The Walking Dead Showrunner Previews Epic Season 8

The Walking Dead's eighth season will blow everyone away, according to showrunner Scott M. Gimple. Gimple appeared on Chris Hardwick's Talking Dead after Sunday's seventh season finale, saying that the first four episodes of the upcoming season will "melt people's minds and break their televisions." (via Entertainment Weekly)

"I say [season 8 is] going to be bigger, it's going to be more intense," he said. "I say these things and I've meant them every year and I think we've actually accomplished that. This year, same thing. More intense."

The season 7 finale teased the All Out War arc from the Walking Dead comics, previewing a season with more action and more violence than the show's past outings. It also saw the death of Sonequa Martin-Green's Sasha, who sacrificed herself to save her friends. Although many viewers predicted she would bite the dust due to the actress' starring role on Star Trek: Discovery, her death still packed quite the punch due to its dramatic nature, giving the fan favorite a fitting end.

"It just felt so right," said Martin-Green on Talking Dead of her character's fate. "It felt so complete. It was quite poetic when I found out how it was going to happen. Because I felt like it was the perfect end to my story, the perfect culmination of my life. I felt like all of my roads had led to that moment of getting to that place of complete selflessness. It felt perfect."

Gimple echoed her sentiments, saying that Sasha's death was always about keeping her from being a victim. "She had wanted a weapon from Eugene," he said. "She wanted a knife. She didn't get one, so she became the knife."

The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season, the premiere of which will coincide with the series' 100th episode, in October. While we wait, see the explanation of everything that went down in the season 7 finale.