‘The Walking Dead’ season 7
Sonequa Martin-Green plays Sasha on "The Walking Dead" season 7. AMC/The Walking Dead

“The Walking Dead” season 7 is over. And the finale, “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life,” culminated with Sasha’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) ultimate sacrifice. Without it, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviours may have successfully pulled a fast one on Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the Alexandrians. But Sasha’s loss isn’t all for naught, as it triggered the All Out War with the good guys having the edge.

Spoiler alert: This article contains plot details about “The Walking Dead” season 7, which premiered Oct. 20. The series was available for Australian viewers to watch on Foxtel every Monday, 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Negan did his best to recruit Sasha. Maybe the Saviours’ leader liked her nothing-left-to-lose state. Sasha was indeed strong, and her “balls” to take one for her family may have resonated with Negan, who had no idea what was coming.

Sonequa Martin-Green, who played Sasha, obviously knew ahead of time that her character was about to be retired as she was set to leave the AMC show. The actress nonetheless prepared for the inevitable and wrapped her head around the story. But there was one thing she didn’t do despite knowing Sasha’s fate.

“I didn’t just open the script and find out,” revealed Martin-Green. “It’s really great we don’t have to find out that way.”

The actress believes that Sasha’s sacrifice was “more than worth it.” She had to take her path with Rosita, of all people, which led her to that epic final moment. Sasha had to go through a lot of painful situations, but in the end she realised her purpose, and giving herself up was indeed necessary to start the war.

“It’s so heart-wrenching – sacrifice always is,” said Martin-Green, speaking in behalf of her character. “But it was honestly an honour for me to do it.”

It was also apparently amusing for the actress to conclude her “Walking Dead” journey by, of course, turning into a walker. The makeup process, she stated, was just as intense as it was fun. But it wasn’t easy being a walking corpse, though, as it proved to be physically rough.

“I have a ton of respect for the background actors that play these walkers because they do tough work,” said Martin-Green. “I just wanted to get it right.”

With Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom now legitimately united, Martin-Green believes that her character’s sacrifice was the first step in defeating Negan and the Saviours. She gave herself up for the ultimate cause, but Martin-Green acknowledges that even in death, Sasha is going to “fight for life.”

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