The Walking Dead closed its mid-season with a dramatic finale: the prison went down in flames, major characters were massacred and the rest of the group became separated. Sadly, fans have to survive almost the whole winter without their favorite zombie show, till the second half airs on February 9. However, the producers have shared some plot details about the upcoming seasons, so if you are already dying to know what happens next with the Grimes family, read the SPOILERS here.
In the mid-season finale, titled Too Far Gone, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the members of the prison group fled different directions after the protecting walls fell down. Rick headed to the wilderness with Carl (Chandler Riggs). Show-runner and executive producer Scott M. Gimple told TV Guide that in the new season Rick will physically and mentally suffer, because of baby Judith’s disappearance and his severe beating by The Governor (David Morrissey). Gimple said:
It’s going to hit [Rick] in a way that we haven’t seen before. If it’s just the two of them, [Carl is] going to have to step up quite a bit because circumstances are wildly different and a lot will depend on him in terms of them just surviving. They don’t have an awesome, dual-layer fence and brick buildings to hide behind. They’re out in the world.
On the other hand, now that The Governor met his demise and is (most likely) dead for good, the show needs a new antagonist figure. Being pointed out, the next iconic bad guy in the comics is the leader of the ruthless Saviors, Negan, who tries to establish “The New World Order” across the communities. His weapon of choice is a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, which he fondly calls Lucille. The character, featuring the polar opposite of Rick, will probably not appear yet in the episode 9 start of the upcoming season, however, producer Robert Kirkman has hinted at the possibility that Negan might be the major villain of season 5. Kirkman said to Entertainment Weekly:
Well, there was a lot of breathing room in the comics between them. Whether or not we have the same amount of breathing room, or if we do cut that down a little bit and bring him into the show a little early, remains to be seen. But I definitely do think there needs to be some kind of space from a Governor into a Negan. You have to have something of a break in there. So I wouldn’t expect him to be showing up — definitely not in season 4. I don’t know. I wouldn’t expect it too soon. But we are all very excited about the prospect of bringing that guy into the show. The plan is that we will see him eventually.
