The Walking Dead: Greg Nicotero Teases A Very Different Season 7 Finale

The Walking Dead‘s Season 7 finale will be drastically different from its premiere. Rather than seeing something along the lines of Abraham Ford and Glenn Rhee having their brains bashed by a baseball bat, fans of the AMC series will witness what Austin Amelio calls a “big turning point.”

The Season 7 finale, which will air over the first weekend in April, will arrive under a great bit of pressure. After a season packed with controversy regarding violence and some slight hiccups in ratings (though never close to not being King of Sunday nights), The Walking Dead has a chance to redeem itself in the eyes of those fans who weren’t fond of the cliffhanger that was Negan‘s introduction.

According to executive producer and director of both Sunday’s Say Yes episode and the Season 7 finale, Greg Nicotero, the payoff in the final moments sounds promising. Nicotero joined ComicBook.com’s live After the Dead recap show after Episode 7×12 on Sunday night and during the conversation, revealed his perspective of the gigantic upcoming episode.

UP NEXT: What The Cast Is Saying About The Season 7 Finale

“I think our momentum continues forward, and seeing where we are now, and these various groups of people, it really builds to a very different finale than we’ve done in the past,” Nicotero said. “It was a blast to shoot, and we all went on pure adrenaline and pure instinct. And it was really, really a great experience. I mean this Episode 7×12 was a great experience, too, because I really felt like I had a great chance to allow Danai [Gurira] and Andy [Lincoln] a chance to play with their characters a little bit. And there were certain takes where we went really big and really over the top, and then we sort of dialed it in as we went.”

Enduring the first eight episodes of Season 7 which saw Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, and others living under the harsh oppression of Negan is what will make the back half and its culmination in the finale that much more enjoyable.

“I always love what we do on The Walking Dead because we set everything up in the first half of the season, and then we start putting the gas pedal down. And seeing Rick as old Rick Grimes, and being like, ‘That’s the guy that we have wanted to see and that we love seeing,’” Nicotero said. “The fact that we get a chance to see a lot more Daryl. It’s really great. These episodes are really fulfilling this journey that we dragged our audience down in these deep, dark places in the first half of the season, to serve this redemption. And it’s really important that our audience understands that, listen, sometimes you’re watching something that might be uncomfortable, but there is a means to the end. The satisfying aspect of these episodes is because we built to it.”

MORE WALKING DEAD: Did We Just Meet The Whisperers? / Gallery Of Rick And Michonne Getting It On / Another Sign Michonne Is Taking Andrea’s Place / ‘Say Yes’ Recap With Spoilers / Nicotero On Sasha And Rosita’s Mission / The Sixteen Candles Tribute In ‘Say Yes’

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.