The Walking Dead Cut Out Part of This Week’s Most Shocking Scene

Hopefully at this point you’ve watched The Walking Dead‘s huge episode this week, “Thank You,” but beware of spoilers ahead if somehow you haven’t.

Everyone is talking about the scene toward the end of the episode, when Nicholas killed himself, falling into Glenn and knocking both of them off the dumpster and directly into a herd of zombies. Glenn screamed as intestines were torn in an obscured close-up, casting doubt on whether or not he survived. Of course, even if he did – he’s still in the literal middle of a herd of zombies, so it’ll take a lot for him to move on from there.

EP and effects guru Greg Nicotero talked to EW.com about the scene, and he gave a little more insight into it than others have to this point.

“It seems pretty clear that somebody died in that sequence. Listen, you know, our show’s tough, dude. People die in very unsuspecting ways, so you kinda gotta let your eyes tell you what you saw,” Nicotero said.

The scene was shot and choreographed in a very particular way, but not to deceive. “In a croud of 1,000 zombies – you may not get a 100% clear glimpse of what’s happening,” he said. He and showrunner Scott Gimple worked through the scene together closely and deliberately.

That includes the lead-in to that moment. Originally, there was additional dialogue, where Nicholas counted down the ammo he had left. Each time he shoots, he counts down, leading to him having “one bullet left.” Nicotero also said his fall into Glenn was “not something that was intentional.”