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Discussion in 'Episode 509 - What Happened and What's Going On' started by Tony Davis, Feb 8, 2015.

  1. Tony Davis

    Tony Davis Administrator
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    [h=1]Walking Dead Boss on the Latest Fatal Blow and the Road Ahead[/h][​IMG]by Adam Bryant | Feb 8, 2015 10:00 PM EST


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    [​IMG]Andrew Lincoln

    [WARNING: The following story contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead. Read at your own risk.]
    The hits just keep on comin' on The Walking Dead.
    Following the deadly midseason finale that claimed the life of Beth (Emily Kinney), Sunday's return episode dealt our band of survivors another fatal blow. Although Rick (Andrew Lincoln) & Co. set out on a mission to return Noah (Tyler JamesWilliams) to his home -- and, possibly, the group's new sanctuary -- in Richmond, Va., what they found was yet another scene of walker-infested destruction.
    The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln: The group's "lowest point" is still ahead
    As Rick, Michonne (Dania Gurira) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) made a quick sweep to find any supplies, a distraught Noah insisted on visiting his home one last time. However, as Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) checked the rest of the house while Noah grieved over his dead mother, Tyreese was bitten by a zombified version of one of Noah's twin younger brothers. While Noah ran for help, Tyreese's fight to stay alive was punctuated by hallucinations of old friends -- Beth, Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) and Season 4 casualties Mika (Kyla Kenedy) and Lizzie (Brighton Sharpino) -- offering Tyreese peace, and former foes -- The Governor (David Morrisey) and Martin (Chris Coy) -- mocking Tyreese's weakness.
    Despite the group's attempts to amputate Tyreese's arm and get him back safely, the big man couldn't be saved, and the survivors had to bury yet another of their own. TVGuide.com chatted with executive producer Gale Anne Hurd about saying goodbye to Tyreese and how the group will deal with more heartbreak. Plus: Is the group really Washington-bound?
    Some shows might take a breather after killing off a major character, but not The Walking Dead!
    Gale Anne Hurd: That's the whole point. [People assume] it's some sort of tactic, which it's not. It's an organic evolution of the story that was planned from the very beginning. Rather than [saying], "OK, we just shocked people with a big death and now we're going to shock them again!" it really is completely organic to the storytelling and to where the characters are at a particular point in their arc and the arc of the show.
    The Walking Dead poll: Who else will die this season?
    In terms of Tyreese's arc, do you think his death was brought about by all the pain he carried with him?
    Hurd: Absolutely. With the many tragedies that the whole group endured, everyone changes a bit. He went through the period where he raged because of Karen's death... and then we saw his forgiveness of Carol when she admitted that she was responsible for that. Tyreese is one of these characters -- it wore him down. For Beth's death to be followed by the revelation that Noah's home and family is no more was really a death blow emotionally. And it became a death blow in every sense of the word for him.
    But it seems like perhaps in death he finally found peace.
    Hurd: Absolutely. His hallucinations are an affirmation for him that it's OK to let go -- especially the characters that he loved so much, the girls and Beth. But part of it was his own questioning of the decisions he'd made: Could he, essentially forgive himself? That was represented by the characters of Martin and the Governor taunting him.
    Do you think if Tyreese had killed Martin things would have ultimately be different?
    Hurd: That's the kind of moral dilemma the characters on the show are constantly dealing with -- their own guilt. The ones who survive are able to get past it with new resolve, and sometimes others either give up or give in to it.
    How does Tyreese's death impact the group?
    Hurd: There is no group response. They're all individuals who collectively make up the group. The leadership role that Rick has reassumed we'll see come into play. We'll also see how the additional blow affects the characters of Michonne and, especially, Sasha. This isn't following that long on the heels of Bob's death. Does this galvanize her or is this the straw that broke the camel's back?
    Mega Buzz: Can Daryl bounce back from Beth's death on The Walking Dead?
    Speaking of Michonne, elsewhere in this episode she convinced Rick the group should head to Washington in search of a new sanctuary. Does Rick recognize that his people need something to hope for?
    Hurd: More than ever they need a goal. They realize that the day-to-day existence that they experienced before they found the prison is not one that they can continue. They've been there, they've done that. They need some sort of goal. That's why they immediately went to see if Noah's community had survived. They're going to look for another safe haven. Clearly Terminus wasn't the sanctuary that was promised, but there's bound to be someplace that is.
    You mentioned guilt before. I imagine Noah must be feeling some now.
    Hurd: As much as anyone, I think the sacrifice that Beth made has galvanized him. We'll have to see how [he handles] this guilt. It was this side trip that ended up with the loss of Tyreese. He was not someone he knew that well, but regardless it's two characters' blood on his hands. He's got a heavy burden to carry.
    This episode was a bit of a departure visually. Will we see more of that?
    Hurd: It's all driven by what's right for a particular episode, as opposed to thinking in advance, "Oh, let's do something visually cool and try to figure out how that fits into a particular story." It's always the characters' story that comes first. The opportunity that's provided with Tyreese, it made sense. He's a character who has been haunted by so much. But we don't take that kind of thing lightly.
    Postmortem: Walking Dead boss on that "devastating" death and what's next
    What can you say about the rest of the season? For now, there doesn't seem to be a clear threat like the Terminans or Dawn's group at Grady.
    Hurd: We always have both. The show traditionally has the conflicts that develop among and between our characters as well as the external threat. We've always got the walkers around the corner that they could encounter at any moment, but also the threat of other human survivors who are often far more dangerous than the zombie threat. But [the second half of the season] really is about what the recent circumstances and the stress of having survived so much does to the group, both individually and collectively. They'll be facing very different kind of threats that we haven't seen before.
    And at least the group is all together again. Will that continue?
    Hurd: We've seen the stress and the fracturing that came from Eugene's lie and how various characters have reacted to that. Now with the deaths and realizing that Noah's community is not the answer, it's going to stress them even further. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't more fracturing.
    The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c.
     
