The Walking Dead is bringing Beth back, and this time she made it to New York

The Walking Dead universe has never been shy of the odd resurrection or out-there plot twist, but this one’s a new trick: they’re bringing a long-dead character back for an entire episode that asks, 'What if the apocalypse never even started?' Emily Kinney, who played Beth Greene, is stepping into Beth’s shoes again on The Walking Dead: Dead City—but this time, she’s alive, well, and living in New York City. Bizarre, yes, but it’s happening, and Kinney herself seems just as gobsmacked as the fans.

“I never would’ve imagined that I was coming back at all,” Kinney told Entertainment Weekly. “Years ago, when The Walking Dead series was still going, I vaguely remember they were like, ‘Oh, maybe in someone’s fever dream, there’d be a thing again.’ And it was gonna be a bunch of characters, but then that never happened. But I never would’ve imagined it, especially because now the main show was over. So I was very surprised. I had no idea. But I was excited.”

Beth Greene: If Only

To jog your memory, Beth was shot in the fifth series, midseason finale of the mothership show, all the way back in 2014—a proper tragic exit at Grady Memorial Hospital. But this upcoming Dead City episode throws the rules out the window: zombies never happened, Beth left the family farm, headed for Manhattan, and actually chased her dreams as a musician. If you’re thinking that sounds suspiciously close to Kinney’s real life, you’re absolutely spot-on—she’s from Nebraska and moved to NYC to do music and acting herself.

What’s properly clever is that in this alternate timeline, Beth actually sings one of Kinney’s original tracks, Reasons to Stay Alive. Apparently, the script initially just said ‘Beth sings a folk song’, so the producers asked Kinney for input—and she had the perfect song ready to go. The lyrics lined up perfectly with the story, so they went with it. Fans of her original run might also notice a newly recorded version of Hold On (from series 3), which Kinney's releasing on a new EP she’s built entirely out of songs performed as Beth. By sheer timing, she was about to launch that project just as the Dead City call came in.

“I literally had this EP ready to go specifically for Walking Dead fans, and then got the offer for Dead City,” Kinney said. “And so it all just lined up!”

The Episode, the Reunion, the Vibes

Part of why this return’s a bit special is the on-screen reunion with Lauren Cohan as Maggie. The two first teamed up back in season 2, and Kinney reckons the old chemistry came back straightaway. No surprise either; several crew members from the original Walking Dead are also working on Dead City—familiar faces on all sides, apparently. She describes working with Cohan as easy and naturally sisterly, which, given the premise of the episode, is probably a lifesaver for the drama they’re meant to be playing out.

• Emily Kinney is back as Beth Greene, years after Beth’s dramatic death
• This time it’s an alternate reality: Beth’s alive, in NYC, and chasing a music career
• The storyline aligns closely with Kinney’s real life—Nebraska kid, moved to New York for music
• Kinney gets to perform her own song, Reasons to Stay Alive, as Beth
• A new version of Hold On (the song from Walking Dead season 3) leads her upcoming EP
• Reunited with Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and several original crew members for the episode

The Walking Dead: Dead City brings Beth Greene back in an alternate-reality episode airing this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

Dead City itself is now into series 3, sticking with the saga of Maggie and Negan trying to build a half-decent life in postapocalyptic Manhattan—the place has turned utterly feral, as you’d expect, and the two leads are still butting heads and battling past traumas week after week. Alongside Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the show’s got Jimmi Simpson, Aimee Garcia, and Raúl Castillo on the roster.