Photo of Katelyn Nacon by Robert Kazandjian
As The Walking Dead marches toward its season six fall finale, the zombie juggernaut has yet to answer many questions and continues to stir in new mysteries.
One of the AMC series' rising stars, Katelyn Nacon, says that will soon change—at least, in part.
"As we get closer to the break, there will be some answers," the 16-year-old actress says, speaking with Variance on an October afternoon shortly after getting out of school for the day.
"It's weird thinking about fighting zombies one moment and the next wondering if you’ll past a math test," she quips, acknowledging the unique balance she has to maintain between being in high school and being on the biggest show in television. "It’s still weird to be living in these two worlds at the same time."
Dead is expected to wrap production on the current season just before the holidays, so Nacon has been juggling a lot. But she's grateful because she hardly thought she'd make it this far in the first place.
"My mom saw the name 'Enid' when I first got the script and she realized it spells 'dine' backwards," she recalls. "We were like, ‘Oh no, she’s going to die right away!’ Luckily that didn’t happen."
While Enid is indeed very much alive, so is the speculation surrounding her character, which first surfaced last season and has only become more entrenched in mystery.
Photo of Katelyn Nacon in 'The Walking Dead,' by Gene Page/AMC
Many fans suspect she's part of the Wolves, the antagonistic group of survivors who have become a significant threat to the show's main characters. Nacon can't really confirm nor deny the rumors, but she says Enid "would do anything to survive."
The actress insists, however, she "wouldn’t do anything that compromises her morals. Like, she wouldn’t do anything she thinks is wrong." She specifically points to Enid's possession of the keys to Alexandria. "She has every escape plan she can possibly think of. When she came to Alexandria, she saw who the people were and she thought something had to go wrong because it seemed too good to be true."
Of course, Nacon has spent many months with this character and understands her intentions more than even the most devout fan. But she assures viewers the next few episodes may prove eye-opening.
"In the episodes right before the break, Enid is faced with her fears, which is not easy," she says. "And she’s not able to run from her problems anymore. You see her going through these inner conflicts. And that’s not to say other people aren’t involved, but there’s a lot going on internally."
"People will have a definitive view of Enid going into the break. It may actually change how people look at her..."
She cautions that even after the hiatus, there will be "a lot that's still unclear" about Enid and Carl's (Chandler Riggs) tepid relationship, but she doesn't believe Enid "cares enough about him yet."
Nacon is confident the upcoming episodes will hopefully give viewers more insight about her mysterious character. In fact, she believes "people will have a definitive view of Enid going into the break. It may actually change how people look at her, but you’ll also understand what kind of a person she is. There will still be people who have their doubts, but I think you’ll have an indication of whether she’s good or bad."
For those who don't know if to trust her yet, Nacon promises "there will be some clarity—or at least some form of clarity. It's still The Walking Dead, right?"
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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.