  2. Tony Davis

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    [h=1]The Walking Dead Post Mortem:
     
  3. Tony Davis

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    [h=1]‘The Walking Dead’ Postmortem: Greg Nicotero Talks Latest Death, Unexpected Returns and What’s Next[/h]


    [​IMG]
    AMC
    FEBRUARY 8, 2015 | 07:00PM PT[h=3]Geoff Berkshire[/h]Associate Editor, Features@geoffberkshire
    Spoiler Warning: Do not read on unless you’ve seen “The Walking Dead” season five, episode nine, titled “What Happened and What’s Going On.”
    No one can accuse “The Walking Dead” of holding on to characters too long. It was just two months ago that fans said goodbye to Beth Greene (Emily Kinney) in the midseason finale. In tonight’s midseason premiere, they had to do the same for Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman), who joined the show back in season three and leaves behind his sister, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green).
    It was a powerful, potentially divisive, installment, and Variety asked executive producer and the episode’s director Greg Nicotero to talk us through the decision to lose Tyreese at this point, what it was like for Coleman on set, working with some very special guest stars and what lies ahead for the survivors after these brutal back-to-back losses.
    Why Tyreese and why now?
    Tyreese has had a great story, he’s been on a great journey. Ever since the beginning of season four we’ve noticed that Tyreese was struggling. He’s standing at the fence talking to his girlfriend and he says, “Listen I don’t like killing (walkers) at the fence any more.” He goes out and the helicopter falls through the Big Spot roof and he comes back and says, “I don’t like killing them in here either.” He’s clearly having some issues. Then his girlfriend is murdered and her body’s burned up, and two little girls die. So Tyreese’s real reason for pushing so hard to survive was for the baby, for Judith. Now that he’s reunited with Rick… I think it’s a world where he’s having a hard time accepting that he would want to live there.
    It seems it’s dangerous to be a voice of morality or doubt on this show.
    Tyreese experienced a little girl murdering her sister — the world is not a place he’s comfortable in. He tries to make Noah comfortable about the prospect of his family still being alive, but ultimately it’s a brutal world. Tyreese doesn’t want to kill people with his bare hands. He’s holding out some hope that humanity might prevail. Sadly, the world isn’t necessarily meant for everybody.
    The walker attack seems random, but do you think it could’ve happened to anyone? Or was it because he wasn’t on as high alert as someone like Michonne?
    Well, when he’s looking at the picture on the wall, it harkens back to that sense of innocence lost that he’s dealt with so much. He stared at those pictures probably a little too long, maybe longing for the world the way it used to be. In doing that he wasn’t focusing on what was happening right in front of him in the real world. He was lost in what the world once was. He blinked.
    And you can’t do that.
    Not in our world.
    When do you find out you’re directing an episode featuring the death of a regular cast member?
    I found out about a month and a half before we were supposed to start shooting. I was maybe going to have to pull out to direct a pilot for Ridley Scott, and I remember saying to Scott (Gimple), “It’ll be tight but I’m going to try to do it.” And he said to me, “I really want you to because we’re saying goodbye to a lead character.” I’ve had a great relationship with Chad, I directed some of his first big scenes in the series. Having that opportunity to direct the actors when they first get on the show and then sending them out, it’s important. Chad said the same thing to me that Jeff DeMunn (Dale) said and Michael Rooker (Merle) said, “It sucks going out, but if I’ve gotta go I’m glad you’re the guy doing it.”
