Lauren Cohan reveals The Walking Dead cast pact made on the last day of filming

The Walking Dead is done. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. There are still eight more episodes of the show still to air. Plus, Fear the Walking Dead. And Tales of the Walking Dead. And Isle of the Dead. And whatever the Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride spin-off will be called. And those Rick Grimes movies. So, yes, no shortage of Walking Dead still to be had.

But after 11 record-breaking seasons, filming on the flagship series finally came to a close on March 30. For series star Lauren Cohan, who started paying Maggie back in season 2, it wasn't a full goodbye, since she will be starring with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) on Isle of the Dead. In that way — and because the star is used to breaks on the show (including when she went off to star in ABCs criminally underrated Whiskey Cavalier), it did not truly sink in as the end.

"It is such a combination of feelings" says Cohan. "Right now, it doesn't feel like we're finished. It just sort of feels like we're on summer break or we're on hiatus. I'll probably know better in three months. But then in three months, I'll be doing the other one. So I don't know if I'll ever know."

That's not to say there was not an air of finality to it on the last day. Especially since the end of The Walking Dead proper means the last time working with not just most of the cast, but most of the Georgia-based crew as well. (Isle of the Dead will be shooting in the New York area.)

"It definitely felt final during our last episode," says Cohan, "just because I won't see those people in that configuration together in Georgia. It's amazing the way even just looking at a certain grouping of trees can actually conjure all this emotion. You just think of how many times you've been there or the conversations you've had sitting on the porch of Barrington house at the Hilltop."

For Cohan, it is those quiet moments she will miss the most: "It's the little things. It's just the day-to-day, mundane, sweet little things that are actually what I will miss. But it's the people that you'll miss the most that you'll stay in touch with, too."

In fact, Cohan was insistent the cast keep in touch with each other. So much so that on the last day she cornered Ross Marquand (Aaron) and Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel) and forced them to make a pact.

"On the last day we were leaving, I was with Ross and Seth. And I was like, 'Okay guys, let's just make a pact. You never need to explain. If you want to just call for no reason, just do it. Don't question it. Just pick up the phone and call, and we will pick up the phone to each other.'"

For the cast and crew, #TWDFamily is more than just a motto or a hashtag, it's something they also have in common after a decade of blood, (lots of) sweat, and tears.

"It's that weird thing of we've been through this together in a way nobody can relate to but us," says Cohan. "And it feels good."

Here's hoping the last eight episodes feel good to viewers as well.

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