a washed up body which turns out to be Tara, who is alive but is short of a comrade.

According to Vox, Tara and Heath’s absence were because of significant changes in the actors’ lives during the course of the show: Masterson having a baby and Hawkins taking on a lead role in Fox’s new reboot of 24.

After a couple of weeks off from the show to nurse her baby, Masterson now returns as Tara for good but explained that Hawkins would only be returning for a few episodes before moving on to his new show.

“It was really great of Corey to come back and shoot with us one more time — he was just starting to shoot 24 when we did this episode. He came back and did these scenes with me in one day,” she told Variety.

Aside from bidding farewell to Heath, The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6 also introduced a new group of survivors as well as a new set of faces including Tara’s new friend and ally, Cindy.

In “Swear,” we see the Tara with the Oceansiders who are mostly very eager to kill her—even little Rachel appears to be very willing to end her if not for Cindy.

Tara then proceeds to make friends with this group of people albeit through a made up story to figure out what kind of people they truly are. After all, with all the Negan drama that’s going on, all our heroes and heroines better watch their backs.

“And I love that Tara’s kind of sussing them out. She tells them a fake story because she wants to see what type of people they are,” Masterson told EW.

Masterson further explained that what Tara basically aims for during The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6 is to get back to her old friends in Alexandria—or at least, return to what’s left of them.

“She’s also a very good person, and she’s a very honest person. So it’s not like she was there to harm anyone, and I think that’s what she’s trying to get through to them. … It just happened, and she has a lot to get back to and a lot to do for her group, and she can’t just be trapped out here in Oceanside.”

What did you think of The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 6 episode focusing on Tara? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by AMC]