Episode 6 of The Walking Dead Season 11 saw the heartfelt reunion of onscreen sisters, Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Kelly (Angel Theory).
Connie got separated in a cave from others in her group while trying to locate and destroy Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) massive walker horde in Season 10, Episode 9 of The Walking Dead. Since then, most of her friends and family assumed the worst when she wasn’t immediately found.
However, viewers knew better once she was seen, nearly dead, and rescued by Virgil (Kevin Carroll). Since then, it has been a waiting game to find out exactly when Connie would be reunited with her sister, Kelly.
In Season 11 of The Walking Dead, a surprise encounter with some stray Whisperers gave the Alexandrian group the final incentive to finally track Connie down once and for all. Then, in last Sunday’s episode, the pair finally set eyes on each other and viewers instantly felt their heartstrings tugged at the tearful reunion.
Lauren Ridloff has revealed that she purposefully didn’t want to meet up with Angel Theory prior to filming this scene in order to capture the perfect moment.
Lauren and Angel hadn’t seen each other since before the pandemic
According to an interview with Insider, Ridloff made the suggestion to Episode 6 director Greg Nicotero prior to filming, who thought it was a wonderful idea.
“I asked Greg before we actually started shooting if we could set up some kind of actual physical separation,” Ridloff explained.
“I didn’t want to see Angel until the day that we actually shot that scene. I wanted that scene to be the first time that I actually physically saw her, that we saw each other. Greg liked that idea. He was like, ‘Yes, most definitely. Let’s just make that happen.'”
In addition to this, the pair hadn’t seen each other since before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.
It was a juggling act to keep the two seperated
While Nicotero may have been on board with Ridloff in regard to keeping the two separated, it took a lot of juggling in order to keep the pair separated.
Not only were there the usual complications of onset set up but the pandemic also played into things. Actors are regularly tested for COVID-19 while filming in order to make sure major spreading events don’t occur on set.
In addition to this, there were the usual tasks such as make-up and costume fittings that saw the crew having to maintain different protocols regarding Ridloff and Theory prior to filming.
Finally, the time was near when the scene was being filmed and the pair could finally lay eyes on each other for the first time.
“When we finally shot that scene, what you actually see on screen is real,” Ridloff said.
“Those were real tears. It was that sense of relief that we’re both back together. We survived the pandemic and now here we are. We’re still surviving in this apocalypse. I think it was really a nice parallel.”
Season 11 of The Walking Dead is currently airing every Sunday night at 9/8c on AMC.