‘The Walking Dead’ Star Eleanor Matsuura Talks Yumiko Being in ‘Bizarre Environment’ (Exclusive)

The Walking Dead is back on AMC as the first episode of the final eight of the series premiered on Sunday. And fans got to see Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) continue to work closely with Gov. Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) at the Commonwealth. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Matsuura was asked if Yumiko trusts Pamela since the community is now dealing with a fair share of issues. 

“I think it’s a really weird, bizarre environment for Yumiko to find herself in,” Matsuura exclusively told PopCulture. “I’ve been rolling with the same crew for a long time, and our motto was always ride or die. We are really, really tight. So I think anything outside of that crew is always going to feel weird. But the Commonwealth, as you know, is particularly bizarre. It’s a whole new territory that no one’s ever experienced before. So just because Yumiko has this past, which is she’s found herself, she was a top lawyer, she’s comfortable in these kinds of environments.”

Matsuura went on to say that Yumiko knows that she has to go with the flow to survive. “She’s really used to those kinds of environments,” she said. “She doesn’t find a courtroom intimidating. But this is different. The Commonwealth just has a completely different twist to it. And I don’t think Yumiko’s unaware of that. I’m a smart cookie, and I’m trying to, I think, do the best to survive, both for myself and for the loyalty of my group. And also, I don’t know if I fully trust the Commonwealth yet. I don’t know if I fully trust Pamela. I also know I’m also probably smart enough not to let that show so much. So, that’s certainly how I wanted to play it.”

The Walking Dead has been on since 2010, and there will be three new spinoffs that will air on the network starting in 2023. Because of that, fans are curious about how the series will end, and Matsuura said fans will not be disappointed with the next set of episodes. 

“I feel like the first two chunks of The Walking Dead that we’ve seen so far, you’ve seen these stories within the story themselves,” Matsuura said. “New characters come and go. But we’re working with such a huge, phenomenal cast, as you know. And I feel like that you’ll see more stories, that maybe you haven’t seen before in the previous two chunks, appear more, happen more, come together more in this final push.” New episodes of The Walking Dead air at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Episodes also stream on AMC+.