The midseason finale of The Walking Dead showed "destruction, terror and mayhem" of a scale unseen in the show, InsideTV.com reported. However, the series' executive producer Robert Kirkman reveals that there's more to come.
The episode showed the Governor, hungry for revenge, had taken both Hershel and Michonne hostage. In a fit of rage, he sliced off Hershel's head because Rick had refused to have his people leave the fence's safety. The Governor bludgeoned his way in to the area using his tank, only to be killled later by Rick's fists and Michonne's sword and Lilly's gun.
The third season was watched by over twelve million, according to AMCTV.com, with the highest numbers between the ages of 18 to 49 at 7.7 million.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Walking Dead executive producer Robert Kirkman discussed the show's direction and what is in store for the franchise. Kirkman said of the prison being lost, "It (the story) goes into a lot of interesting and new places, which is something 'The Walking Dead' is always striving to do. The prison has fallen, there won't be any stories there and now our characters are out on their own. They've lot the prison, they've lost where they live and where they were building their lives and they're also separated and have lost each other."
As for how the characters will deal with this new endeavor, he stresses: "They're out in the unknown trying to survive. We're going to be going into some very interesting places with all of these characters and seeing new sides to all of them as they figure out how to survive."
Kirkman also hinted that more living and undead clashes will happen in the succeeding episodes of the hit series, saying "[it's] been a while since these people have been out on the road and out in the open; they're very different people at this point. The events in the upcoming episodes are going to change them that much more, which I think will make the show a lot cooler, more dangerous and more exciting."
The Walking Dead returns on February 9, 2014.