The Importance of That Kingdom Death in 'The Walking Dead'

While Carl's death was the talk of the town leading up to tonight's midseason premiere of The Walking Dead, he wasn't the only character to meet his end in the episode. In fact, according to executive producer Greg Nicotero, that fatal scene in the Kingdom was a lot more important than you might have thought.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the midseason premiere of The Walking Dead! Continue reading at your own risk...

Of course, we're talking about Gavin here, the Savior that often dealt with Ezekiel and the folks at the Kingdom. While Morgan spent most of the episode trying to kill Gavin, against the wishes of Carol, is was the young Henry who actually ends the Savior's life.

Earlier this week, we had a chance to speak exclusively with Nicotero, who said that having Henry be the one to kill Gavin was pivotal in the growth and story of Morgan, and could ultimately change who he is going forward.

"You have Carl talking about the future and talking about what there is that we can live for. And then we're seeing that Morgan is literally pursuing Gavin like Michael Meyers from Halloween, that contrast can't be lost on you, because it's critical to see what's happening," Nicotero explained. "And to have a young man murder Gavin at the same point as you have another young man who's advocating to potentially move towards peace. It really stops Morgan in his tracks. You know, Lennie James does such an amazing job in this episode. And it's not lost on anybody. Carl sees it, Ezekiel sees it. They all realize that he's going to a bad place, and he doesn't even think that he can come back for it, or come back from it. So it's really critical.

"And then with Gavin, he's just a guy who found his place in the post-apocalyptic world. He's not a bad guy. It's just, he has a job to do, and he does it, and he does it pretty well. The frustration that he feels throughout the whole episode with Ezekiel is, he's like, 'You had it pretty good. Why did you have to go and screw it up? Now I'm going to have to kill you, and I don't want to have to do that.' I mean, there's so much frustration from Gavin."

So, if there was something good to come out of this episode, it's that Morgan might be changing for the better going forward. More positivity in his life could lead him back down the road toward peace, which could ultimately send him on his journey to Texas at the end of the season.

You can watch our full interview with Greg Nicotero in the video above!