    What was Chad’s mood like during filming?
    He loved the script and was very, very happy with the character development and what happened on the show for him. It wasn’t sad or depressing — no anger. He was excited about the challenge of playing these fantastic emotional moments where Tyreese can defend himself and the reasons why he did the things he did.
    You also got to work with some familiar faces from the past, as Tyreese hallucinates several characters who have passed on: Beth, Bob, Martin, Lizzie, Mika and the Governor.
    Having the chance to have David Morrissey back, and Brighton Sharbino (Lizzie) and Kyla Kenedy (Mika) — it’s fun to bring them back. We’ve done it before with Sarah Wayne Callies and Jon Bernthal. It’s kind of like if you die on our show, you’re not really dead. David had a blast, I don’t ever remember seeing him so excited. It’s a lot to do with the cast and the crew we have working with us. Everybody wants to come back if there’s an opportunity.
    It reminded me of the phone calls Rick receives in “Hounded,” but this was even more striking to see them all there in the flesh. How did you pull it off — were all the actors really there at the same time?
    Yeah, they were all there. We didn’t want it to feel like they were ghosts, we wanted to make sure everyone was interacting with (Tyreese). There were a few instances where we panned from the girls over to Emily (Kinney) or the Governor would walk through. But these are all fevered visions from (Tyreese’s) dream. We could do whatever we wanted to do, there weren’t any rules to follow.
    Tyreese’s death feels even more tragic because he ultimately decides he wants to fight.
    He does and I think that’s what makes it such a great story. You really do feel he’s gonna make the decision to survive and that’s what he should do. I watched it the other night and I was so sad when it was over. I kind of forgot how sad and emotional it was. I’m tremendously proud of the episode, even though I’m gonna have a lot of people yelling at me on Monday: “How could you!?”
    It does come right on the heels of losing Beth. What do those back-to-back losses mean for the story going forward?
    We don’t kill characters just to kill characters, it all plays into where the story is going. Tyreese’s death and Beth’s death being back-to-back like that, the important thing about it is it really affects our group. You’ll see the result of it over the next several episodes — the loss of these people. What are they going to do? How are they going to survive? Their predicament resonates because of the deaths of these two characters.
    We haven’t yet seen Maggie’s full reaction to losing Beth and we barely get to see Sasha in this episode. Will we be seeing both of them deal with losing their siblings in future episodes?
    Yes. One of the toughest things when we did season three was Merle dies in episode 15, and in episode 16 there’s not even a mention of him being gone.
    Because it’s total chaos.
    Yeah. I remember Norman Reedus saying, “Don’t I get a chance to grieve him for one episode?” So, yes, we’re certainly cognizant of that.
    Tyreese doesn’t mention Sasha in the episode either, was there any discussion about that?
    What’s important is how his death affects her and her state of mind in upcoming episodes. There’s one beautiful moment at the end of the script when everybody is shoveling dirt into the grave and you see Daryl hold up the shovel to Sasha — the look on her face, you can tell something has died in her.



