walking dead

The finale episode for the eighth season of ‘The Walking Dead’ is headed our way in just a few short weeks, and from all reports coming from the set and the show’s stars so far, it certainly seems like it will be an epic conclusion to a long-running story arc.

For the last few seasons, Rick Grimes and the survivors of the Alexandria Safe Zone have been furiously fighting not only the undead menace but also the vicious Negan and his group of ruthless Saviors.  As the leader of the “good guys” (obviously with several shades of gray, given what they’ve had to do in order to survive over the years), Rick has been in a singular position to experience all the mayhem; this makes actor Andrew Lincoln uniquely qualified to weigh in on what’s coming in the season finale episode.

In a recent interview, Lincoln spoke about the episode at length:

“I would say this is a smorgasbord. I think you’ve got everything in this one. It’s quite an unusual structure, but it’s very emotional, I hope, because that’s what I felt [while filming]. It’s epic.

 

“The location we shot at was phenomenal and unusual. I hope that it’s going to look on screen as good as it felt when we were shooting there.

 

“It does feel like [this season] completes something. But it also does feel that it offers a lot of interesting story arcs for the future, which is quite unusual.”

Outgoing series showrunner Scott M. Gimple also spoke about the episode and its scope:

“It’s very big. Probably currently a little too big.

 

“We will see a resolution of the war. It might not be what people are expecting. It might not be what some of the characters even want. But it is a conclusion, and they have to deal with its aftermath. I pray to God that [viewers] are satisfied. I really hope they are. It is a war. There are casualties along the way, and it is incredibly tough business. But it only shows just how deeply connected these characters are and how their fates are tied together, even if some of them don’t want them to be.

“I would never tell the audience that it was safe to exhale. It is a devastating world that these characters live in, but there is still beauty and hope.”

If there is one thing ‘The Walking Dead’ has never skimped on, it’s high drama and a general disregard for its characters’ safety – so audiences certainly shouldn’t expect anything different with the upcoming season finale episode.

The season finale of ‘The Walking Dead’ airs on AMC on April 15th, 2018; the show will return with its Ninth Season in the Fall.