Although Gareth (Andrew West) wasn't around for that long, he certainly made an impact on The Walking Dead. Now, the actor is speaking out about Sunday's memorable episode.

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Rick (Andrew Lincoln) chopped off Gareth's head in the shocking episode. "It was incredibly intense," West told The Wall Street Journal Monday about the scene. "I knew well before we shot episode 3 that he would meet his demise, but I did not know how it would happen."

West admitted he was "shocked at the brutality of it when reading the script."

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"We find that it has a lot of meaning," West continued about how Rick killed Gareth. "It touches on how Rick is evolving and how he's becoming a leader who doesn't waiver as much."

Despite being a cannibal, Gareth even begs for his life to Rick. "Everything he does is very reasoned," West explained about his character. "With the end of episode 2, where he's eating Bob's leg in front of him - it doesn't come from a sadistic impulse. He has a plan to scare Bob and get the rest of the group rattled. And he almost succeeds in doing that."

Lincoln had earlier teased Episode 3 as "astonishingly brutal and uncompromising" to Details Magazine. "It is a season where maybe two-thirds has this momentum and this drive, and then the final third is like a completely new show."

The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9 pm E.T. on AMC.

Tags: The Walking Dead AMC