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| Michael Cudlitz as "Abraham" (courtesy EW) |
Kirkman concurred with the other cast members that the remainder of the episodes will be completely different than season four's first eight:
It’s all of our characters scattered to the winds. Everybody’s separated and so we’re actually doing a lot of really intense, character focusing episodes. So because they’re separated there will be episodes that focus on different people. There will be episodes that focus on different groups at a time when they’re in their worst situation yet. We’re really going to really drill down into them and get to know them much more than we’ve gotten to know them before. I think after the end of these eight episodes you’re going to be acutely aware of who these people are and I think they’re going to be some really shocking revelations about what makes people tick and who they really are at their core.
He went on to say that the separation of the characters makes things more deadly and for many it will be their darkest period yet. Their witnessing of Hershel's brutal demise has also shaken them and thanks to the Governor's attack on the prison, they don't have time to process Hershel's loss.
Okay but where's Baby Judith? Kirkman's answer is a bit to ominous for comfort, "All I know is that there’s a bloody car seat so things aren’t looking too good." As far as other characters, namely, Lilly and Tara and others from the Governor's camp who survived, they may pop up. Speaking of popping up, what about Carol? He goes on to say that she was exiled from the prison for what she did and now that they've all been exiled, the playing field has been leveled. It seems that if you've survived, you may show up again. Hell even if you died, you can show up again!
New characters will also be introduced including Abraham and Rosita and Eugene. Kirkman reveals that they are quite similar to their comic book counterparts:
These characters are going to be extremely similar to who they were in the comics and I’m really excited about that. The visuals and costuming for them has been absolutely amazing. These people really do look like they were torn out of the comic page, it’s pretty startling. But I will say people excited for the introduction of these characters won’t have to wait very long. I don’t want to reveal exactly when they’ll be introduced, but it won’t be too terribly late in the season so get your hopes up. They really are going to add a very interesting and very compelling dynamic to the show. I think they’re going to bring in elements to the show that we’ve never really explored before and I think that’s exciting and something that’s going to change the game to a certain extent. I’m always very excited at how much this show evolves over time and changes season to season and these three characters are agent that very much changes the story and very much changes the direction of the show to a certain extent.
A character named "Gareth" will also be introduced but Kirkman remains hushed on him. He was kind enough to reveal that whomever was feeding the walkers those rats will be revealed and that this is a whole plot thread. We'll also learn more about that faint radio signal Daryl picked up on. Overall, he urges fans to re-watch the first half of season four because several little "breadcrumbs" have been strewn during those episodes.
Check out the full interview here and be sure to tune in this Sunday, February 9 at 9 p.m. on AMC.
-Larissa Mrykalo