The Walking Dead showrunner breaks down penultimate episode's biggest shock

Warning! This article contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 11, episode 23. If you've not yet caught up on the show, turn back now.

The Walking Dead's end is almost upon us, but the long-running horror drama didn't make us wait until the finale to drop some jaw-dropping moments. In its penultimate installment, which aired in the US on Sunday, November 13, both Cassady McClincy's Lydia and Cailey Fleming's Judith Grimes were seriously injured. Now, showrunner Angela Kang has broken down aspects of the young survivors' parallel perils – and what they might mean going into the last-ever episode. 

First, some context. 'Family', episode 23 of The Walking Dead season 11, sees Daryl, Carol, and co attempt to sneak into the Commonwealth to save the still-missing kids and kill its corrupt governor Pamela Milton. But the plan goes awry when they're ambushed by Milton's military at Union Station, and a shootout ensues. When Pamela pulls out a gun herself and takes aim at Maggie, Judith jumps in the way and gets shot. 

As Daryl rushes her to the Commonwealth clinic, a dazed Judith whimpers "Daddy?"  – a line that has led several fans to speculate whether her father Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) will show up in the finale. On that front, Kang remains tight-lipped, but she did explain to Entertainment Weekly: "For Judith, mom and dad –Michonne and Rick – have been on her mind this entire time. And remember, she has this secret of why mom actually went off and what she's doing. She's the only one that knows that Rick might be out there. She has not shared this with the adults in her life because she's scared. And so that's what she's thinking."

Kang went on to say that, as she drifts in and out of consciousness, Judith is likely getting confused as to who "is trying to keep her safe" because she associates that behavior with Rick. "Is that dad? Did he come home? 

"But also, Daryl is her father figure. Either way for Daryl, he's looking at this child that's in his care and he's like, 'I fucked it up. I have to save her. I can't let anything happen to this child that I love and that is my best friend's daughter," she continued. "'Whatever's happened to him, Michonne made me promise he was gonna take care of these children.' So, for both of them, there is this kind of emotional tie moment because Daryl is the closest thing to a parent that she has right now. That puts a lot of responsibility on Daryl."

While she's not quite in as much mortal danger as Judith at the end of 'Family', Lydia is still worse for wear. While trying to escape a horde of walkers with Aaron and co, Lydia was bitten on the wrist trying to stop Elijah from getting swept up in the swarm – and forced to say goodbye to her forearm thanks to a hasty amputation by Jerry.

According to Kang, the writing team saw Lydia getting bitten as a turning point, a sign that she has fully moved on from her former life as a Whisperer, which saw her and her mother Alpha live among the walkers. "She was safe [then], but she was not alive in any kind of way that was satisfying for her," Kang detailed. "Now she's kind of thrown that away and she wants to live, she wants to love, but that means that she's sort rejecting mom's philosophy of survival of the fittest, don't care about what happens to anybody else around you.

"She cares deeply for Elijah, and she's afraid that he's going to die or she's going to lose him. It's in this moment of love and really living her life that she is not careful for one second. But I think that for Lydia, it was still worth the effort. But, of course, it's just horrible. It's scary. We don't know how it's going to play out for her, but I think it's about that choice. Sometimes when you choose to live your best life to the fullest, it means that you're taking risks and it's horrible. But also, maybe that's the way she needs to live."

The Walking Dead concludes on Sunday, November 20, on AMC in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK the following day. Make sure you never miss an episode with our The Walking Dead season 11 release schedule, and check out our how to watch The Walking Dead guide if you're wanting to watch/rewatch the main series and its spin-offs. We even have a guide to all the upcoming Walking Dead spin-offs.