"The Walking Dead" delivered another stand out episode Sunday in a season already embarrassingly stacked with talent.
Even for a show that tosses around gore-drenched violence with the whimsical joy of throwing confetti, "When the Dead Come Knocking," packed in some harrowing brutality.
"Yeah, you know, it's a dark show," said creator Robert Kirkman in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"But this kind of stuff is uncomfortable for us. I think that's really the thing to note. When you work on something like [the Walking Dead], a lot of people think, "Oh, these sick and twisted people doing these crazy TV shows and comics and whatever..." But we're feeling that stuff in the writers' room as much as hopefully you are when you're sitting on your couch. But you've got to show that Woodbury is a dangerous place and these are the kind of things that would happen if they took these people captive. But we like Lauren Cohan, we like Steven Yeun. It's not easy for us either."
Based off the monthly black-and-white comic book series written by creator Kirkman, "The Walking Dead" follows a gang of lost souls just trying to survive day-to-day life in a post-apocalyptic U.S. overrun with the living dead. The show is striking its own path at this point, deviating freely from the narrative in the comics, but still includes much of the source material.
Kirkman has confirmed the third season's 16 episodes will be split into two halves with the first eight episodes premiering every Sunday through Dec. 2, 2012, and the other eight episodes set to air in early spring 2013.
Clearly, a showdown between the two groups is brewing. Episode six found Glen and Maggie kidnapped by Merle while out looking for baby supplies. Rick and Michonne joined forces to steal them back in episode seven. With only one episode left before the mid-season break, prepare for a war between a newly unhinged Rick, Michonne, and The Governor and the rest of Woodbury.
"We've got Rick and Daryl and Michonne and Oscar about to go to Woodbury and we're going to see some pretty crazy stuff. That's also our midseason finale so I would expect some surprises here and there," said Kirkman to Entertainment Weekly.
"There's a lot of crazy and explosive stuff on the horizon ..." he added.
Kirkman seemed to hint at this impending confrontation in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, noting Glenn and Maggie's kidnapping was the first real sign of tensions between the two groups
"They're being taken there as prisoners and we saw how the Governor dealt with the National Guardsmen and the pilot they had in their custody. It could be two more heads for his fish tanks or something else. What they do with them once they get back to Woodbury is a mystery for now but I don't think it's going to be a pleasant visit for either of them. They're definitely not going to get out of this unscathed. Every character has grown to think of those people as their family; they would do anything to protect their family and that's going to put them in some pretty uncomfortable situations moving forward," said Kirkman.
Episode eight of season three, "Made to Suffer," airs Sunday Nov. 25 at 9/8c on AMC.