The Walking Dead Showrunner On Carol And Morgan's Futures

While the rest of Rick's group is under Negan's thumb at the moment, Carol and Morgan find themselves in the midst of a much different atmosphere when season 7 of The Walking Dead starts.

As fans of the show know, the two fan favorites are now within the walls of The Kingdom, a much different type of community than they've previously been a part of. Showrunner Scott Gimple spoke to EW about the new surroundings. First, though, he spoke a bit about Carol, who has attempted to distance herself from everyone else, but in the season finale still needed Morgan's help to stay alive.

"That really is a driving motivation with her. And yet, in that moment — though she didn't really think of it this way — she did need someone. But she's in a tricky place. She doesn't want community and she doesn't want people close to her. She wants to be on her own and she certainly has the skills at this point to do so, but how do you achieve that when there's people around who care about you?"

As for Morgan, season 6 was a rather difficult adjustment for him. His pacifist philosophies constantly ran into the realities of a constant survival first mentality, and season 7 will focus on him coming to grips with the fact that his way might not work in this environment.

"Morgan was never certain, and now his going through the world without killing anyone, is that just wishful thinking at this point? That's a big part of his story this season. I will say obviously we're not going to be seeing him wringing his hands and bemoaning this the whole time. In fact, what we saw, it's more that he will see that he has no choice but to move away from the philosophy, but it's not going to be easy for him."

In truth, both characters will have an interesting time adjusting to the ways of The Kingdom, a community that is led by the charismatic King Ezekiel.

"I'll say that the Kingdom is a place that works and it's a place that has a very different vibe because it works. They've figured out how to feed themselves. They've figured out how to have a place that in many ways celebrates life. They get to be alive. They want to live. It isn't merely about survival."

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 23rd.