And it comes down to this: Eight episodes of new zombie threats, an infection that threatened to wipe out the entire prison group, and a bitter rivalry with the Governor comes to a head in the "Walking Dead" midseason finale.

Series star Andrew Lincoln, who finished filming Season 4 last weekend and is back home in London reading movie scripts before he heads back to begin Season 5, talked to Yahoo TV on Thanksgiving eve about this season’s unique storytelling formats, and what promises to be a shocking and sad midseason finale.

He also hints that the second half of the season, which premieres in February, is even more of a departure from storytelling of the past, and teases that it features an episode he considers the series’ most controversial ever.

Before the Season 4 premiere, you told us that the midseason finale, which airs this weekend, was the most ambitious episode the series had attempted. Do you still feel that way?

I've just done the season finale, so I'm not so sure anymore. [Laughs.] This is quite a big episode coming up. But then I think from this episode onwards, it spins off into a different orbit, the show, which for everybody concerned has been thrilling. It's so neat that we've just … [viewers] don't get to see it obviously until next year, but the season finale is just, it’s so clever what [showrunner Scott Gimple] and the writers have done. It's just really clever.

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We do have a tendency to try and up the ante. I will say that the story, as you can tell from the structure of the first seven, the Governor and our people are about to meet proper. I really can't go into great detail, but it is probably the biggest we've attempted in every aspect, the midseason finale. Saying that, the last episodes this season, I'm still recovering from. But I do think loyal fans of the show won't be disappointed by this midseason finale. I think it's a showdown that we always promised. I think this time we certainly deliver.

This showdown between Rick’s group and the Governor and his new group is different this time. We have more perspective on the Governor, how he became this man he is. Does that make for a more intense, more personal showdown?

It's funny: Before I got the midseason finale from Scott, I was reading a book, and there was a quote in it that I really liked. I think it's by a philosopher called Hegel. It says, "Tragedy is when right collides with right." I texted it, because I do a silly thing where I text Scott and share things like that with him, thoughts of the day. [Laughs.] Or quotes that I like. He said, "Oh my God, that is very much the mini arc within the bigger arc … it’s where I wanted it to finish," which is Episode 8.

In answer to your question, I absolutely think that Scott did a very smart thing by filling in a lot of spaces in the backstory of the Governor and not sympathizing with the man, but certainly asking the audience to understand him a little bit more. One of the things I dig about the show is the fact that you can be rooting for a psychopath. You can feel sympathy for a man that has lost everything, and yet he collects heads in fish tanks. That's the strength of the writing this season and also David [Morrissey]'s portrayal.

[Related: 'Walking Dead' Producer: People Want the Governor to Redeem Himself]



I think that what you'll find is, it's a man wrestling with two parts. It's a very similar story to what Rick is going through. There's the beast in Rick, and then there's also the love in Rick. I think there's a man inside the Governor that he's trying to contain, or at least trying to diminish. Whether that's possible is another thing.

The last time we saw Rick, he was about to tell Daryl what happened with Carol. Before this showdown happens, will Rick have had a chance to talk to Daryl and Tyreese about Carol?

Certainly you've identified something that needs to be addressed, and fear not. I think you won't be disappointed. I really don't want to spoil anything. But I will say that I was in my trailer with a few of the actors — Norman [Reedus] and Steven [Yeun], and a few others. I won't mention too many names, because obviously you'll know who may or may not be alive. [Laughs.] But we were so excited, because there's so much drama this season. There were so many open-ended, extraordinary storylines that even our mouths are drooling at the prospect of what's going to happen in the future.