I knew a lot [of] aspects of the finale and I knew that Robert had been working toward a finale and he had mentioned some ballpark aspects but he held back a lot because he knew I wouldn’t want spoilers.
Honoring the aspects of [the broader] finale story without the death of Rick Grimes will be a challenge to our storytelling.
So for maybe two years I was thinking about it along those lines, as the start of a new story.
And to me, that finale story — and Robert agrees — plays a lot like a pilot.