The Walking Dead boss teases “really brutal” and “very dark” final season

In August, The Walking Dead will begin airing its extended 24-episode final season. After being one of the top-rated shows on television for over a decade, there is a lot of anticipation as to how things will draw to a close. If one thing is for certain, it sure won’t be a breeze. Recently, chief content officer Scott Gimple teased that the eleventh season will be both “really brutal” and “very dark.”

Season 10 went a long way in setting up what’s to come in the final episodes. For instance, episode 10×20, “Splinter,” gave us an insight into the hostile ways of the Commonwealth, a new community from the comics that will be explored further in the season ahead. In addition, there’s talk of the super-skilled antagonists known only as the Reapers having a bigger part to play. Clearly, there are a lot of moving pieces in this final season.

Speaking during a TWDUniverse Twitch stream, Gimple didn’t just say it gets dark. Instead, he teases it gets “very, very, very, very dark.” Is that enough darkness to satisfy our needs? However, he does add that it’s not all doom and gloom. “It’s not unrelentingly dark. There’s some bright spots.”

It’s all good to be aware of how dark the final season is, but he still keeps it pretty vague. Further explaining the meaning behind the myriad darkness, Gimple says it spans from our character’s rich pasts as well as immediate threats:

"“Without getting too into it, there’s a level of intensity to these episodes that’s both an intensity of threat intermingled with the intensity of emotions behind that, and various histories of the characters getting intermingled with that. There’s some really brutal stuff in it. And yet it directly affects some of our most beloved characters and ties into their histories in ways that we’ll see.”"

What does Scott Gimble mean by character histories playing into The Walking Dead season 11?

There are several ways we could see the past catch up to our current characters. Let’s take a look at some possibilities.

Firstly, during Maggie’s (Lauren Cohan) time off-screen, she faced the threat of a mysterious group called the Reapers. We never learned too much about them. Of course, the only Reaper we’ve come across was the one who attempted to destroy Maggie’s community in “Home Sweet Home.” Still, producer Denise Huth has already teased their return.

“Baddies never stay away,” she said, via ComicBook. “They always rear their ugly heads, so it’s probably only a matter of time before we’ll see a lot more of the Reapers.”

Next, we have Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Leah (Lynn Collins). In “Find Me,” Daryl fell for Leah (who was also the original owner of Dog), but when he is presented with the ultimatum of choosing between her and his friends, he couldn’t make up his mind. By the time he decides, she has disappeared. It is expected that the two will reunite in the final season. We’ll have to wait and see how things go down between them.

And finally, looking at Kirkman’s comic, there is a massive plotline in the Commonwealth which may also occur in the TV show.

In the comics, Michonne (Danai Gurira) finds her long-lost daughter Elodie in the enormous community. The moment was a shocker and a surprise to comic readers, so it will surely happen in the show. In fact, a teaser has already hinted at the moment. The problem: Michonne is no longer a part of the show. Perhaps they will do a similar story with another character.

All will be revealed when AMC airs The Walking Dead season 11 on August 22!

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