The CW’s “Walker” returns Thursday night with its first new episode of the year, and the exit of Micki Ramirez (Lindsey Morgan) is being felt far and wide.
“Micki’s departure is obviously a big blow to everyone on the show really, because her character really transformed Walker [in] Season 1,” executive producer Anna Fricke told TheWrap. “She was sort of the one who pulled him out of that dark place and also set him on the road to reform as a ranger himself. And that’s the energy and the sort of modern sensibility that she brought to the department.”
She continued: “On the work front, we’ll find Captain James and Walker really feeling the void that Micki leaves and promising each other that they have to keep moving forward in her spirit and try to try to continue on that path that they started on together.”
The Walker family, as well, including Cordell’s (Jared Padalecki) daughter Stella (Violet Brinson), are feeling her absence.
“They’re all really missing her. And you know, she meant a lot to the kids. The kids really looked up to her. … And it was good for them to have this strong, female presence in their lives.”
While Micki’s departure may have put some doubts about the future of Micki’s love interest Trey (Jeff Pierre) on the show, Fricke insists he’s not going anywhere.
“It’s important for us to broadcast to everyone: Trey’s not going anywhere,” she said. “Trey is already very organically woven into the fabric of the show with the Walker family, with his role with the kids and school and as a coach. And so we’re only going to be exploring more aspects of Trey as he’s sort of taking the time to figure out like, ‘Well, who am I now?’ because he kind of came in Episode 1 with his duffel bag and stayed and was just sort of living for Micki, and she kind of called the shots. And now, he has to figure out who he is – does he want to stay in Austin? And who is he now that he’s not her boyfriend? So, we’re having a lot of fun exploring his relationships with other cast members.”
While everyone is processing life without Micki, Liam Walker (Keegan Allen) is on his own journey of self-discovery as he deals with the ramifications of calling in a false police report last season. And playing with a not-fully-put-together Liam is something the writers have been longing to explore with Allen’s character.
“Season 1, he’s so together and he’s the one pulling Cordell off the ground and telling him what to do and you know, ‘Get your act together.’ And he’s all buttoned up and clean shaven. And that is what we wanted to explore Season 1,” Fricke said. “Now that Walker has kind of reformed and isn’t in such a dark place, he has to turn his eye to his family saying, ‘Oh, maybe they need help now and Liam is a big part of that.”
Liam is “falling apart,” Fricke added, following the “shaky moral ground” the character landed on at the end of 2021.
“I think we’re seeing him kind of hit rock bottom and ask himself some serious questions and start to pull himself back up and a lot of that is also having to do with his relationship with his brother, and Cordell separating who he is as a ranger and who he is as a brother,” she said.
“Walker” airs Thursday nights on The CW.
