‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Previews Midseason Finale [Spoilers]

The Walking Dead midseason finale airs this Sunday, and showrunner Scott Gimple promised that things could get “explosive” for Rick and the gang.

The last two episodes of The Walking Dead have focused on The Governor, who has found a new family in Lilly, her young daughter Meghan, and Tara, Lilly’s sister. The four of them join Martinez, who has become the leader of his own group. When Martinez admits that he doesn’t think he can keep the group safe on his own, The Governor hits him with a golf club and throws him into a pit of walkers while repeating “I don’t want it.” He then kills the temporary leader, Pete, and tells his brother, Mitch, that he is now in charge. At the end of the episode, The Governor returns to the prison and see Rick and Carl working in the yard. He also sees Hershel and Michonne and aims his gun at her.

Gimple told The Hollywood Reporter that The Governor and Michonne, as well as Daryl, have unfinished business from last season. To recap: Michonne killed The Governor’s walker-daughter, Penny, and gouged his eye out with a shard of glass. The Governor forced Daryl and his brother, Merle, to fight to the death, but they are stopped by Rick and Maggie. However, after Merle is captured by Martinez and two other men, he and the Governor fight, and The Governor shoots Merle in the chest. He turns, and Daryl is forced to kill him by stabbing him in the head repeatedly.

“Michonne and Daryl will not react well if they were to see The Governor — they’re not all the way healed from their experiences with him,” Gimple said.

Gimple, who returns as showrunner next season, also hinted that both The Governor and Rick will do do whatever it takes to keep their loved ones and other survivors safe. And when those two goals conflict, there are bound to be casualties.

“We’ve seen The Governor kill people to ensure the safety of his new family and we see him determined,” Gimple said.

“We see Rick is very much back as someone with a gun on his hip, ready to participate in the brutality of the world to keep his people safe,” he continued. “It’s a very explosive situation and it’s entirely possible that everybody doesn’t make it back. That sort of thing would be something that would affect these characters even more deeply.”

With the fences reinforced following the walker attack in “Internment,” the prison group slowly starts to get back to business as usual.

“They’ve proven that they can stem the tide of walkers and keep the place safe,” Gimple said. “They can get through whatever is thrown their way. They could potentially have that place for a good, long time.”

Gimple also hinted that new faces could pop up during the midseason finale. Michael Cudlitz, Josh McDermitt, and Christian Serratos (Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita, respectively) have all been cast for season four, but have yet to make their debuts.

“There is a potential to see them sooner rather than later,” Gimple said.

The Walking Dead midseason finale, “Too Far Gone,” airs Sunday at 9 pm. Season four will resume in February 2014.