The Walking Dead: World Beyond Is About to Get Darker and More Dangerous

The Walking Dead: World Beyond gets bite with the introduction of a mysterious new arrival who marks a dark and dangerous turn for the first season, starting with Sunday's "Shadow Puppets." The ten-episode first season of the Walking Dead spinoff reached its midway point with "Madman Across the Water," where our teenaged heroes crossed the Mississippi River just before their run-in with stranger Percy (Ted Sutherland). There are now 15 total episodes left until the conclusion of Matt Negrete and Scott Gimple's two-season limited event series, which airs its first season finale on December 6.

"This is a mystery person that will potentially be around for longer than an episode. And we're at the halfway point of season 1 and the presence of this character coming in is really going to change the trajectory of these next five episodes in a way that I think is going to be irrevocable," showrunner co-creator Negrete told EW. "Things are going to happen in a way that are ignited by the presence of this character. And there's not going to be any going back. There really are a lot of dominoes that we've been setting up this season, and I will say the presence of this character is going to send that first domino falling. And I'm excited for people to see where it all goes."

In a preview for the first episode of the spinoff series directed by Walking Dead alum Michael Cudlitz, the stranger claims he has — or had — a working truck carrying barrels of refined fuel. Iris (Aliyah Royale) proposes a deal: her group of six will retrieve Percy's stolen truck if he drives them where they need to go.

Unbeknownst to the group — Iris, sister Hope (Alexa Mansour), friends Elton (Nicolas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston), and adult chaperones Huck (Annet Mahendru) and Felix (Nico Tortorella) — their 1,100-mile mission to rescue the girls' father (Joe Holt) from the clutches of the Civic Republic means going up against a shadowy organization conducting horrific zombie experiments.

"Our group is going to be dealing with the arrival of this mysterious stranger that showed up at the end. And as I said before, he's really going to introduce something new, I will say, to the proceedings. And there will be an element of danger that comes along with the arrival of this character," Negrete added of what lies ahead in episode 106. "I will also say that what happens in the next episode is really going to set the course for the rest of the season. In a way that things might get a little darker than they have been in the first half."

Negrete continued, "And really, the danger so far has been them not knowing how to deal with the world, but now they're getting a better sense of things. And we're starting to see them actually kill walkers now. There's going to be an added threat. That could be a human element that they're going to have to deal with soon. And that's going to add a new sort of dangerous layer to things."

Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things TWD. New episodes of The Walking Dead: World Beyond premiere Sundays at 10/9c on AMC.