This Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead is a big one. In fact, you could even say that it’s a huge one.
Titled “What Comes After,” it’ll not only be the fifth installment of the current season but will also act as Rick’s final hurrah, as Andrew Lincoln gets ready to leave the zombie juggernaut for pastures anew.
Judging by the recent promo released by AMC, it’ll be a bittersweet finale for the show’s fearless leader, as he stumbles mindlessly towards ground zero. Which is to say that the visibly distressed Rick will be heading back to Atlanta in hopes of evading a herd of flesh-munching zombies. Will he make it out alive? Or has he been doomed to the same fate as his son?
We’ll find out very soon indeed, but there’s something else which will also bring a sense of sadness to the episode, aside from Rick’s departure. And that’s that it’ll feature Scott Wilson’s final scene as Hershel Greene, which he shot before he passed away earlier this year.
In a recent interview, producer Greg Nicotero spoke about Wilson’s role in the upcoming outing and though he wouldn’t spill on the specifics of it, he did say that the actor had a chance to watch his scene before he died.
“That Scott Wilson moment was one I had a lot of involvement with in terms of getting him there and filming and everything,” Nicotero said. “The only thing I can tell you is Scott did see the scene and I was visiting him recently and I showed him the scene and he was so grateful.”
And not only did he get to watch it, but he was also so touched by the scene that it brought him to tears.
“He had tears in his eyes when he watched it and he was so proud,” Nicotero said. “Hershel… he did so much for the show and it was a great opportunity again paying tribute to the fans and giving them an episode of The Walking Dead unlike anything they have ever seen.”
“Scott was such a dear friend of mine. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we were able to get him back for the show and how happy I am personally that I was able to show him that scene and he was able to enjoy the magic he was able to create.”
As for how Hershel may return, well, we can’t say just yet, but we imagine it’ll be in the form of a flashback of some sort. Or maybe a hallucination. Either way, it’ll no doubt be connected to Andrew Lincoln’s upcoming exit from the show, which fans are currently bracing themselves for.
And it all goes down this Sunday, when The Walking Dead waves goodbye to Rick Grimes and gets ready to ride into a whole new era.