Re: The Walking Dead - TV Series on AMC
Walking Dead Creator: The Next Episode Will Be Brutal
We talk to Robert Kirkman, about the episode "Triggerfinger" and showrunner Glen Mazzara's strategy to burn though story.
February 20, 2012
by Matt Fowler
Sunday's Walking Dead episode, "Triggerfinger," picked up right where the midseason premiere, "Nebraska," left off; with Lori's car crashing and Rick having just gunned down two mysterious strangers in a bar.
The Walking Dead: IGN's Full "Triggerfinger" Review
We recently spoke to Walking Dead's executive producer and comic series creator Robert Kirkman about the episode, Shane's confession to Lori and new showrunner Glen Mazzara (who took over the series when Frank Darabont was pushed out) and his ideas for the show going forward. Yes, even though our survivors are all still living on Hershel's farm, the second half of this season is going to be more of a testament to what Mazzara can bring to the show, as opposed to Darabont's first half.
There are spoilers within for "Triggerfinger" and some mild spoilers for the comic book series as well. You've been warned.
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IGN: With all the danger that Rick, Glenn and Hershel faced this past episode, we never got to meet their attackers like we did in "Nebraska." What was the reasoning behind that?
Robert Kirkman: Yeah, that was something that [showrunner] Glen Mazzara came up with that I thought would be really cool. And that's the idea that they would be the "mysterious guys on the other side of the wall." And to have the entire scene play off the faces of Rick, Hershel and Glenn. And I think it came out really well. It came together. And the actors did an amazing job with that stuff and in telling the story. It made the scene seem that more dangerous because when the audience can't see the threat either then it puts you in the shoes of the main characters. It makes it all the more visceral and experience everything with them.
IGN: In the comics, we know that there are other dangerous groups of people out there, but is that who these guys are meant to be?
Kirkman: What that group represents is "the big unknown." We don't know anything about them. The two guys in the bar were definitely threatening. The guys outside the bar though, even at first, don't seem like they're too dangerous. But they quickly reveal themselves to be as equally dangerous as the guys who were in the bar. We're not even a hundred percent sure they're part of a larger group, but...it's probably safe to assume they are. I don't want to give too much away though. But it's the unknown factor of who these people are and what they've done or what they're trying to do is terrifying. And what we're really trying to do in this episode is show that the humans that our heroes encounter are going to pose just as much of a threat, if not more so, than the zombies themselves. When it comes down to it, humans are capable of so much more than a zombie.
IGN: Things have, of course, played out much differently with Shane on the show than in the comics, and in this episode you have Shane confessing all of his feelings to Lori. All of the frustrations that he came at Rick with in the book have now fallen on Lori's lap. What's the audience supposed to feel about Shane right now?
Kirkman: I think he's an extremely sympathetic character. I mean, maybe I'm a crazy person but I feel bad because I think everything he's done thus far on the show has been much more to benefit others than it has been to benefit himself. We showed that he clearly wanted to, and tried to, save Rick back at the hospital but just couldn't. His decision to leave Rick behind when he was in the coma was not an easy one to make. His growing affection for Lori and the fact that he stuck by them and protected them during that time afterward, that's a tremendous thing for a friend to do. And everything that's spiraled out of that is not necessarily his fault. He's dealing with a tremendous amount of pain and loss himself and so when he's doing something like killing Otis, or threatening Dale, or killing zombies in the barn, on the surface he looks like a villain. But when he levels with Lori and explains to her why he's doing the things he's doing and why he should be the guy who with her and protecting her you realize that he's not doing all of these things because he's a bad guy. And that makes it much more interesting.
- AMC
But, you know, that scene is really a by-product of Glen Mazzara's leadership on the show. He's definitely a guy who's like "Let's put these cards on the table" and "Let's deal with this story and move on. We don't need to tease the audience." He really wants to lay things out and burn through story in an interesting way so that we can come up with more stories. We're trying not to have "sacred cows" anymore. We're not trying to hold things too close to the vest, story-wise. Since he's come on now, he's been all about moving this love-triangle story up and out and trying to do cool things with it. As opposed to milking it for dramatic effect. So it's a little bit of a different take.
IGN: In the final scene of the episode, Lori seemed like she was really planting the seed for Rick to kill Shane. I mean, yes, she has every right to be worried, but it also seemed like she was manipulating Rick a little bit.
Kirkman: There are definitely different ways of interpreting that scene. Again, I like to think the best of all these characters and think she's just coming from a position of fear and just really doesn't know how to deal with the situation. So she's trying now to put it on Rick and make him deal with the situation. And that's how she's handling things. But there is a part of it where one could see that she knows exactly what she's doing and know how to push certain buttons in order to get her way. But whether she means to or not, she's definitely set them off on a path now that's going to have Rick and Shane conflicting in a big way. They might even have a big conflict in the very next episode. The next episode is going to be brutal.
IGN: I wanted to ask you a question about T-Dog. We all think he's ripe for the chopping block simply because he isn't a part of any of the stories going on right now. He seems underutilized. Is there anything planned for him down the line?
Kirkman: Well I say that I love that character and the actor who plays him, IronE Singleton, is honestly one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Totally cool dude and he does a great job. The writers room is full of big T-Dog fans and were trying to work him in. Unfortunately, right now there's a lot of stuff going on with Shane and Rick, a lot of stuff going on with Daryl, a lot of stuff going on with Glenn, and the others. And so you kind of have to focus on where the stories are. But T-Dog will definitely get his day and he's got some really cool stuff coming up that I think a lot of people are going to be excited about. But I would agree that he is somewhat underutilized right now. But it's all cyclical. We have to move through these characters in a natural way and not everyone can be in the spotlight at all times.
IGN: Zombie Apocalypse question for you now. Would you have stuck around and saved that kid who impaled himself on the iron gate?
Kirkman: I don't know how I would have gotten that guy's leg off that thing. Just the pain involved with ripping that leg off...I don't know that I would have been able to handle it. So I would have been long gone. That guy would have been screwed.
