With the highly anticipated second half to The Walking Dead’s 7th season set to debut on February 12, Alanna Masterson recently spoke to Comix Asylum’s Peter Van Horne to discuss The Walking Dead, being Tara, and a dark Season 7.
PVH: Let’s talk about Swear, your solo episode. How cool was that?
AM: It was pretty awesome. I had so much fun shooting that episode. I had taken a break from having a baby and to come back and get such an awesome episode where it was really just me, I’m so happy and so excited that people got to see Tara for the first time in a while.
PVH: Certainly there was some anticipation for Tara’s return. At the beginning of Swear it felt like you, and by extension Tara, were having a Wonder Woman moment being washed up on a beach and then having to deal with a community comprised of only women. What was it like filming that episode?
AM: That episode for me was one of the best episodes, but also the hardest episode that I ever shot in the, what is it, four years I have been on the show, because one it was shot in summer and we were outside and I had the responsibility to uphold the standard of our show to a bunch of brand new people. So for me it was a lot of pressure but also a great way to bring these people into this world and show them how we work. (laughs) Some of the girls couldn’t believe it. They were like, “Wait a minute, you’re out in the heat and the woods all day long?” And I’m like, “Yeah,” and they said “This is so crazy.” And to be with a bunch of badass women made me feel really cool.
PVH: That’s really neat, and in a way you became a mentor to the cast of this episode, similar to when you joined the show and others were mentors to you.
AM: Yeah, exactly, that’s why I think it felt cool because when I came on the show, it was just me and the Governor, and I was like, “Oh no, people are going to hate that I’m working with him,” and then when I got to be with Steven (Yeun) that was so exciting and so fun because he set such a good example for me as an actor and as an artist. I learned from him and I was able to transcend that to other people when they joined, and it’s kind of like a nice circle of life.
PVH: And it does make the experience a lot more fulfilling.
AM: Yeah for sure, I think you can – not teach, but set a good example to anybody that you are working with and they learn something from it or they take that to their next set. It’s really nice because I’ve learned so much from the originals on the show and what they did to put it on the map, and I hope that I uphold their standard of work ethic.
PVH: Well, at least in my books and the guys here at Comix Asylum, so far so good.
AM: Aw, awesome. Thank you!
PVH: No problem. As for your character, Tara has faced a great deal of loss on the show ranging from her family in previous seasons, close friend Glenn and her lover Denise. How has all of this loss helped to shape Tara from the character we first saw in Season Four to the person we see now?
AM: I think that through loss and everything that she has been dealing with, you sort of make a harder exterior shell, and you learn what’s worth fighting for and what’s not. And I think that after she lost her family she had a purpose to help Glenn get to Maggie, and she met Denise and she had a purpose for her and now she’s lost Denise and I think, instead of succumbing or giving up she has a family worth fighting for even though it’s not her blood, it feels like her blood. I think she innately as a person has always done the right thing, and I think that has made Tara a fun part of the group because she’s not driven by anger or revenge, she’s driven by the desire to help other people.
PVH: For sure, but a guy like Negan is a game changer and while the world of the show has always been dangerous, he’s really forced everyone to step outside of their norms and see themselves through a different lens. So how might Negan’s presence on the show have affected Tara?
AM: I think his presence has been obviously daunting and scary, but I don’t think she is looking at him like “Oh, this guy, we can take him,” I think she’s like, “Okay, we have to play our cards right, and the only way we’re going to wipe this person out is with an army.” He has so many outposts and she learned at Oceanside that there’s more and you can’t really escape them unless you kick them all out. You can’t just get rid of Negan you have to get rid of all of them, and that’s why I think Rick has been playing it pretty smart, because it’s not just like, “Oh, okay he’s right here in Alexandria, we can kill him,” it’s like there’s so many more, someone else would step up as Negan, I think they’re going to plot really carefully as to how to wipe them all out once and for all.
PVH: Right, and the premiere episode was pretty shocking and this continues to reverberate throughout the show and the fan base. What was your reaction when you got the script and did it change at all when you saw the completed episode?
AM: Yeah, I mean, definitely, I wasn’t in the episode but I was there every night with everyone and I felt the episode was really gory and upsetting and super scary to be honest. I think that it upset a lot of people but I think the redemption will be that much greater.
PVH: And as we’ve seen already through this season it’s been pretty dark with several characters either getting killed or others broken emotionally. Would you agree that Rock in the Road is like a call to war and begins to shift the narrative for several characters including, Tara?
AM: Yes, definitely, I think it’s kind of “Okay, everyone needs to step up and hold their ground and figure it out,” and I think that no one is going to sit by the wayside and see what happens. I think that every single person is going to fight and give their all to destroy this man once and for all.
PVH: There’s a moment near the end of Rock in the Road where Tara’s humor is on display. Will viewers get to see more of her humorous side in future episodes?
AM: I think she brings a little levity to the show, but I don’t think her humor is inappropriate; she’s not making jokes when people are bleeding to death (laughs). I think she kind of calls it like it is and has no filter, it’s like, “Yeah, here’s the deal. It is what it is,” and it’s kind of funny because it’s true and she says what people won’t say and I think that you’re going to see some humor to her but I also think that she’s very realistic of the circumstances and what’s going on, and she doesn’t make jokes of things that shouldn’t be made jokes of, she calls things out how they really are.
PVH: But as you said, with a lot of heavy stuff happening on the show and in each episode, moments of levity are good because they give the audience a breather as well as the characters, doesn’t it?
AM: Yeah, for sure. I think sometimes you get beat over the head so much, literally with a baseball bat, and with just abuse over and over to these characters, to hear a joke once in a while makes people feel a bit better. And it also reminds people that these people are human, they still have feelings and sometimes you can get lost and forget that when you are watching it because you think they’re being torn apart. But it’s nice to remind people that we’re all human and I’m happy that people come up to me on the street and they’re like, “Your character makes me laugh,” and it’s a really nice change of pace from being upset. And it makes me feel good.
PVH: That’s fantastic, especially with this first half of the season has been very, very dark and we seem to be giving way to a lighter tone. What can viewers look forward to as we head towards the finale?
AM: I think you are going to see camaraderie at its finest and everyone pulling their own weight and no one really sitting back and watching it happen. And you’re also going to see twists and turns and darkness still comes out, and it’s a good half of a season – I like Seven B better than Seven A story-wise, I think it’ll shock people and it’s going to be awesome.
PVH: And speaking of camaraderie, is the ensemble cast like a family?
AM: For me we are really close and supportive of each other because we’ve spent so much time together, and we all got to know each other – husbands and wives, and children, and we are really like a family. It’s funny, at the end of each season you’re like, “Oh, I’m really glad to be going home and glad to be with my family,” and you’re home for a month and you’re like, “Oh man, I really wish I was back at work.” (laughs) So it’s kind of a funny scenario that you’re in because you’re so secluded together, and you fight like brothers and sisters but you love each other like brothers and sisters, then you’re apart from each other and you’re bummed.
AMC’s The Walking Dead returns for the second half of Season 7 on Sunday, February 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
