The Walking Dead: Robert Kirkman does not regret controversial cliffhanger 

Get behind-the-scenes insight each week during season 6

'The Walking Dead' director says the actors don't even know who died

'The Walking Dead': Jeffrey Dean Morgan weighs in on finale cliffhanger

'The Walking Dead' showrunner Scott M. Gimple defends cliffhanger

comic book and serves as an executive producer of the TV adaptation, recently addressed the divisive season 6 cliffhanger in the letters section of the most recent issue of the comic. “We weren’t trying to game the audience, we weren’t trying to drive you crazy, we certainly weren’t trying to FORCE you to come back for season 7,” wrote Kirkman. “We hope you were planning on doing that and still plan on doing that.”

He even went on to apologize to fans who were “angry” with the way things played out, as new baddie Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) bashed someone’s head in with a barbed-wire covered baseball bat… without revealing the identity of the victim.

But the question remains: Was Kirkman surprised by the negative reaction to the cliffhanger, and does he regret it now in hindsight? Kirkman spoke to EW to answer exactly that.

“We knew that there would be a reaction,” Kirkman tells EW. “We probably didn’t anticipate it would be so big, but cliffhangers are supposed to elicit a reaction. I mean, that’s what they’re designed to do. So, to a certain extent, it did its job. It maybe did its job a little

well, but I think people that have invested in six years of the show may not be happy about that cliffhanger, and I think that’s a completely valid response, and I completely respect their opinion.”

However, don’t think that means Kirkman is rethinking the decision. “I’m not sorry that we did it,” he says. “I don’t regret that we did it, because [showrunner Scott M. Gimple] and I were trying to tell a story, and that’s what we and the entire creative team decided to do, But it is what it is. We’re working that much harder to come back for season 7 and make sure that the payoff is worth the dread of the uncertainty that we’ve given you over the months that we’re on break.”

Only around five more months of uncertainty to go!

\'Breaking Bad\' mini reunion: Bryan Cranston has \'My Super Sweet 60\' bash on \'Kimmel\'

\'Star Trek Beyond\' trailer: The final frontier pushes back

\'Star Trek Beyond\' to premiere at San Diego Comic-Con

WATCH: How Usher, Edgar Ramirez got into fighting shape for boxing film

\'The Originals\' boss blogs finale, talks midseason pick-up for season 4

\'The Originals\' boss breaks down Klaus\' sacrifice, what comes next

\'Grimm\' postmortem: David Giuntoli discusses that shocking finale

\'Ferris Bueller\'s Day Off\': Where Are They Now?

Rose Byrne on Her Most Memorable Roles, From \'Star Wars\' to \'Neighbors 2\'

\'X-Men: Apocalypse\': See EW\'s Exclusive Photos and Covers

New Broadcast TV Series for 2016-17: Quick Guide to Every Show