‘The Walking Dead’ Spoilers: Showrunner Says The Finale Is A ‘Conclusion’ Of The First 8 Seasons’

We’ve seen a lot of important developments in Season 8 of The Walking Dead and the upcoming finale will continue that trend. The next episode will serve as a transition of sorts between the first 8 seasons and whatever lies ahead for Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Scott M. Gimple talked about the Season 8 finale and what it will mean to the series moving forward.
Gimple is taking a step back from The Walking Dead after Season 8 and is handing over the reins to Angela Kang, who will oversee the day-to-day activities. When talking about finishing his final episode, Gimple admitted that it was hard leaving the cast and crew after working with them for 8 years.
But he’s also looking forward to new opportunities and ensuring that The Walking Dead and its spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, will continue stronger than ever. When it comes to the upcoming finale, Gimple talked about how there was an “intense vibe” on set, mostly due to all the emotional scenes this season.
“Also, this episode isn’t just like these 15 episodes concluding, but Angela and myself and the writers had always talked about this in many ways being sort of the conclusion of the first eight seasons. This show will be very much a new show next year and with a bigger, new narrative,” Gimple shared.
We don’t know too many details about what unfolds in the upcoming finale, but we do know that there is going to a major battle ahead. Producers just released a slew of promo images from the finale and it looks like things are going to get pretty intense for Rick and company.
In one photo, Michonne (Danai Gurira) takes her sword fighting skills to a member of the Saviors while another shows Rick and his army on a hilltop preparing for the battle. Everyone is pretty much armed to the teeth in all the photos, so it looks like we’ll get an epic showdown before Season 8 calls it a wrap.
But the finale isn’t all about fighting. Gimple revealed that a lot of plot lines will be resolved in the Season 8 finale and the episode will prove emotional for different characters. Gimple also explained how the final battle isn’t just one big brawl. Instead, there are things going on in different places and it doesn’t feel like a proper battle. There’s also going to be a few flashbacks for Rick as one of the photos shows him and a young version of Carl walking down a dirt road.
Unfortunately, Gimple did not reveal who survives the battle in the finale and given all the characters we’ve lost in the past few seasons, nobody is safe.
The Season 8 finale of The Walking Dead airs Sunday night on AMC.