     
  4. Tony Davis

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    [h=1]Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero breaks down the shocking midseason premiere[/h][​IMG]ENLARGE PHOTO
    (Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC)


    Posted February 8 2015 — 2:47 PM EST
    [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Sunday’s midseason premiere of The Walking Dead.]
    [h=3]Related[/h][​IMG]Andrew Lincoln: 'Walking Dead' to get 'f---ing nuts'
    [​IMG]Norman Reedus guides a tour of his 'Walking Dead' trailer
    [​IMG]How 'Walking Dead' hid Sonequa Martin-Green's pregnancy
    [​IMG]'Walking Dead' star Norman Reedus says 'Bite me': EW cover
    “What Happened and What’s Going On” was aWalking Dead episode unlike any other: flashback images, flash-forward images, hallucinations of both the audio and visual persuasion, and, finally, a death. Yes, we had to bid farewell to Tyresse, but not before we saw his last moments play out as an internal struggle staged through conversations with characters already dead and gone. We chatted with the man who directed the episode, Greg Nicotero, to get his take on this trippy and tragic installment. (Also make sure to read our interview with showrunner Scott M. Gimple, and check back Monday morning for our Q&A with Chad Coleman. And to have all ‘The Walking Dead’ scoop sent right to you, follow Dalton on Twitter @DaltonRoss.)
    EW: You guys have done hallucinations before, but never to this extent. You’ve also got these weird, flash-forward and flashback images. Start off by telling me how you even approach directing something like this?
    GREG NICOTERO: We call this our Terrence Malickepisode. When Scott had written it and we were talking about it, we talked about Tree of Life and we talked about these evocative images that tell the story about what Tyreese has been through. So we see the skeleton in the woods with flowers growing out of the chest, we see the picture of the picturesque house. And as we progress through the episode, we start realizing that these are all things that he’s seen in the last moments, when he’s trying to sort of struggle with this decision of whether or not he wants to go on in this world.

    So, for me, those images all had to be very artistic and evocative, and that was definitely a challenge. But having the opportunity to explore all those little things were just little nods to sort of get you into Tyreese’s perspective of the brutality of the real world versus the kind of person that he is—you know, the non-violent guy who refuses to kill. And that goes all the way back to episode 401 when he’s talking to Karen at the fence and they’re killing walkers and he’s like, “I don’t like killing them at the fence” and then they go out to the Big Spot, and Zack dies and he comes back and says to Karen, “I don’t like killing them out there either.”
    So clearly, it’s been a challenging story arc for Tyreese because he can’t bring himself to do that, and then the woman that he loves is killed, and then with the girls—Tyreese has really been put through the ringer. So once he’s bitten, he sort of goes on this little journey, and he’s accompanied by the images and the hallucinations of the people that have had an impact on him— the Governor, Martin, Beth and of course, the girls. So all of these things really serve to help us get inside of Tyreese’s mindset at this moment.
    How do you figure out visually how far to veer away from reality—in terms of it being hallucinatory, but also keeping it somewhat grounded?
    It was tricky because there were times when we wanted to make sure that it still felt cinematic, but with the fact that none of those people are actually in the room with him. So to see them at different times, it was very challenging. We had done one shot where we cut through this wide shot where he’s standing in the room talking, and there’s nobody there and he’s flinging his arm forward and he’s giving his rebuttal to what all of them have been saying. Visually, we used those cues—you know, tilting up from a photo on the ground with the blood on it up to Martin, and then seeing Lawrence on the bed. So we didn’t initially pan back and forth to any of them. We would cut back to Tyreese and then cut to the next one, so we really felt like you didn’t know what was going to happen next. All that was really challenging to do, but the beauty of it is that Chad was so dialed into his character. We shot those scenes over a two-day period with David Morrissey and Kyla and Brighton and it was amazing to watch Chad’s performance because he didn’t really look at this as like a sad departure from the show. I think Chad felt that he had had a great story and that this was a fantastic way to take his character out, so he was fully committed and really put it all out there and it was really amazing to watch.

    Talk about that a little more in terms of Chad, because as an actor, because he’s got a lot to wrap his head around here with this mix of reality and hallucinations. He’s playing different things to different characters so it’s an internal battle that we’re seeing play out against people who aren’t there. That’s not easy stuff to do.
    No, especially when the episode starts, he’s talking to Noah in the car and he’s trying to say to Noah, “Listen, you’re with us now, we can live and we can survive and we can make it.” And then once he’s bitten, he’s standing in that room of the little twin boys and he’s looking at the pictures on the wall and he’s looking at all that stuff and he’s realizing the sense of loss that these people have experienced, and it’s only at the last second when he turns that he realizes that he turned just a little bit too late. But from that moment on, to sit there and then have a debate—he literally has a debate with the people that he had either conflict or a relationship with. He’s sitting there talking to Martin and Martin’s like, “You know, if you would’ve just killed me then Bob probably wouldn’t be dead and we would have never tracked you guys to the church, you know.”

