The next half of Walking Dead S6 will be very different, feature more Daryl

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The Walking Dead mid-season finale was incredibly divisive, but the buzz is getting hotter than ever. In an interview with Deadline, showrunner Scott Gimple says that the second half of season 6 is going to roll with that momentum, opening with one of the biggest episodes they've ever done:

It’s taking us to a closed-quarters situation that is both emotionally explosive and terrifying in as much as people are closed in with an army of Walkers. It’s a horrific and unique type of claustrophobia.

According to Gimple, a lot of these upcoming 8 episodes will be very different, though I can't say it's unexpected that "we are going to see much more Daryl Dixon next half-season." OK, that was a given, but:

This past half-season saw the characters very sequestered from each other and there’s much less of that in the rest of Season 6. This upcoming half-season is very very different than the previous half-season in the structure, in the lineup of characters in the episodes, and I think even in the types of stories we are telling.

I have us go outside what is my comfort zone because I love telling stories that are character-based first. In lot of ways, this next half-season has that character but the plot really does take over for several episodes. I was trying to push myself to take it in a new direction, maybe not permanently but for these next eight episodes I wanted to do something different and you’re going to see something different.

A lot of this is typical showrunner talk, tiptoing in circles around spoilers and trying to keep people on the hook, but it does sound like The Walking Dead is taking major steps in a new direction, which will probably appease legions of quasi-fans while infuriating just as many more. Say what you will about The Walking Dead, but everybody has feelings about it. Who knew a gory zombie show would be the go-to water cooler topic of the decade?

The Walking Dead will return to AMC on February 14, 2016 with an as of yet untitled episode. You can read the full interview, including Gimple's thoughts on the season's major character moment, here.