The Walking Dead season 7: Read creator Robert Kirkman’s defence of season 6 finale - ‘It will all make sense why we did what we did’
There's a lot of assumptions about why we did what we did, "ratings grab", which isn't true.'
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s probably fair to say that it was the vast majority of The Walking Dead fans who were disappointed/confused/felt ripped off by the season 6 finale, and creator Robert Kirkman gets that.
During a Reddit AMA which was supposed to be about his new show Outcast but saw him dogged with questions about the TWD cliffhanger (which he fully expected), Kirkman spoke at length about it.
Here are his thoughts on it, cobbled together from a couple of different answers to questions:
I just want to point out that a lot of what you seem to hate about the finale are your assumptions of how season 7 will start. The death will have no impact now, etc. I assure you it will. You're welcome to be unhappy with the episode that aired. Was it a misstep? Maybe. Only time will tell.
Also, there's a lot of assumptions about why we did what we did, "
That said, I love you for watching 6 seasons of the show and reading the comic. I appreciate the support up to this point and I'm sorry your unhappy. Standing by our decision doesn't mean I think you're immature in any way or wrong to feel the way you do. I just know how much the fanbase is treasured and respected behind the scenes so it bums me out when people make a lot of
Scott Gimple is a great guy who EVERY FAN would love if they could get to know him. And he LOSES SLEEP trying to make the fan base happy. It may not seem that way, but it is. He loves the comic as much as the
[…]
‘I think you're mistaking an explanation for an excuse or a justification. I personally liked it. Scott Gimple and I spent many months going over exactly how to stage it and how to adapt that scene. Many options were discussed. I do strongly believe that when you watch the season 7 premiere (if you do) you will see the two halves of the story and it will all make sense why we did what we did. But a whole heck of a lot of you folks are unhappy. I'm not kidding myself about that. Season 7 is very strong, we know what's coming. If you stick around... you'll like where we're taking things.
The lack of closure on who Negan killed might have been frustrating, but eagle-eyed fans have managed to whittle it down to a shortlist.
Elsewhere in the AMA, Kirkman discussed the ultimate fate of protagonist Rick Grimes and how the show will end.
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