Fight the dead, fear the living.
That was the motto attached to season 3 of The Walking Dead, when Rick Grimes and Co. were busy fending off the Governor and his army of goons. Fast forward to 2018, and that ominous tagline still rings true, as Andrew Lincoln’s ragtag crew are now in the midst of a war against Negan and his corrupt Saviors.
And so, following The Walking Dead‘s midseason hiatus, the last batch of episodes will begin on a somber note, as viewers bid farewell to Carl Grimes. Said to bring “resolution” and a sense of closure to AMC’s adaptation of “All-Out War,” we’re expecting things to really get going once we’ve said goodbye to Rick’s son, as from what we understand, it’s the young boy’s death which will really fuel Andrew Lincoln’s hero in his ongoing battle with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s big bad.
And while we don’t know exactly how that’ll be resolved just yet, showrunner Scott M. Gimple recently told Entertainment Weekly that big, big things are in store for the finale.
“It’s going to be very big. Probably currently a little too big. It was pretty amazing the scope of some of the things that we got to do. And yet the emotional intensity was insane. And it very much sets up the start of the next story.”
Continuing on, Gimple noted that though they are following the “All Out War” arc, there will still be several major changes that fans might not expect.
“I think emotionally we’re aspiring to evoke the same feeling that [creator Robert Kirkman] achieved in the book. But from the butterfly effect and different characters around that weren’t and vice versa, and even just the thrust of the story, how things play out are quite different in a lot of ways.
There are some big changes that change the very outcome of certain aspects of the story — still trying to be true to the emotions of the story, but changing some big parts of it. It plays out very differently.”
The Walking Dead will return for episode 8×09, titled “Honor,” this Sunday, February 25th. And to commemorate the death of one of the show’s most important characters up to this point, it’s set to be an extended installment – coming it at 82 minutes in length. The only question that remains now, is, are you ready to say goodbye to Carl Grimes?
