'The Walking Dead' Showrunner Defends Frustrating Season 6 Finale

The sixth season finale of "The Walking Dead" frustrated many viewers. In the much awaited finale episode titled "Last Day on Earth," fans expected the new villain Negan to brutally kill one of the beloved characters on the show. That didn't happen, though.

Showrunner Scott M. Gimple defended the controversial finale during a conference call with reporters and why they decided to wrap up the season with a huge question mark, which will only be answered after several months when Season 7 premieres.

"The reasoning behind this was... In many ways what we saw last night was the end of the story of [episode] 16. Where Rick winds up is completely different from where he started in 1 and where he started in 9. I know obviously what it is in 701. And presenting what occurs, to show what happened in full-force, is the beginning of the next story," Gimple explained, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly.

He continued, "I think if you approach it from a place of skepticism or with the idea that there is some sort of negative motivation behind it or cynical motivation behind it - if you come at it that way it's difficult to convince you otherwise. I do think we've done enough on the show and we've delivered a story that people have enjoyed and I guess asking people to give us the benefit of the doubt that it is all part of a plan and is all part of a story. And I truly hope that people see 701 and they feel that it justifies the way we decided to tell the story . . . I know what 701 is and I feel that it delivers on what 616 sets up."

According to Gimple, they have expected the fans' harsh feedback, but they know the reason behind the story's turns. Nevertheless, they care deeply about the show's fans and they are hoping to win the angry audience back in Season 7.

As for what fans should expect from the next season, Gimple said that viewers will learn more about Negan (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and they will see stories from the character's perspective. Gimple also shared that Negan and Carl's relationship in the comics will make its way into the show, and that Corey Hawkins will reprise his role as Heath despite the actor being cast in the new "24" reboot, EW reported.

Talking about Negan's future on "The Walking Dead," Morgan said the audience will witness the character do unpleasant things in a year or two, a separate report from EW revealed. The hit AMC series will portray Negan as close to his graphic novel counterpart as possible.