The Walking Dead
Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (L) and his wife actress Hilarie Burton pose at the premiere of Marvel's "Ant-Man" in Hollywood, California, June 29, 2015. Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

It was the “Last Day on Earth” and “The Walking Dead” fans were left utterly confused after the Season 6 finale ended. The villainous Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) finally made his debut and it was not a pleasant sight to behold.

[Spoiler Alert] However, what confused fans the most at the end of “the Walking Dead” Season 6 finale was who Negan battered with his barbed wire-covered baseball bat. Someone died and that someone was a major character.

Showrunner Scott M Gimple has tried to defend the season 6 finale, stating that the final scene marked a new beginning. However, fans were clearly not impressed with the episode ending and called it a “major disappointment.”

Gimple took the defending one step up, saying that he anticipated negative fan reactions and that’s exactly what he wanted. He described the negative fan reactions as part of the story and a part of the new beginning.

“In many ways what we saw last night was the end of the story of [episode] 16. nd presenting what occurs, to show what happened in full-force, is the beginning of the next story. It is all part of a plan and is all part of a story. That is the way that it is in our minds. I know what 701 is and I feel that it delivers on what 616 sets up,” Gimple told The Hollywood Reporter.

According to Gimple, he had to end the Season 6 finale in that fashion as revealing a bit more would have revealed important details of the story.

Morgan, on the other hand, has revealed some important details of “The Walking Dead” Season 7 beginning and Season 6 finale’s inconclusive ending.

“We will pick up directly from what we saw last night. Season seven is going to pick up right where we left off. So you’re going to see who’s on the end of that bat. I didn’t know it was going to be a cliffhanger until I watched the show. That was done in my world,” he told Vulture.

Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd said that the upcoming Season 7 would mainly focus on the dynamic between the new enemy and the Alexandrians. She stated Negan would be a game-changer and the new season will be about what Negan means to the world of “The Walking Dead.”

“He’s certainly the most formidable foe that Rick has ever encountered, not only in the comic books but now on the show. We certainly got a taste of that in the finale,” she added.

“The Walking Dead” Season 7 is rumoured to be back on Foxtel in October.

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