'The Walking Dead' season 9: Rick's departure made writers up their game

The biggest event in “The Walking Dead” season 9 is the departure of Rick (Andrew Lincoln), the character who has been a part of the show since the very beginning. Former showrunner Scott Gimple recently shared his thoughts in an interview about how the departure affected the writers of the TV series.

While speaking on “Talking Dead,” the show that features discussions about the franchise after an episode airs, Gimple shared his thoughts on the impact of Rick’s exit, ComicBook.com reports. The big impact of Rick’s exit was first felt by the writers, who have to make sure that the departure is interesting, and at the same time keep the show engaging enough for the fans after that.

“The weight of the character and the amazing actor’s departure ups the game of the entire writing staff, the cast, the crew,” Gimple said. Lincoln had said that he wants to leave the show in order to focus on his family. It remains to be seen if the character exit will just be that, with a possibility of his return sometime in the future.

Now that everyone knows that Rick will be leaving, the anticipation and the build up to that scene will be high, and Gimple knows it. The writers have apparently done a good job building the tension.

“As we get closer and closer, it gets better and better and better, because the weight of that departure is being felt by everyone. But it has resulted in just some amazing storytelling, a real, new feeling to the show that Angela [Kang] has brought to it,” Gimple said.

Lincoln has also delivered some his best performances on the show in season 8, according to Gimple. The writers, the cast, and the crew have done their best, according to Gimple, to give Lincoln and his character a worthy send-off on the show.