One of the most beloved and popular cast members of AMC's "The Walking Dead" will say goodbye to the show when it returns for its seventh season, and showrunner Greg Nicotero does not mince words when he describes the emotional episode.
"It was by far the most emotional episode that I've ever shot. Where we left these characters at the end of season 6 is, they've been broken. Their world has literally become smaller and smaller and trapped them, and now they're in a situation that they've never been in before where the cavalry is not coming over the hill," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Nicotero — who also directed the first episode of the season — said that the episode goes to a very dark and cold place that will definitely break the hearts of the show's loyal fans.
He added that because of their approach to the scene was able to evoke far more drama than the comic book because it was also filmed from the perspective of the victim as he is faced with imminent death in the hands of Negan, whom actor Andrew Lincoln described as "the baddest of the bad guys."
"I think everybody got a sense of what this actor is capable of in the last episode. But rest assured that that's really just the beginning of what Jeffrey is creating. It's such a great part and it's so beautifully written. And he's such an important part of the show, this character, that we needed an actor that could step up and take the bull by the horns and drag it forward, and make it his own. And certainly, that's what we have this season," Lincoln — who plays the role of the show's lead character Rick Grimes — described Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who portrays Negan, the latest in the long line of villains the show has introduced.
With season 6 ending in a cliffhanger, fans of the show should expect the series to answer the heartbreaking question of who dies in the hands of Lucille. Negan's beloved baseball bat.
The Walking Dead season 7 returns to AMC on Oct. 23, Sunday.
