'The Walking Dead' season 7 news: Showrunner offers new angle on Morse code theory

"The Walking Dead" fans have not given up on the Morse code theory from two episodes ago even though showrunner Scott Gimple has already shut it down.

Now, Gimple has offered another explanation for the scene in which Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) were purportedly communicating on the sly right under Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) nose. According to Gimple, while Daryl and Rick probably weren't using Morse code and blinking to communicate secretly, perhaps Reedus and Lincoln were.

"Andy and Norman are really close," the show boss told Yahoo! TV. "I think the theory actually could be correct, but not within the story. Meaning, I don't put it past those two gentlemen, who are now so unbelievably close, that maybe Andy and Norman were communicating with each other, like they were saying, 'Oh, that was a good take. I really like what you did there. You're really bringing it,'" he said.

In the fourth episode of "The Walking Dead" season 7 titled "Service," Daryl returned to Alexandria for the first time since Negan brutally killed Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz). However, it was no pleasant trip or permanent return, as Daryl was merely dragged along by Negan and the Saviors, who were there to strike fear in the hearts of the Alexandrians. During his short visit to Alexandria, Daryl was not allowed to speak. Nonetheless, fans theorized that he had used Morse code to send a message — via blinks — to Rick, informing him of the location of the Saviors' headquarters.

But Gimple confirmed that Daryl's blinking was not an intentional element of that scene. "I would say I would desperately like to live in a world where Daryl Dixon intimately knew Morse code, and intimately knew that Rick knew Morse code," he said.

Nonetheless, Cinema Blend noted that the fifth episode of "The Walking Dead" season 7 may have actually encouraged the Morse code theory a bit. In that episode, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) asked Jesus (Tom Payne) to find out where the Saviors' base is — the very same info the people at Alexandria are after. The outlet suggested that this could mean the two groups are trying to determine the Saviors' location so they can launch a combined attack on the group.

"The Walking Dead" season 7 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.