Sunday night’s Walking Dead mid-season 5 finale had a surprise ending that left us sobbing.

Beth died at the hand of Officer Dawn during episode 8 and left her old friends in despair. The two people who were most hurt by her death were, of course, Maggie (her sister) and Daryl (her close friend).

The Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple spoke to various media outlets on Monday about the mid-season finale and revealed why they decided now was Beth’s time to go.

“There absolutely was a lot more of the character to explore” if she hadn’t died, Gimple told The Hollywood Reporter. So why did Beth have to go?

“We wanted to tell a story about a character that found out that she was strong all along,” he said. “What ever that was thrown at her brought out that strength. In the end, someone who wanted to appear strong — a compromised person [Dawn], wound up taking her out, which is just a tragic story. It’s not a fun story or a story we took lightly. Beth didn’t die because she was weak; Beth died because she was strong and that’s painful, and it’s not fun and it’s not to be taken lightly — and we don’t. A lot of things happen on this show that are tragic. How do these characters go on after that? What would motivate them to go on after that?”

Speaking of Beth’s relationship with Maggie, Gimple said, “This is something that Maggie is going to have to deal with and something that might just break her.”

As for Daryl? Gimple declined to answer whether or not they ever thought of making Beth and Daryl a couple, but he didn’t deny the duo’s special connection. “Those two characters reached an incredible level of intimacy and really helped each other in incredibly significant ways,” Gimple said. “Daryl is going to be destroyed that this has happened. To have seen his reaction — in anger and aguish — says a lot.”

Though Gimple didn’t mention it, another reason Beth had to die was because life in the apocalypse is never safe. A zombie could come up to you at any point deliver a fatal bite. This is something that all characters must live in fear of (except Daryl and Rick – those two will never die).

The Walking Dead mid-season 5 premiere airs Sunday, February 8. Though many of our readers disagreed with us, we think Maggie will be doing a little mourning in episode 9 when we see it next year.