Lindsey Morgan Dishes On The Explosive Walker Season 1 Finale, Her Season 2 Arc - Exclusive Interview

The CW's "Walker" has captivated fans since the first promo featured Jared Padalecki donning his cowboy hat — and the show's popularity has only grown ever since. Since the show earned a very early renewal, fans are already looking forward to another season of Padalecki's Cordell Walker kicking butt and taking names alongside his partner Micki Ramirez, played by Lindsey Morgan ("General Hospital" and the CW's "The 100").

While we can't help but wonder what Season 2 has in store, we have to get through the "Walker" Season 1 finale first — and it's a big one. The first season hinges on what happened to Cordell's wife Emily, and the mystery unravels and finally comes to a head in the last episode.

Looper spoke to Lindsey Morgan during an exclusive interview, and she dished on the Season 1 finale, teased her Season 2 arc, revealed the wildest thing Jared Padalecki has done on set, and reminisced about her final days on "The 100."

Your character has had a tremendous amount of character growth between the first episode and the Season 1 finale. What has it been like watching Micki go from being fairly insecure in her relationship and her career to really embracing and trusting the badass that she is and going after what she wants?

[Laughs] It's been amazing. I love that we get to see Micki's journey and just how much she grows into herself. And then how, just like you said, how powerful she feels in her body and trusting herself and trusting her instincts and believing in herself and now really trusting others and opening her heart and really going for it. It's been a joy to play, and it's just been a joy to see for sure.

That's awesome. Micki's death glare when she's scolding Walker is incredible. How much of that is acting, and how much of that is real when you're in a scene with Jared? And does he ever try to get you to break on set?

That's just my face when I see Jared Padalecki. No, I'm just kidding. I love the death glare. That's the classic Micki. But Jared is so funny, and he is constantly razzing me and constantly pulling pranks on me. So I've just come to accept it now. But it has been really fun. I feel like Micki and Walker have great banter. And so it's just a fun atmosphere to play with, and Jared's always game, if not one-upping me constantly.

It's so funny because I asked Molly Hagan if he ever pulled any pranks, but I guess he respects her role as matriarch. [Laughs] What has he done to you?

Oh my gosh, this is probably my favorite. We were in the pilot, and this was when I was driving home, and he was drunk, and I hadn't really revealed who I was yet. And I was just kind of watching him. So it was kind of just a tense moment of silence, and he put a fart machine in the car and let it rip during one of these silent beats. And I just died laughing. I was like "What was that?" So it's pretty notorious.

Without giving anything away, it looks like Micki is going to have an incredible arc in Season 2 based on the Season 1 finale. Can you tease anything about where she's headed and what you're most excited about going into the next season?

I mean, as you saw in the finale, Micki is probably going to be going undercover, and it's such a big moment for her. Because essentially, it is a career promotion. She's really kicked so much ass as a ranger, and Captain James really believes in her and thinks she is the right person for this job. And it's a huge honor.

But also, more importantly, she's doing it to protect Walker — she personally feels if anyone should do it, it should be her. However, she spent the whole first season building this really beautiful family life that she never really had before. She kind of was a lone wolf, and now she has this amazing relationship — a budding relationship with Trey that could be taking the next step. She's really connected with her mother and now her [birth] mother in ways she's never before.

And she's really introducing this, the importance in this life of family that she's never had before. But now, into the question of will all her hard work crumble? How much will going undercover affect her home life? And we saw firsthand how much Walker going undercover affected his and how many bridges he had to rebuild. And so Micki, of course, is thinking that won't happen to her, and she'll have a different experience, and she can handle it all. But I do understand. I do question and wonder how one will affect the other, because I think it has to.

The final few episodes of the first season give us a lot of closure regarding Emily. Do you think she'll appear in the next season, or do you think that storyline has been put to rest?

I mean, I think so. I think the kids will see her. Or like Bonham or Abeline, I don't know. I just can't imagine the show going forward without her. Because she impacted so many people's lives. But I don't know. I don't really know. And I love Genevieve [Padalecki]. I think she's so fabulous and beautiful. So I don't know, can Micki start seeing her? Why not? I don't know.

That was the biggest thing that sucked about her dying in the first episode. You never really got to interact with her, because Micki didn't know her when she was alive.

No, I didn't get any flashbacks. I didn't even get any goats, vision, nothing.

Do you have any fond or fun memories of working with Jared on set? And how does he manage all the hats he wears as the star and the producer of the series?

Jared kind of like, he's a machine, point-blank. This man does everything and does it with so much passion and heart, and infectious energy. You know, I really just admire him, and I'm grateful to have him as a boss and also as a partner and co-worker and someone I get to work with and do scenes together. I'd say, oh gosh. I think it was episode two. This is so funny. So it's an episode where people don't remember it, we are riding on horseback together, and he kind of grabs me as the force of galloping and throws me on his back, and then we're riding together. By the way, he's really strong. So when we were doing it, he could actually lift me up with one hand while on a horse. And I was like, "Wow, this is just scary, stop." I was like, "Let the stunt people do this." 

