When we last saw the main characters of The Walking Dead, they were finally getting ready to form some sort of resistance against the psychopathic whims of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), leader of The Saviours. Now, three new photos from the seventh season's ninth episode have arrived online, showing Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest starting to marshal their forces. Check them out above and lower down the page.
Of course, their efforts to battle Negan's tight control on his people, his resources and the fact that he'll maim or kill people without conscience have hampered their resistance so far, and they've been pursuing their efforts largely alone. But can they fare any better if they manage to recruit help from Hilltop, The Kingdom and maybe even Oceanside?
We'll see how it pans out, and the show could certainly use a jolt of hope after a season of nearly unremitting darkness and pain that has seen viewership drop (slightly – it still gets big ratings) and complaints rise. It also seems certain we'll learn more about Negan's backstory and who he was before he picked up a baseball bat and decided that she – because if he won't stop going on about it, why should we – would look better with barbed wire wrapped around it.
The Walking Dead returns to our screens on February 19, airing on AMC in the States via Fox TV here in the UK.