The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan Was Hesitant About One Maggie & Glenn Moment: "It Was Strange Timing"

Maggie Greene actor Lauren Cohan has spoken of her hesitance about shooting one particular scene in The Walking Dead. In season 3 of the show, Maggie and her future husband, Glenn, were captured by Merle Dixon, and they fell into the hands of Steven Morrissey’s sadistic villain, known as the Governor. During episode 7 of the season, “When the Dead Come Knocking”, Cohan had to shoot one of the scariest scenes of Maggie’s entire time on The Walking Dead, in which the Governor physically threatened her with rape.

In the immediate aftermath of this scene, Maggie found comfort in Glenn’s arms, and the two shared a passionate moment, which Cohan has now admitted she found to be a strange turn of events. In an interview with Tommy DiDario for his podcast, I’ve Never Said This Before exclusively previewed by Collider, the actor has described feeling especially uneasy about Maggie and Glenn’s tender embrace following her character’s narrow escape from sexual assault. Here’s what she said in full:

“There was a storyline where after Maggie has this interaction with the Governor, and it’s not a pleasant interaction. I didn’t think her and Glenn would have the moment of passion that they had afterwards, because I felt like it was strange timing. I still don’t know how I feel about it.

“But I do know that the scene and Glenn and Maggie having that moment I am very, very glad of because there is so little tenderness in the show. It was a celebration to see that couple be together in that way and their whole storyline – falling in love and the passionate things that came with that. But I do remember at the time being like, “She just went through this ordeal with the Governor. Is that where her brain is going to go to having these relations with her husband?””

What Lauren Cohan’s Hesitance About This Maggie & Glenn Moment Meant For The Walking Dead

Cohan’s Feelings About The Scene May Have Changed It

It could be that Cohan’s hesitance about the Maggie and Glenn moment, which immediately followed her interrogation by the Governor in “When the Dead Come Knocking,” actually affected the length of the scene. After just a few seconds of Glenn and Maggie holding each other close as she sobbed quietly, the scene cut suddenly to a conversation between the Governor and one of the many characters he ended up killing, Merle Dixon. Perhaps the original version stayed with Glenn and Maggie as they became more physically intimate with each other, but Cohan’s uneasiness meant the scene had to be curtailed.

In any case, the moment exemplifies the stark juxtaposition of unflinching brutality and loving tenderness, which cropped up throughout The Walking Dead. Cohan’s uneasiness, in some ways, reflects the bizarre circumstances in which Maggie found herself. She was being imprisoned and effectively tortured by one of The Walking Dead’s most powerful villains, on the one hand, and falling deeply in love with a fellow survivor of the show’s zombie apocalypse, on the other.

Our Take On Lauren Cohan’s Comments About This Walking Dead Moment

The Actor Has A Point About Juxtaposing Sexual Trauma With Physical Intimacy

Lauren Cohan had a point in feeling hesitant about portraying her character sharing a tender moment with her love interest, straight after she was almost raped. According to leading mental health site HelpGuide.org, sexual trauma survivors tend to experience an aversion to intimacy and being touched by their partner in the moments after an incident like the one Maggie went through. As a result, her passionate physical contact with Glenn felt somewhat out of place.