As you've probably seen and heard, AMC's "The Walking Dead" ended its sixth season on a very divisive note last month. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's long-awaited debut as iconic comic book villain Negan was overshadowed by the show's inexplicable decision to end on an ill-advised cliffhanger that took all of the air out of what was intended to be a pivotal moment.
After weeks and weeks of fan complaints, "The Walking Dead" is finally owning up to its mistake. Well, sort of. "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman issued a half-apology, half-defense of the season six finale in the most recent issue of his popular comic book series.
Here's his full letter to fans:
"Okay, the season 6 finale has certainly caused a fervor online. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT. Some people love it. Some people are indifferent. Some people HATE it. We weren't trying to game the audience, we weren't trying to FORCE you to come back for season 7.... we hope you were always planning on doing that and still plan on doing that.
We did want you talk. And talk you are.
The speculation, the frustration, the possibilities, the theories... honestly, in my mind... that stuff is FUN. I honestly feel like that's something fun for the fans to do during the break. Was it Spencer? Could it have been Morgan? What about Carol? Did Negan kill Jesus?! (Note, none of them were there... I'm not giving ANYTHING away.) I know people are angry over this, but that wasn't our intent. The idea was that after 6 seasons of the show, we wanted to stay on your mind and give you something to talk about.
And think of it this way... a character you love and are going to miss is DEAD, and we gave you a few extra months to hope, to not grieve. Is there uncertainty? Yes. But that was kind of the idea.
But seriously. Everyone on TWD team wanted to do something cool. We wanted to do something different and we did it to change things up, get people excited and keep this show on your mind.
For some of you, that effort backfired and you're angry. And for that I'm sorry. The only thing I can PROMISE you is that the season 7 premiere is going to be awesome. And when viewed as a two-part episode (the same way EVERY SEASON of Star Trek: The Next Generation ended with the first half of a two-part episode that was a cliffhanger...), it's going to be a pretty awesome ride. And every minute of the season 6 finale was important and was setting something up that you probably won't see coming.
It's a cool episode... and remember... there's a LOT more for Negan to do. Be afraid... be very afraid. And excited!"
So, there you go. Everyone behind the scenes of "The Walking Dead" wanted to "do something cool" and not "game you." Unfortunately, it's clear that these people may have different definitions of cool than the general viewing public.
Will the powers that be fix this mistake? It's hard to know. Filming for season seven is underway, though it remains behind closed doors. We won't know which cast member was on the receiving end of Negan's baseball bat for quite some time.
What do you think of Kirkman's response? Let us know in the comments below.
"The Walking Dead" will return to AMC for a seventh season in October.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
