The Ones Who Live: Why That Big Walking Dead Character Death Makes Fans So Happy
Contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" Episode 5 — "Become"
Well, she did say that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) are an unstoppable force. Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) learns this the hard way in "Become." Unfortunately for her (and despite her last-minute redemption), the only one who's apt to mourn her death is her erstwhile former lover turned closest friend, Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam).
Jadis follows a twisted path to her fate. Introduced during "The Walking Dead" Season 7, she was once an art teacher named Anne. Anne becomes Jadis, the leader of the Scavengers, and the post-apocalyptic world hardens her personality. Her relationship with Rick has always been shaky and built on mistrust. When she falls in with the Civic Republic Military or CRM, a more extensive and better-organized group of survivors, they own her allegiance, and she begins to traffic people for them to use. Jadis works her way up the organization's ranks, leaving chaos in her wake. It's her fault that Rick's been kept away from Michonne and his family, an action that caused audience members to turn against her.
Most "Walking Dead" fans don't seem sad about Jadis' protracted death. "Jadis getting cut by Michonne, bit by the walker, and then ultimately put down by Rick? Very glad she went out painfully," said X (formerly known as Twitter) user @SpartyzGirl. User @ChrissyRenea7 was even less generous with their praise, declaring, "The only useful thing Jadis ever did was hang on to the ring Rick would eventually propose with."
While Jadis' death may have surprised viewers, Pollyanna McIntosh knew it was coming.
Pollyanna McIntosh went into The Ones Who Live knowing her character would die
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in the wake of Jadis' final hour, Pollyanna McIntosh admitted that she signed on to "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" knowing that the character would die during the show's run. She believed that Jadis' death was apt to happen earlier. "I found out I'd be popping my clogs about a week into being in New Jersey. But I knew about five months before I left the flagship show, about four-and-a-half years ago now, that we were going to make this," she said.
But in the space between series, Scott M. Gimple — executive producer for much of the Walking Dead universe and showrunner for "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" — requested McIntosh reprise Jadis on "The Walking Dead: World Beyond. "I thought that was fun, let's do more with Jadis! But it ended up being very lucky that I had the time to be on that show because it helped inform this world in new ways," she said.
The actor admitted that she didn't mind Jadis' painful and violent conclusion — to her, it all makes sense due to the show's well-layered writing. "They're just so good at making you question a character and really go deep with the nuance of the grays amongst the black and white of humanity." Jadis is a character that ended up meaning much more than one might think in the Walking Dead universe. She became an integral part of Rick Grimes' backstory, and for that, she will be missed — even though viewers ended up hating her.