‘Walking Dead’: Rick heads for a showdown with the Governor

The third season finale of AMC’s “The Walking Dead� airs Sunday, and based on what’s already occurred this season, there’s no sure way to predict the outcome.

Those who haven’t been keeping up with the series should read no further, as spoilers abound.

Already this season, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), T-Dog (IronE Singleton) and Merle (Michael Rooker) are just three of the cast members who met untimely ends. And though more blood will surely be shed in the finale, there’s only one pressing question: Will the Governor (David Morrissey) get what’s coming to him?

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Morrissey himself wouldn’t say if he was returning to the show for its fourth season when The Times spoke with him early in March, but with his character, “The Walking Dead� has an amazing foil for its hero, Rick. With Shane (Jon Bernthal) dead and buried, it would be a shame to lose the much-celebrated Governor after just a single season. (Though the character eventually perished in the comic book series, creator Robert Kirkman went on to co-write two novels, “Rise of the Governor� and “The Road to Woodbury,� that elaborated on the character’s backstory. A third novel is expected to be released later this year.)

No matter what happens in the finale, the story will surely pick up in season four in a way that wasn’t intended when the season ended. Third season showrunner Glen Mazzara left the series after a dispute with AMC about the direction of the series and writer Scott Gimple was picked to replace him.

Fans worried about a decline in quality should take heart, however, as Gimple wrote one of the more highly regarded episodes of season three, “Clear.�

The season finale, titled “Welcome to the Tombs,� was written by Mazzara and is his (unknowing) farewell to the series.

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