"The Walking Dead's" upcoming midseason premiere may just kill off half its cast. "So many people die," comic creator Robert Kirkman said.
After Episode 8 where zombies swarmed the gates of Alexandria, Episode 9 will be even more morbid. "Episode 9 is one of the biggest episodes we've done," said Scott Gimple, "The Walking Dead" showrunner.
According to VanityFair.com, "The Walking Dead" will be introducing a huge crowd of new characters, as Dustin Rowles over on Uproxx has pointed out. "Not just Jeffrey Dean Morgan's villainous Negan, but also several members of a new location called the Hilltop Colony as well as members of Negan's gang, the Saviors," which would mean a lot of new characters in just the eight episodes alone.
With the mid-season premiere falling on February 14, the episode has already been nicknamed by Rowles as the "Valentine's Day Massacre."
Episode 9 will surely pick up where the last episode left off, Rick, Carl, Jessie and her sons Sam and Ron, were trying to recreate Rick and Glenn's gut-smeared zombie walk in the first season where they lined up in a row.
In the trailer, Jessie's son, the agoraphobic Sam, freaks out mid-plan, refuses to go and protests loud enough that it alerted the zombies. Jessie refused to leave him even as he goes down but also won't let go of Carl's hand.
According to the article, in the comics, Rick cuts off Jessie's hand rather than watch his son get dragged off by the zombies, saving his son in the process. This effectively killed his girlfriend (who could already have been bitten at this point).
The article further mentioned that there were a lot of speculation that Jessie's other son, Ron, will wind up shooting Carl in the eye during the commotion. "The Walking Dead" Season 6, Episode 9, will premiere on February 14.