    So it’s all that internal monologue of like, “Well, maybe I should have killed Martin, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because that’s not who I am.” And then we cut to Bob and Bob’s sitting there going, “That’s f—ing bull—. Don’t listen to him.” And then we see the girls and the girls are like, “You know what? We’re in a better place now.” So all the things that he projects onto those people, now they’re saying it back to him, and Chad—it was astounding to watch him. There were takes when I could not yell, “Cut,” because his momentum and the build and the power that he gave to his performance was mesmerizing and I didn’t want to cut.
    What we did when we crafted the whole end of the episode was we wanted to take the audience on a little bit of a journey—like, okay, so he passes out, and then they cut off his arm, and then they get him to the gate, and then he passes out again, and then they get him to the car and the walker torsos hit the car, and then we get him into the car. So we really wanted to take the audience on this journey of like, he’s not going to make it. Oh, there’s another obstruction in front of them. But wait a minute, he made it! And then, there’s another obstruction. But he made it! And then, there’s another obstruction. And then, at the end, he just looks at the beautiful image of the sun through the tress and just makes the decision and closes his eyes and that last shot, that super wide shot where they pull his body out of the car—I really wanted it to be such a tender moment and so visually evocative that you feel the sadness of what’s happening without being in the characters’ faces.
    I told Andrew Lincoln that the whole episode felt almost like a poem—a very sad, poignant poem.
    Oh, without a doubt. And it was crafted so dramatically different than any other episode that we had ever shot that it really did give me an opportunity to sort of spread my wings a little bit and go with some more stylized shooting. And it was interesting doing it because there were times on set where we were like, “We never shoot stuff this way, but let’s go for it!” I think Scott really wanted this episode to feel that way. I think a poem is a perfect description of it because it’s evocative of imagery and emotion, and that’s really what the episode is really about. It’s about the emotional journey that Tyreese is concluding, and those visuals evoke that emotion.

    What was it like getting to work with people like David Morrissey again, as well as all the others you mentioned that you guys had killed off?
    It was awesome. This show is so unique in terms of the fact that every single person that comes and works on the show is welcomed into this big family. So when David came back, he was so thrilled. It was like when we brought Rooker back in season 2 and when we brought Jon Bernthal back in season 3. We establish such a bond because we’re all in the trenches together. David had a blast. When he left he was like, “Well, let me know if you guys need me for anything else.”

    Let’s now talk about some of the gross stuff, like the arm chopping scene.
    It was important for me that we cut from this sort of peaceful moment with the girls, because visions have a way of ending abruptly into the brutality of the world that he is currently in. Like when the Governor is lunging towards him and then it jump cuts to the walker in the room. And the same moment with the girls and they’re gently pullingTyreese’s arm and he’s sort of looking at them and it’s just such a sweet moment of them sort of holding his arm up—and then you just cut directly to Rick and Michonne. I didn’t want it to play out likeHershel’s leg where it was gratuitous in terms of that. I just wanted it to be swift and shocking. That was the thing about this episode is that we wanted those bits to be shocking, even when the little boy bites him and he’s looking at the wall and you just see a hint of somebody behind him and he’s so caught up in looking at the photos of this family that has been destroyed because of the end of the world that he’s distracted for a second, and in that second of being distracted, you know, all of a sudden, boom!

    What about the zombie heads all flying out of a pickup truck onto the car hood? That had to be pretty fun to stage.
    That’s something that we’re going to get to explore a little more. In pure Scott Gimple fashion, that was our first look at a tease that we’ll probably learn more and more about as each episode unwinds.

    It was interesting how instead of going right into the end theme music when the credits come up, we just hear that sound of the digging of the grave. Who came up with that idea?
    I would love to take credit for that, but Avi Youabian—who is one of our editors—when he did his editors cut he had put that in there, and he was a little nervous about how it would play out. When I watched it, it was fantastic. Listen, this episode is just as much a dream for an editor as it is for a director or a writer—by being able to craft those images and put that story together. Because it jumps around all over the place—you’re in the past, you’re in the present, and then, you know, we think it’s Beth’s funeral at the beginning, and then we cut back to it later and we realize it was Tyreese’s funeral. So, Avi did a fantastic job editing this episode and, and that was an idea he had pitched that I just fell in love with.






