The Walking Dead: What can we expect from a midseason finale?

We’ve had 4 midseason finales of AMC’S The Walking Dead before tonight. Let’s look at them to see what we can expect from a midseason finale.

Season 1 of The Walking Dead was only 6 episodes so it didn’t really have a midseason finale. But the other 4 seasons after that definitely had a break midseason that signified an end and a beginning-something that midseason finales have come to represent as producers have let us know that they try to reinvent things in some way  about every 8 episodes.

Season 2 gave us one of the most spectacular midseason finales and magnificent scenes of the entire series. The front half of the season had been spent dealing with Lori’s pregnancy, Carl’s gunshot wound, and adjusting to farm life. But mostly the tension between Rick and Shane and looking for Sophia.

The midseason finale broke open both of those stories. Shane had had enough. Enough looking for Sophia and enough dealing with Rick’s softness and Hershel. He pried open the doors of the barn, the group put down the dangerous walkers who had been housed there and were previously members of Hershel’s family or his neighbors. And then Sophia came out of the barn.

Read more: Season 6 Episode Guide

Season 3 took us to Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie. Sasha and Tyreese found their way to the prison. Michonne killed Penny, took out The Governor’s eye and saw her old friend Andrea. The group made it out of Woodbury except for Daryl. We saw Daryl at the end when the Governor took off his hood at the arena as he pits brother against brother in a fight to the death,

Season 4 brings the Governor back. But Woodbury is gone and this time the Governor showed up at the gates of the prison with his new family, a tank and Hershel and Michonne. He wanted the prison. It looked like Rick had negotiated successfully for a split second before the sword swung as Brian Heriot whisperee, “Liar!” and decapitated our wise one and started full on war that split our group and ended the prison.

Season 5 brought the group back together after several separations after the prison and Terminus.  But only after they had lost the hope of Eugene’s cure and the plan to rescue Carol and Beth took a terrible turn at the last second.

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So that’s what midseason finales look like. They usually seem to include some death. Sometimes the death of a major character, sometimes not. The resolution of the build up of the first half of the season usually comes in some form or another, but only to lead to more questions or a new dilemma. And some sort of mild cliff hanger.

So just your regular day at the office for any episode of The Walking Dead except amped up and full of endings and beginnings for stories and threads of stories. Tonight we can expect some death, perhaps a big death. The resolution or part of the resolution to the herd problem. And questions will be raised about how the group plans to go on in Alexandria. And perhaps glimpses of problems in our future.