The Walking Dead Showrunner Reveals New Details Of Gavin

The Walking Dead‘s latest episode saw two characters bowing out, as the Saviors claimed one and Morgan took the other, as a result.

However, in these deaths, there should only have been one. Richard was supposed to die all along. The character staged a violent encounter between the Kingdom and the Saviors but when Jared elected to shoot Benjamin instead, everyone’s plans went awry as the young soldier bled to death in Carol’s living room.

Upon meeting in the wake of Benjamin’s death, the Kingdom told Gavin, leader of this Saviors faction, that the boy had died. Gavin was infuriated and dismissed Jared from the meeting, insist he does not question it and leaves immediately. He was not only showing remorse, possibly the weakness of Negan’s group, but also just seemed genuinely frustrated.

In a recent chat with EW, showrunner Scott Gimple shared the insider perspective of Gavin. “This character could’ve been a man, it could’ve been a woman we cast — it was completely open casting,” Gimple said. “But when I was working on the character, the vibe that I was going for was this grumpy parent — you know, this parent who has just had it. Not like they don’t love their kids or whatever, but they’re just over everything. And to Jason Warner Smith, I was like, ‘Just be a grumpy dad. You did not sign on for this. You just want to make it to grandma’s house. You will turn that car around and just everybody cool out!’”

Of course, the aggravation from Jared is probably not the sole reason Gavin is constantly on edge. Answering to Negan is likely another issue but the character has issues of his own according to Gimple.

“Yes, he’s got his own problems!” Gimple said. “There’s a line that he has that’s ‘I didn’t go this way for aggravation.’ He didn’t do the things that he does to be put through any more trouble than he has to, and that indicates that he is fully aware of the team he’d signed on for. He is not especially proud of it, so if everybody could just do their part to make it as easy as possible, everything will be all right.”

As for whether or not this relationship between Gavin and Jared is actually one which is biologically paternal: it’s not. “They’re not related,” Gimple said. “That’s just the power of Jason’s acting.”

MORE WALKING DEAD: How Benjamin’s Death Is Important / How Richard’s Death Launches The War / Melissa McBride Wants A Rick/Carol Reunion / Lennie James On Morgan And Rick Going Forward / Will Carol Kill Negan? / Why Carol Does Not Blame Daryl For Lying

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