     
  5. Tony Davis

    Tony Davis Administrator
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    [h=1]Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple explains that trippy, tragic midseason premiere[/h][​IMG]ENLARGE PHOTO
    (Gene Page/AMC)


    Posted February 8 2015 — 2:29 PM EST
    [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Sunday’s midseason premiere of The Walking Dead.]
    [h=3]Related[/h][​IMG]'Walking Dead' director Greg Nicotero on 'our Terrence Malick episode'
    [​IMG]How 'Walking Dead' hid Sonequa Martin-Green's pregnancy
    [​IMG]Andrew Lincoln: 'Walking Dead' to get 'f---ing nuts'
    [​IMG]Norman Reedus guides a tour of his 'Walking Dead' trailer
    [​IMG]'Walking Dead' star Norman Reedus says 'Bite me': EW cover
    It was a midseason premiere that was equal parts WHOOOOOOA! And NOOOOOOOOO! There were flashbacks, flash-forwards, and more hallucinations than a Timothy Leary convention. Put it all together and “What Happened and What’s Going On” represented an hour that often felt more like a poem like an episode of television—and that hour showed us the internal struggle of Tyreese (Chad Coleman) played out through various visions and images that represented the gentle giant’s final moments after being bit by a walker.
    We spoke with the man who wrote the episode,Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple, to find out his inspirations for the installment, why he killed off Tyreese, and what’s coming up next. (Also make sure to read our interview with episode director Greg Nicotero, and check back Monday morning for our Q&A with Chad Coleman. And to have all ‘The Walking Dead’ scoop sent right to you, follow Dalton on Twitter @DaltonRoss.)
    EW: So, why was it Tyreese’s time to go?
    SCOTT M. GIMPLE: That question for any character is very difficult. You know, like, why was it Hershel’s time to go? Why was it Bob’s time to go? I mean, because there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to this stuff. I’ll say that it was his time to go in as much as that’s what the story dictates—not just in that moment, but for the future too, and the way the story turns off of these events. But it’s very difficult, you know? There are no right or wrong answers—it’s only what the story seems to tell us as we go. It certainly wasn’t because he hadn’t shown humanity along the way because he had shown humanity along the way and it wasn’t necessarily resultant of that. But how it plays out in the story moving forward has a great dealto do with why it happened when it happened.

    Tell me about breaking the news to Chad Coleman because I know that’s no fun at all.
    I’m always weary of talking about that just because it’s so personal and I worry about this feeling somewhat like a reality show—like being voted off the island or something like that. I mean, it’s not. We take it very, very seriously. Chad, throughout all of his time on the show, has been wonderful. We have a wonderful cast of very talented, very professional, and very warm people—and these characters that they portray live in this incredibly dangerous world in which people die. There isn’t anybody on this show I want to see go, and that’s such a strange thing. You know, behind the scenes of TV shows can be very dramatic and people cannot get along and stuff. That isn’t the case on this show. But this is a show where people regularly die. It’s a very difficult thing.

    Let’s talk about the episode itself. You guys have had characters like Daryl and Rick see hallucinations in the past, but never anything close to this extent with the scope and size you went with here. Talk about the decision to have Tyreese’s internal struggle sort of play out through these visions. Not even just the visions, but the radio broadcast as well.
    Approaching this episode, I just really wanted to do right by the character, I really wanted to do right by Chad, and I really wanted to give Greg [Nicotero] something to sink his directorial teeth into. It was important to me that in many ways this episode showed that Tyreese didn’t regret the approach he was taking to the world and that has always remained strong. There’s this book Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms by this author David Kessler, who spoke with all these doctors, nurses, and these end of life professionals that reported where people see people from their lives before they die—it was a story that medical professionals have heard over and over again. I guess in the very nascent stages of working on this episode I heard this guy talking about this and it just seemed to be one of those moments where like, “Oh, that’s the story.” When things fall together like that, and the universe is telling you something, I listen.

