What's ahead for 'The Walking Dead'
Beth's shocking death in The Walking Dead's midseason finale stunned her fellow survivors. And things aren't going to get better anytime soon as the eight-episode second half of Season 5 begins Sunday (AMC, 9 p.m. ET/PT).
"To lose this force for good is gutting to this group," says executive producer Scott M. Gimple. "It's an indication that the bad guys are winning and the hard world is winning. As we'll see in this first episode, it gives them a bit of purpose, but it strips them of a degree of hope and hope is the very thing they need."
The loss of the optimistic, increasingly resolute Beth tests the surviving characters. "Coming out of Beth's death, there are certain people starting to think, 'Whoa! Can I keep doing this? Can I hold on to who I am while I see things like this transpiring again and again?' " Gimple says.
"We're moving into the darkest, lowest ebb that we've ever attempted in the show," says Andrew Lincoln, who plays group leader Rick Grimes. He says the next two episodes are his favorite since the pilot of the hit post-apocalyptic drama, which is based on the popular comic-book series created by executive producer Robert Kirkman.
As the survivors, including Beth's sister, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), try to move forward, "We're going to see the group much more together than apart," Gimple says. "So, a wide-screen TV is really recommended for viewing."
He wouldn't address specific challenges the group faces, or how long they will be on the road.
"What some of them want is a place, not only for safety but for the safety of who you are," he says. "The more you're out there, the more (parts) of who you are just have to fall away. You can be out there too long, and yet they're caught out there. So they're in a very bad situation."
As the survivors move on, Morgan Jones (Lennie James), a man Rick has encountered twice, appears to be tracking them. He was seen with a map detailing their path toward Washington, D.C., in November's midseason finale.
"It would be lovely to see Lennie again," Lincoln says. Morgan "seems to be a different man at the moment. He seems to be on the road and we're on the road. Maybe all roads lead to Rome."
Wherever the road leads, danger remains a constant, and death is always a possibility, Gimple says. "We start on the road in a very hard situation and things are only going to get harder."