Walking Dead Showrunner on Season Six's Controversial Ending [SPOILERS]

The final season episodes of The Walking Dead have always been a big deal. It's a show that is unafraid to kill off main characters, often saving these deaths for season finales. This year was a little different however, and now showrunner Scott Gimple has addressed season six's controversial cliffhanger, which finally introduced the villianous Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Speaking to EW, Gimple explained that it was important for the season to end the way it did. "What we saw last night was the end of the story of [episode] 16," he said. "Where Rick winds up is completely different from where he started in 1 and where he started in 9. I know obviously what it is in 701. And presenting what occurs, to show what happened in full-force, is the beginning of the next story."

Nevertheless, Gimple did admit that some fans might feel cheated by the open-ended nature of the latest episode. "I think if you approach it with the idea that there is some sort of negative motivation behind it or cynical motivation behind it--if you come at it that way it's difficult to convince you otherwise," he said. "I do think we've done enough on the show and we've delivered a story that people have enjoyed and I guess asking people to give us the benefit of the doubt that it is all part of a plan and is all part of a story.

"I truly hope that people see 701 and they feel that it justifies the way we decided to tell the story."

Gimple also revealed that season seven would "open up" the show in terms of locations, story, and character. "We are going to have a wide variety," he confirmed. "I'm very excited for all the different stories that will be told. There's going to be probably the biggest variety of stories we've had yet.

"I can say without spoiling anything that things are going to start off very, very, very, dark, because everybody's where we're starting. But that isn't going to be the whole season."

The Walking Dead will return in October. The spinoff show, Fear the Walking Dead, starts its second season on April 10.