WARNING: The following includes spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 14 "Look At The Flowers," which aired Sunday on AMC.
The Walking Dead has always featured dark and despondent characters who've been overwhelmed by the bleak world around them. But every once in awhile, someone with a bit of silliness to their personality will arrive on the scene.
The likes of Ezekiel and Negan have been able to find laughs even in the middle of the end of the world - just like the newest character found by the survivors in the television adaptation, an unnamed but perky young woman with dyed hair wielding a massive machine gun. So, who is this woman, who goes by the name Princess, and what can fans of The Walking Dead expect from her?
WHO IS PRINCESS?
Juanita Sanchez -- aka Princess -- was first introduced late into the comic series, in issue #171. Eventually revealed to be the survivor of a troubled home in her youth, Juanita was just an average young adult when the dead rose and started attacking the living. She's introduced as a survivor found by the team of Michone, Eugene, Yumiko, Magna, Michonne, and Siddiq while on their way to the Commonwealth. Having been alone for over a year and driven slightly unhinged by the isolation, Princess is ecstatic to find other living and breathing humans. Despite Michone's reluctance, she travels alongside them to the Commonwealth. She quickly proves to be loyal to her new allies, standing up to them when confronted by Sebastian. She's even able to impress Mercer, Sebastian's bodyguard-- which leads to the pair beginning a romantic relationship. In the end, Princess proves to be an effective and committed ally to the heroes. She ends up being one of the survivors to survive to see society rebuild, and is last seen still with Mercer in the future.
The television version of the character is introduced in a very similar manner, although she doesn't have the spear that the comics version carried prominently. She's also apparently set up some of the Walkers across her city into specific poses, a macabre act that Ezekiel finds so absurd that he can't do anything but laugh. Although the group that finds her is different than their comics counterpart (Michonne has gone on her own to find Rick, Siddiq is dead, and Magna isn't present -- although Ezekiel, who is dead by this point in the comic, is with the group), she's introduced with the same excitement that her comic version had upon finding some new people.
WHAT COULD PRINCESS DO IN THE FUTURE?
With the television series losing more and more established characters, it makes sense why this is the perfect time to introduce some fresh blood into the cast. Princess is also something of a breath of fresh air. Like Negan, she brings a sense of humor to the apocalypse and helps light up any setting she's in. But while the former villain comes with a great deal of prerequisite baggage whenever he appears, Princess gets to just be a wacky and well-meaning brawler. But her eventual loyalty made her an invaluable ally, especially once tensions rose within the Commonwealth. It's likely that she'll join the group in their travels to the Commonwealth. While Yumiko is likely to pick up the more suspicious nature of the Commonwealth that Michonne had in the comics, Princess can be the member of the group to be most impressed by the city -- might develop the begrudging appreciation for Princess that Michonne eventually developed.
It's possible she even gets her romance with Mercer, which could be used as a direct way to communicate and create a deeper bond for the audience with one of the Commonwealth members. Her loyalty could even be tested against the survivors she first was introduced to or whether she sides with the people of the Commonwealth. While suspicions about Princess proved unfounded in the comics, the show has always been willing to twist and diverge from the source material -- especially as the show approaches the point in the story where the comic ended. One way to prolong the series could be to play with Princess' storyline and extended, which could give the giddy young woman a bit more depth to her arc.
The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Cooper Andrews and Samantha Morton. It airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.