Andrew Lincoln said that brutal is the word to describe the upcoming fifth season of "The Walking Dead."
"The show is the same story moving forward but because their leader is incredibly uncompromising, I think he is dragging a lot of those people into a place that is darker, more brutal, and there will be fallout from that," Lincoln told Entertainment Weekly, referring to Rick Grimes, the character he plays.
"So it feels like it's a more grown-up show. It feels like we're heading into the heart of darkness," he continued. "Brutal is the word for this season. It's always been pretty intense, but this season I think is very hard hitting. People should be prepared for that, I think."
And this "uncompromising" Rick is what viewers want to see most especially after watching the character wandered aimlessly for almost two seasons.
"Rick is probably at the most complete place he's been ever since the apocalypse started," Lincoln said of his character. "He's a man who doesn't doubt himself anymore, and he's accepted his brutality as much as his humanity. So I think he's in an incredibly powerful and dangerous place."
Speaking at the San Diego Comic-Con last July, Lincoln discussed how Rick will be much more different in Season 5 as compared to previous seasons. "There's no [internal] conflict anymore. He's incredibly pragmatic, he's very uncompromising, and as a result, an incredibly formidable leader," he said, according to Comic Book Resources. "[But] that doesn't mean he's not a great father, and has moments of tenderness -- I think he's accepted that both of those things are just as important."
"If you stand beside Rick, you're family. If you stand in front of him, you're a problem," he added. "I think that maybe the themes within this season are about that within the group and without the group."
Meanwhile, it has recently been revealed by TVLine that the season premiere will be titled "No Sanctuary," presumably suggesting the idea that Terminus is not really a safe haven as what the protagonists of the show initially believed.
"The Walking Dead" Season 5 premieres on Oct. 12 on AMC.