The Walking Dead Fans Are Cheering Over Rosita's Big Finale Reunion

Warning: Major spoilers for "The Walking Dead" Episode 24, Season 11 — "Rest in Peace"

In the wake of its series finale, fans are collectively shoveling the last bits of dirt onto "The Walking Dead" and its cavalcade of fascinating characters and heartbreaking plot twists. They've also begun to reflect on the turns and traumas that the show's final episode engaged in. Not every one of the series' beloved characters managed to survive to see its final hours. While the show only killed off three regulars during its last episode, those deaths were incredibly memorable and drove the battle for the Commonwealth forward.

Arguably, the most emotionally agonizing of those deaths belongs to Rosita Espinosa (Christian Serratos), who passes away slowly of a walker bite after the battle of the Commonwealth. But before she dies — relatively peacefully by "The Walking Dead" standards, in a warm bed after saying goodbye to those who mean the most to her — she manages to have one spectacular reunion. Fans of the show are absolutely spellbound by Rosita's toughness during that reunion and the breathtaking emotional reconnection between her and the kidnapped party. 

During "Rest in Peace," Rosita moves heaven and earth to find her daughter, Coco (Eleni and Elijah Carrillo) after the child was taken from her by Pamela's (Laila Robins) soldiers when the former Alexandrians were rounded up and sentenced to forced labor on insurrection charges. In a gore-laden orphanage set up by the Commonwealth, she finally locates her daughter and spirits her off to safety. Though she ultimately ends up sacrificing her own future for Coco's, Rosita goes on to become a heroine in the eyes of her friends. 

Fans on Twitter couldn't get enough of Rosita's fearlessness in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. "Rosita's mama bear instincts kicked into overdrive to get her child back and kill those walkers!" said @bigdogXVI. Many fans were delighted by the sight of her kicking walker butt and taking names in the fight. @rxsecv pointed out an even more harrowing fact: Rosita and her friends stumbled upon a room filled with abandoned babies crying for help, and it's implied they save those babies.

Even though Rosita didn't live to fight another day, she left a legacy for Coco to be proud of. And — as "The Walking Dead" often posits — sometimes leaving a good legacy is all you can hope for.