It already feels like it's been too long since The Walking Dead graced our screens. After all, it's been seven months since Rick Grimes and the rest of his fellow survivors drew away from an exploding CDC. We're still about four months out from a premiere, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean we're not starting to get a slow trickle of spoilers.
One of the biggest open-ended threads of season one was that of Merle, the unlikable hillbilly who Rick handcuffed to the roof of an office building -- and who cut his own hand off to get free. Merle apparently covered quite a lot of distance after he amputated his hand, but just how far he got -- and if he's still alive -- remains a mystery. Earlier this year executive producer Frank Darabont confirmed that Merle would not become the sadistic Governor from the comic books. But will we be seeing Merle again at all, or while he just be a big question mark for the rest of the show?
Actor Michael Rooker, who portrayed Merle (brilliantly, I might add), spoke to Fangoria earlier this week about returning to the show. Long story short: Merle's coming back. “It’s just that we don’t know when yet, and I'm not allowed to say."
Does that mean season 2? Not necessarily, but at least it's a confirmation that we'll see the strangely watchable, love-to-hate redneck hick. Admittedly, his crossbow-wielding brother, Daryl (Norman Reedus) has been just as much fun to watch.
But Merle's severed hand on the rooftop? As Rooker puts it, "It’s not really an ambiguous end. It’s an ambiguous beginning."