‘The Walking Dead’ season 5, episode 3 reaction: Exec on Andrew J. West surprise

We all know that “The Walking Dead” does love its surprises, so it really cannot be that much of a surprise that the AMC show decided to deliver a heck of a stunner on Sunday night, killing off not one, but two characters.

The death of Bob was a surprise, given his condition and the feeling that it was almost a mercy killing in the end. However, what about Gareth? Why get rid of him and Terminus so quickly? Well, it appears that the plan was to simply move on to bigger and bigger things.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview, executive producer Greg Nicotero explained the decision to make Terminus and its characters into a relatively small arc:

“It’s very important that the show continue its momentum. We feel like we had teased arrival of Terminus for almost the entire second half of the season last year. We want to keep our story moving forward. That story line — the Hunters and cannibals — we want to be able to pay tribute to it from the comic but we also want to keep moving forward. As we get into episodes four, five and six, in true Walking Dead tradition, we’re going to step off and explore some other characters we may not have explored as in depth in previous episodes.”

One thing you can expect are further flashbacks and details about people we have come to meet on the show already, including Eugene, Abraham, Rosito, and more. Plus, there are new characters and storylines still to come.

Are you disappointed with the loss of Gareth on the show? Share your thoughts with a comment, and to further preview the next new episode of the show, you can do so over at the link here. Also, sign up today to get further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via AMC.)