The Walking Dead, Andrew Lincoln, talks about the entanglement of "cruelty" and the meaning behind that "shut up."

What the hell happened to Rick? The brother went from refusing to lean over with a weapon to being able to bring down anyone or thing that stood in his way. Now, after he knocked people down with a gun, he told them to "shut up"! Is this the past? I didn't understand, so I could only ask him for answers. We invited Andrew Lincoln to talk about the half-season final episode of The Walking Dead, and the big stars of the series were particularly happy to reveal the secrets of the series to us. What kind of secret, you may ask? It's a mystery like "Why Rick would say 'shut up' to the dead Bob" or "The odd storyline of Rick Beth proposed by Lincoln himself but rejected (this is not an insinuation)", as well as his inside information about what will happen in the upcoming second half of the season or who to watch out for.

EW: Tell me how you felt when you said goodbye to Emily Kenny, who played Beth in the play?

<b>LINCOLN</b>: Oh yeah, that really hit me. I didn't expect to get to this point. I had no idea, and I think everyone was blown away. When you've been filming three episodes or so and no one has died, you know it's definitely not a good sign. Everyone felt restless. Emily is such a lovely person on the set, and she is also a good actress. I understand that, because afterwards you would understand that if she wasn't an actress who could play the role perfectly, she wouldn't be on the front lines of our battlefield, you know what I mean? We need a strong emotional touch in this great show, which is the crux of the matter, and unfortunately, it's heart-wrenching that this season is done by the character of Beth.

As always, the feeling of filming this scene was painful. You'll also feel like you've been robbed because I haven't spent enough time with her yet. I remember filming the scene with Emily where Herschel was beheaded, and she was such a perfect actress. I stood in the middle of the field, and I walked to the prison fence and made a deal with the governor, and I remember I put my hand down and then reached out, and when he asked Herschel and Michonne to kneel, I put my hand out and she immediately shook it. She just knew the hand was there. She just has that amazing sixth sense. I really regret not being able to spend more time with her. In fact, I had an idea that I came up with in the third season. I said, "I think Beth should be a little obsessed with Rick, and Rick has no idea how to deal with that." Of course, Karl would be frustrated by this, and Herschel would step in. "As usual, everyone just ignored me. But I think it's a good idea.

EW: I've seen you on set, and you look nervous, and in the hospital it's a series of highly tense plots. How did you find the exact points in the scene when filming?

Lincoln: We're all going to get out of bondage and do something crazy about ourselves. I think the whole crew is used to our little madness. Of course, when shooting a very strange, unfamiliar and frustrating scene, I listen to music and keep quiet before shooting. If I need to shoot a big action scene, I will do some physical preparation. But that scene (the hospital) was a different experience, because we were in a whole new environment. It was a scene shot in an unfamiliar environment and with a new actor, a scene that should have been a hostage exchange but had a bad pool. The scene was uncomfortable and I didn't enjoy it myself. It's not a enjoyable play. It's really hard to accept losing someone we're struggling to find who is so important to the team.

Interestingly, there's a scene where we walk out of the hospital afterwards, Norman holds Emily in her arms, and I lead the way. I consciously made the decision that Rick should do it, and he had already done it. He wants to lead the team forward and not be too hindered by emotions. I try to do that. Then Laurie Kohan and Steven reacted to Norman holding the corpse and I couldn't bear it, and I kept hiding from the camera because my eyes were already full of tears. Tears kept flowing down. Watching Laurie and Steven perform in that scene, the sadness regrouped and exploded again and again. They really acted well. It was a terrible day on set. I hate saying goodbye to people at their best. And Emily Kenny, such a good actress, she may also be the cutest and most caring person you can meet. It was a really bad and sad episode, and we're still shocked. She is part of our family. It sucks.

EW: I know it's going to be hard for you off the show, so what's going to happen with Beth, Rick and the team on the show?

<b>Lincoln:</b> I think Rick is one of those people in the group who can put this aside and really use it to drive him and the team forward. I think he had to do that because everyone is still feeling lost again. We had a reunion and got together again, but we were confused. Once again, we are in a desperate place, somewhere in the middle of the vastness of Atlanta. We had to compromise, and it was in these places that Rick had to stand up as a leader. There was no time to think about it, he had to push his team forward, but whether he could do it with the rest of the team was another matter.

EW: Let's talk about the first shot, you chase the fleeing policeman, you hit him with a car, break his neck, then shoot him, and finally tell him to shut up, which seems a bit unconventional, usually tell him to shut up, and then shoot!

<b>Lincoln:</b> [Lincoln laughed] Your reaction was exactly what I reacted when I read the script. I said, "Let's get it right, Scott [Scott Kip," one of the series's producers and writers. Did I say 'shut up' after killing this guy? Then he said, "Yes." Then I said, "Well, I'll think about how to do it." I laughed maniacally. Sometimes there are some "just do it" moments in this role. "Oh, thank you." You know, because I was furious with the last episode. I kept saying, "Why didn't I shoot that bald man?" Why can't I kill him, Scott? Let me kill him! I said, "Scott, let me shoot this boy." He said, "You and Darryl are one, he is your emotional guide, and you are still influenced by others—your friends and family." Then I'll say, "Uh-uh-uh, I still want to kill him, Scott!" My plan was to cut their throats directly. Help me. Then he said, "No! So when I saw the script for episode eight, I was relieved because the process was Scott Kip's usual style, "Wait, we'll get there." Don't worry. When I read the episode preview I said, "Oh God, this is beyond the scope of the bastard, it's a bit ridiculous." But the "shut up" thing is still interesting, because I approached the rendition by emulating Grace's "Can't go back, Bob." I think part of the mentality is that he also wants Grace to "shut up". Otherwise, really? Do I say "shut up" after shooting him? What really made me laugh was that it was up to them (the writers), Angela and Scott, who were laughing and telling me about it, and they looked like, "Yeah, we thought it was going to be cool," and I was, "It doesn't make sense, you guys have to help me again!" "So in the end I handled it that way, and that's how I treated Grace. That scene was great.

EW: It's funny to see Rick say the line That Grace once said, "Can't go back, Bob" — it makes me a little worried about whether Rick will go where Grace will go too.

<b>Lincoln: What</b> has made me love this show and the script for the last few years is this back-and-forth. There are even moments and events that are similar to The Claimers. (Translator's note: The group of people I met on Darryl's Road in the fourth season would say" before getting the resources: "claimed" that is, I wanted it. We've had a lot of lightwhistling moments this season, just like them. One scene on the roof is when I signal to my family that the deal has begun, just as Grace clenches his hands (hinting at his companions preparing for an ambush). We put in a lot of such echoes that make the audience wonder: How far have these people gone (from their nature)? How far Rick has come. Did he go further? Has he become like those people? That's the most exciting part of embarking on this journey. The writers' constant addition of these strange episodes will make you wonder yourself: Who is supporting us to get there? What intersections have we had? However, he should have stopped, and I did call him to stand! Yes, I had given him a warning, but he wanted to go back to the hospital, and he had to eat the gun.

EW: You know your principles very well.

<b>Lincoln:</b> I'm really clear, too clear, and there's nothing clearer than that. He should have stood.