    You also use a lot of flashback and flash-forward imagery. Starting at the very beginning we see shots of places like the prison and Woodbury, the railroad tracks—places from Tyreese’s past mixed with images then that we don’t quite understand at certain points yet, like the ones from Noah’s house. I assume these also act as a window into what Tyresse is seeing and feeling in these last moments?
    Yeah, very much so, and that was another aspect of it where I just wanted to feel the whole of Tyreese’s experience in this episode. I wanted the audience to feel Tyreese’s experience as deeply through his eyes as we could make it, and I wanted to explore that myself. I just chose to go at it as hard as I could in that way. I was taking inspiration a lot from comics I had read as a young man— in a way that Alan Moore would play with time and Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller. It was after it was done I was like: Oh, this feels very much like those comics that just blew my mind growing up. I think I was trying just to emulate that sort of thing.

    I really like it when you have a big death at a very unexpected time or moment and that played out in a few ways here. First off, it comes right off an episode where we already lost a major character in Beth, so nobody is expecting that to happen again so quickly. And then also the way it went down where it’s so sudden. It’s just that one second where Tyreese sort of falls into a gaze on that photo and he’s figuring it out and then all of a sudden—BOOM! I actually jumped and was not prepared for it at all in multiple respects.
    You’re right, this was absolutely a simple moment of letting your guard down for one second too long. If he had realized that just a second sooner everything would have been cool. And we’ve seen characters lose limbs before. Was it out of the realm of possibility of him getting through that? I do think a good portion of the emotional story reflects how he may have died as well—that it’s sort of the chicken and the egg. Was his psyche letting go because he was going, or was he just ready to let go? He says in the car, “Turn it off.” And in my mind when he says, “Turn it off,” he’s all but deciding that he’s done. He passes away pretty much immediately after that.

    Let me ask you a few other questions about the episode. We saw some shots of body parts strewn about and a bunch of heads falling out of a pickup truck. Could this tie into some stuff we may be seeing down the road at all? Is this something that’s going to tie into a bigger picture situation?
    Yeah, there are things going on in this episode that do fit into the bigger picture. There are many things in this episode that are the start of things.

    Nice little nod to the Wiltshire Estates from the comic with the Shirewilt community here.
    I went on the internet to see if Shirewilt actually exists, just as a place or a word. I did find some Shirewilts. It wasn’t completely bananas.

    How much time has passed since the hospital? Because I can’t imagine you could make great time going 500 miles in the zombie apocalypse.
    I do know the general amount of time it was. I’m wary of actually saying it definitively, but yeah, they went from Georgia up to Virginia so it took them a good while but it hasn’t been a year’s journey. More in the two-week range.

    You and I spoke recently about how supplies and food were going to be an issue this year. What about the gas issue? There can’t be a lot of full tanks of gas left at this point. That’s what I was wondering when they’re talking about going 500 miles. I was like, “How are they finding enough gas?”
    Actually, gas-wise, there are a great many dead people. And there are a great many cars about so the world is full of gas. Now, we could get into sort of hardcore kind of “How long gas lasts in the world,” you know? The expiration date, evaporation issues…but I’m not going to go that far into it because I don’t want to pull that string just yet. I will say most people in the world—most people are dead and all those people left a lot of stuff behind.

    Robert Kirkman told me he thought that this episode could be both a fan-loved and fan-hated episode. What do you think the reaction is going to be?
    I just hope people feel very deeply watching it. At least that’s what we’re trying to go for. I mean, I don’t want anybody to be psyched about what transpires in the episode. This show is a long story and it is building toward something, and I do not believe that it’s a nihilistic story in the least. Even the things that Tyreese was saying in this episode are very affirmative and positive and humanistic, and it’s challenging the characters to go on after losing somebody like that—and to believe the world isn’t all death and weakness and darkness. That’s a test for the characters and I suppose that’s a test for the audience, which is—it’s no joke. This world that these characters inhabit is dangerous physically and dangerous to the soul and dangerous to your outlook, but you need to fight to stay alive, to stay yourself, to stay someone who can look towards the future. And things are hard on these characters. But the fact that they keep going and keep fighting and keep trying to remain people is an incredibly positive thing. But it’s not going to be easy for them and that’s what makes it heroic in my mind.

