19 questions we have after 'The Walking Dead' mid-season finale

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Sunday's mid-season finale of "The Walking Dead,""Evolution."
• Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead" killed off a fan-favorite while ending on a mini cliffhanger with Daryl, Michonne, and more surrounded by a new threat. Where do we go from here? 
• INSIDER rounded up the major questions we have regarding the mid-season finale and about the new teaser AMC released for the second half of the season. We've also provided some answers with insight from showrunner Angela Kang and "TWD's" Tom Payne.
• Season nine of "The Walking Dead" will continue on AMC February 10, 2019. Until then, here's what we're dying to know.

Who are these whispering zombies and what is their deal?

If you're not familiar with the "Walking Dead" comics, you may have been surprised that Sunday's episode revealed that the whispering walkers weren't evolving zombies. They're just a group of survivors wearing masks of the undead called The Whisperers. (You can read more on who they are here.)

Showrunner Angela Kang told INSIDER she's excited for viewers to get to see more of them when the show returns in February. 

"We have Samantha Morten and Ryan Hurst coming up as Alpha and Beta for the comic-book fans. These are just great, great actors who kind of folded in so seamlessly and are wonderful people to work with," said Kang about what's to come. "I'm excited for people to see their work."

"This group, the Whisperers, is unlike anything we've encountered on the show and we're going to start to learn about their philosophy and the way that they handle things and it truly gave us the opportunity to delve into a group that was so different," she added. "I think it's been really interesting for us to kind of work on that and see the designs that go into it."

Were we supposed to believe Aaron and Jesus were a couple on "The Walking Dead"?

Jesus and Aaron's relationship status was left vague on Sunday's episode, something Tom Payne tells INSIDER he's well aware of on the show.

"I know," Payne said of the uncertainty between the Aaron and Jesus dynamic. "Honestly, that's the one part of the story that I feel is slightly unfair on the audience." 

When I asked Kang whether or not fans were supposed to interpret Aaron and Jesus as a couple, she confirmed they weren't in a relationship. 

"We really didn't feel that we had built up that relationship to that point in our show," Kang told INSIDER. "What really excited us was the idea that Jesus and Aaron had built a real friendship with each other. Not all the relationships on the show are necessarily romantic. Some of our deepest relationships are completely platonic ones."

For those who wanted to see Aaron and Jesus together, Payne likes to think the two could have gotten together during the six-year time jump on the show.

"I actually did another interview before this where the interviewer asked me if I thought — because everyone always asks me if they're going to get together — and he said, 'Well, maybe they did mess around a bit in the six years.' And, I was like, 'Oh, I see. Yeah. Maybe they did.' I wouldn't say that's an absolute no," Payne said. 

You can read more on that here.

Were there ever any scenes of Aaron and Jesus together on the show?

Not that we know of, but Payne told us there was a cut scene of him with a boyfriend at the Hilltop on the season nine premiere. 

"As is the way of the show, things get cut and storylines get swapped around and other things take precedence and the whole thing got cut out," said Payne. "I think it's kind of sad because I've done a lot of work now with the LGBT+ community, and I know how much it matters to have representation on TV and I think it's kind of sad when any of that gets cut out."

"It's not just that kind of stuff that gets cut. Lots of things get cut all the time," Payne added about his scene with a boyfriend not being the only one cut out of the show.

You can read more about Payne's cut scene here.