'The Walking Dead' Episode 8x16 is Basically A Series Finale

The Walking Dead's Season Eight finale will feel very much like a series finale, in a sense that it wraps up every narrative thread from the first 115 episodes.

While the AMC show is very much returning for Season Nine and will have some stories left open-ended after Sunday's Episode 8x16, showrunner Scott Gimple says it is a conclusion of everything which has come before it.

"This episode isn't just like these 15 episodes coming to a conclusion, but Angela [Kang] and myself and the writers had always talked about this in many ways being sort of the conclusion of the first eight seasons," Gimple told EW. "This show will be very much a new show next year and with a bigger, new narrative. It was something I was really excited about getting into even before season 8. And so there was just a certain weight in the air of the kind of conclusion that we were getting closer to. It was a weird graduation for everybody."

The All Out War saga has been brewing for considerably more than two years, as Negan's name was first mention on the AMC zombie drama back in a post-credits scene following the Mid-Season Six finale. Finally, the drama between Rick and Negan will be put aside after Episode 8x16, which promises to be a massive and action-packed thrill ride on Sunday night.

"I was there, and it was an intense vibe," Gimple said. "It was a very hard season. And kind of everybody is in this episode. It was just intense. People were pretty to the limit this year emotionally."

The AMC show and its crew have long prided themselves on their ability to expand the series by making its world larger. With the entire world of The Walking Dead coming together in the finale, Gimple promises all of the characters and their perspective will arrive in the slightly extended episodes -- more than in one big, crazy battle.

"I think it has to do with stuff as practical as plot aspects, things that happen, but also emotional movement between characters," Gimple said. "And also I wouldn't necessarily say that this is all just one big battle. There are some really unusual aspects to that too, that the action isn't just a large battle, but there are things going sort of around the battle. I don't even know if I would classify it as a battle. And yet, at the same time, the scope is massive. And I guess with so many people, so many characters reaching the conclusion of the story that we've been laying out for them over the past few years in some regards, there's just a lot going on, and a lot of perspectives that we're shifting between and some very, very big emotional and philosophical movement between just some unbelievably insane things happening."

Episode 8x16 will also be Scott Gimple final episode as a showrunner, with Angela Kang stepping into the role for Season Nine, and Gimple taking on the role of Chief Content Officer for all of the Dead universe.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.