    Of course we always have to look ahead, so what can you tell us about next week’s episode?
    They just lost Beth and that was devastating and destructive and painful, and then to lose Tyreese—it’s just these people are being beaten down and at what point do you just give up? Whether it’s giving up completely in a physical way, or giving up in an emotional way as far as how you’re seeing the world or just being a person. This is what they’re facing in the immediate turn in episode 10. And beyond that, they’re in a very difficult situation. They’re on the road now. They’ve made the decision to go somewhere, but like we have seen, nothing is just simple and easy so they have a fight in a real, practical, physical way and they have a fight in an emotional way. We’ll see who wins.






     
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    [h=1]The Walking Dead Producer: "We've Killed a Lot More White Characters Than African-American Characters"[/h]by KRISTIN DOS SANTOSToday 3:05 PM PST











    [​IMG]AMC
    That…was rough.
    Last night's midseason premiere of The Walking Dead might just have been the series' most depressing episode to date. Fan-favorite character Tyreese (Chad Coleman) was bitten by a walker early on in the hour, and the hallucinations that played out, as he slowly bled to death, were haunting, emotionally gripping, and poetic.
    Tyreese's death, which came as a complete shock to fans still reeling over the loss of Beth (Emily Kinney) in the winter finale, also elicited significant chatter on social media, as some fans questioned why The Walking Dead keeps killing off African-American characters. The New York Post went as far as to accuse the show of being "too diverse."
    READ: The latest Walking Dead casualty is horribly devastating



    [​IMG]AMC
    Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd didn't shy away from tackling any questions about the show's diversity today while discussing last night's episode, telling me:
    "Look, this is something in this world that we should be cognizant about, so my feeling is: Sure, let's get it out there, let's talk about it," Hurd told me. "We've killed a lot more white characters than African-American characters. And not only that, I think it's important to point out that we did cast two African-American actors in roles that were not African-American. In the comic books, Bob was white. And the character of Noah was not an African-American. We just cast the best actor."
    Hurd wouldn't comment on any new actors coming on board, but pointed out that, "Noah is still alive and so is Seth Gilliam, playing Father Gabriel. And obviously both Sasha and Michonne. And let's not forget the character of Glenn has been on the show since the very beginning."
    READ: The Flash just cast a Walking Dead casualty!



    [​IMG]AMC
    As for all the fans shouting "WHHHHYYYYYYY?!" at their screens last night, Hurd had this to say about why Tyreese had to go:
    "[Executive producer] Scott Gimple basically said to [Chad Coleman], ‘Is there anything we haven't really touched on in Tyreese's journey?' And they truth was ,it went from A to Z. They are at a point of total and ultimate despair. And if this really would happen, you can't just spread it out and say, ‘OK, we've lost a significant character in the last episode. Let's wait.' Tyreese had embraced forgiveness and he'd embraced all of the positive qualities as opposed to despair and rage, and in a moment of pondering that, he was vulnerable. And in this world you can't let your guard down even a split second."
    The moments before Tyreese's passing were especially poignant to grieving fans, hinting at the possibility of afterlife as Beth, Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) and Mika (Kyla Kenedy) told him, "It's OK Tyreese. You gotta know that now: It isn't just OK. It's better now." Were they solely hallucinations? Or might there be a "better place?"
    "The show doesn't have a stance on whether there's an afterlife," Hurd explains." It's character-dependent on their belief system. And I think it reflects each of our individual journeys with faith. Some characters, like Maggie, lose their religious faith and some gain much more peace in it. ‘Til the very end, Hershel maintained his belief and his gentleness. And even though he knew the end was there, he had faith that he would go on to a better place. He'd be reunited with the family that he had lost."
    READ: The Walking Dead spinoff gets its lead
    Hurd pointed out that Coleman handled his exit with "grace and understanding," but the letting go process is different for every actor.
    "It's been hard on all of them. People on other shows will say, ‘I love being a part of this show,' but the truth was they were the ones who said ‘You gotta get me out of this thing!' You won't find that on The Walking Dead. It is very special, my 37 years in the business, I've never experienced this kind of cohesion and the warmth among all of the actors on the show, as well as the crew. And truly no one wants to go."
    The Walking Dead pulled in a whopping 15.8 million viewers on Sunday night, keeping its stance as the number-one show among viewers 18-49 in all of television. Even against the Grammys.
    "I have to say," Hurd told me, "we haven't had our midseason premiere up against the Grammys before, so it was remarkable, and a huge shout out to our fans. We love them. And they return it."
     

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