Danai Gurira has recently revealed that Michonne, the katana-wielding character she plays in "The Walking Dead," will feel pulled in two different directions in Season 5 as she keeps on taking on a mother-like role to Carl (Chandler Riggs).

"She does yearn for something more stable in life," the 36-year-old Zimbabwean-American actress told Entertainment Weekly about Michonne. "She really believes that Carl needs something more stable than where they are and what they have been experiencing, but also she's very committed to what has to be done. She's a woman who does what has to be done, so that involves a lot of ferocity."

In the Season 4 episode "After," it was revealed that Michonne lived with her young son Andre, her lover Mike, and another close associate named Terry in a camp after the outbreak. One day, Michonne went out for a supply run, and Mike and Terry got high, so when the zombies attacked the camp, her son was killed.

Andre's death somehow explains why Michonne has been protective of Carl - a motherly affection that a lot of fans hope would pave the way for her to get closer to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Bustle reported

Though there will be an inner struggle for Michonne, the character will be more ferocious in Season 5 as she is now more committed to look after her newfound family.

While at San Diego Comic-Con last July, Gurira told reporters (via Comic Book Resources), "I think that if you have people to protect, you can actually become more ferocious, like a lioness."

She then shared a short story to further explain her thoughts, "My sister and I were really stupid -- we were on a safari in December in Zimbabwe. She took all these pictures because we found all these lionesses with the lions. They would make the little lion cubs go away, because they were trying to figure out what we were. They were watching us and watching us -- just chilling, and we thought they were so far away. She took pictures and blew them up later, and there were three other lionesses we couldn't see that were ready to pounce at any second, watching us watch their kids."

"When you have something to protect, I used to say [Michonne] was like a cat, but now I think she's more like a lioness because she really cares about things she doesn't want to see harmed. She will go possibly further to protect them than she would have done before," she added.

"The Walking Dead" Season 5 premieres Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.