But this is episode two. So we'd really only worked together for about maybe a week and a half. And so what people don't realize is, when you're shooting horseback scenes, you maybe for a wide shot, you're on the horse. But if they want to get a close-up, they can't get that close to the animal. So they have a rig, and it's literally like, you know those cheap horses you put a quarter in? It just barely moves. That's what it is. And you have to move it yourself. So it's just so funny that I was like, "Hey, really tall man I don't know that well but also my boss. I'm just going to pretend to ride a horse behind you. So don't mind me." For me, it was just like, "Wow. This is incredibly awkward. I really hope it looks good because I feel so silly doing it."

It definitely looked good.

Okay. Well good. Then that's all that matters.

The show has tackled so many critical societal issues — deportation, racism, and police brutality. Which issues have resonated most with you? And is there something you hope that the show tackles in the future?

Yeah. I mean, I think we're really getting into it as far as these issues and getting to see our characters really explore and navigate through racism, police brutality, law enforcement reform. And the show has this ability of being a family drama and action, and also lighthearted and comedy all at once, which I think is brilliant. 

And so I think we've been lucky to be the vehicle to maybe deliver to audiences these discussions of these issues, these current issues, in a very palatable way. So I really love that. I really enjoy that. Personally, what resonated the most with me, I'd say, would probably be any of the episodes that dealt with racism or dealt with prejudice — especially toward women or people of color in these communities. Especially in law enforcement, especially in communities that have known to be racist and prejudiced, and archaic in their thinking.

I grew up in Texas. And I'm a woman of color myself. I'm mixed race, too. And so my experience growing up was, I had moments of racism or feeling marginalized in spaces. So I was really glad that I got to bring a light to these issues and to show audiences and speak to audiences that we can always be better. We can do better, and it doesn't have to be this way anymore, and we can change. And it's really unfortunate that so many people in our lives had to endure this and are continuing to endure this. And it's only through us that we can make a change.

And so I love that we're not the news — where we're not delivering these issues in a really stark black and white way. We're delivering it in an honest human way of truth and humanity. And this is the world we live in. I hope it can breed tolerance in our audience. And again, remind and show that we can all do better. And going forward, let's strive to do better and be better and incorporate tolerance in our lives.

Definitely. Thank you for sharing that.

I love that we're finally getting a partnered show that doesn't throw its leads together romantically. Was that surprising to you, or did you know that going in? And how would you describe the relationship between Walker and Micki? Do you think the writers will keep things platonic?

The only reason I signed on. [Laughs] No, I'm kidding. I love it. I think it's so great. Anna Fricke told me that "The X-Files" is a big inspiration for her. I love that about their relationship on "X-Files," and I love that it's totally possible to have a platonic relationship that's full of respect for the other person. And full of trust. And that is a friendship. So in a way, friendships are actually more delicate than a romantic relationship. In my opinion, only the sense of like, in a friendship you're not really getting anything out of that friendship except for just pure enjoyment of that person's company.

And therefore, to nurture it and cultivate it, it takes respect, it takes communication, it takes trust. And it also takes just connection in a personal way that doesn't have boundaries on it, the way a romantic relationship would have or pressure the way a romantic relationship can have. So I love that it's free in that sense. And I love that we can show that. And I love that Walker and Micki have separate romantic relationships on their own and their own identity. And then, when they're together, their relationship is very specific to them. And you see what a great team they are and how they really work together and how they really use each other's strengths to, I don't know. What's the word? To solve the crime? I don't know.

And lift each other up.

To ... save the day. That's it. To save the day. But yeah, from what I know, I believe it will stay platonic. And I think that's the more interesting choice.

You also played Raven on the CW's "The 100." What do you miss most from that set? What's your favorite memory from your time as Raven, and were there any stories that you wanted to explore that you never really got the chance to?

Oh, wow. It's a bit surreal, leaving Raven behind. Because a part of her voice is still kind of with me, but it is surreal — not living in that world anymore. We filmed in Canada, in Vancouver, and I had so many friends and relationships there that I really miss. And that was the hardest. I'd say not being able to work with my friends from "The 100," its been the hardest part and what I miss most.

Memories. Oh, man. I don't know. I feel like we've been able to share everything we can share. Yeah. It was pretty crazy filming at the beginning of the pandemic 'cause all these shows were shutting down around us, and we were still filming. And so that was pretty gnarly. And we couldn't have a wrap party because the world was shutting down. We ended up just gathering in the Tavern, one of the sets, and having a wrap party there. So it was pretty special in that sense.

Are there any stories that you would love to explore for Raven? Or how would you have changed anything about her character?

I wouldn't say I would have changed anything. I would have loved to maybe see more about her family life. She spoke about her mother. So it would have been, I would have loved to learn more about that. I never knew who her father was. I think it was Sinclair, but that's my fan fiction that I've made up in my head. I would have loved to learn more about Raven's origin.

Fans can tune into the "Walker" Season 1 finale on Thursday, August 12. For anyone who needs to catch up, all other episodes of the series are currently streaming on the CW website.