The flu and a traitor/murderer among the prison ranks spells big trouble for Rick and co. Executive producer Scott Gimplse says the group is going to have to cope as best they can. "One thing I really dug about this story when we were talking about it [in the writers' room] is that because of the third-world situation that they're in -- it's almost medieval -- they don't get to know; they don't have a lab to take samples and look at stuff under microscopes," said Gimple.
And Carol (Melissa McBride) now finds herself in charge of two young girls, Lizzie and Mika. But something Mike says about Lizzie should clue in readers to a plot thread from Robert Kirkman's comic book concerning Carol's deceased daughter, Sophia. Added Scott, "There's a couple things going on there that's taking elements of various stories from the prison and elsewhere in the comic. In the comic, Sophia winds up essentially becoming Maggie's daughter. Kids wind up with other people in the comic. That was something that absolutely came from the comic. Yes, Sophia in the comic, after losing Carol, was not completely looking at the world the right way; she didn't even remember Carol very quickly in the comic, which happened at the farm. A lot of this stuff is subliminal. Having read the comic as much as I have, even after the fact, I realized something that Robert [Kirkman] did. One of my favorite covers of all-time of The Walking Dead was Carl and Sofia holding hands in front of the fences with the walkers. I'm sure that that influenced stuff in [episodes] 401 and 402. That contrast of innocence with threats and death -- there's a whole lot of remixing going on there."
And the looming question is with threats now on the outside and the inside, how long can the group stay at the prison? "We've shown from the beginning that they have to do this regular maintenance on those fences -- meaning taking out walkers at fences. They're a little busy right now, and they're not at full strength but they need to be. They have a big problem coming up. We've talked about different locations this season, so who knows what can happen. Who knows, maybe they'll pull it off and maybe that requires another location. Maybe other locations come from them not pulling it off. It comes to a head sooner than later."
There's a lot more from Gimple over at THR so click the source link below to read the full interview. And be sure to catch the next episode of The Walking Dead this Sunday on AMC at 9PM.
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"The Walking Dead, the most watched drama in basic cable history, will return for a sixteen episode fourth season on October 13, 2013.
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey, Chad Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Danai Gurira . The series is executive produced by Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, and Gale Anne Hurd." |
Running Time: 60 minutes (45 min actual air time)
Release Date: October 2013 (Season 4-premiere)
TV Rating: TV-MA for sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity, alchohol/drugs/smoking and frightening/intense scenes
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, David Morrissey,Chad Coleman,Sonequa Martin-Green, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Emily Kinney, Norman Reedus
Creators: Frank Darabont (show) Robert Kirkman (comic)
Written by: Frank Darabont, Charles H. Eglee, Jack LoGiudice, Robert Kirkman, Glen Mazzara, Adam Fierro, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore, Evan T. Reilly