The Walking Dead is set to return to AMC on Sunday, February 25 at 9:00 p.m. and many fans are still deciding if they will be there when it happens. We know that the first episode back will probably feature the death of Carl, who was mortally wounded in the first half of the season, but we also know that the show has failed to grab viewers like it did in the first few seasons. It feels like we used to root for the survivors to make it, but now we just get mad when one of them doesn’t die in a big episode. Interestingly, the tag on the back half of the season is “The Last Stand,” but unless they have some big announcement to make in the next few weeks, we are in for at least one more, if not two more seasons. Also, is it just me, or does this art make it look like Rick is turning into a werewolf?
“The Walking Dead” Season 8B Synopsis
All out war has had a devastating impact on every person involved. The communities themselves are fractured. Alexandria has been destroyed, the Hilltop finds themselves pinned, and the Kingdom is shattered — half of them dead, the other half controlled by the Saviors.
At the very center — Rick, having been distracted by the conflict, has just returned home to learn that Carl, who heroically shepherded the Alexandrians to safety during Negan’s attack, has been bitten by a walker. Once his sole motivation in this otherwise stark existence, Rick is forced to deal with this reality. Carl has always been a beacon of hope, a symbol for the remaining thread of humanity — lessons that the survivors around him would be wise to take with them as this war surges onward.
But Rick isn’t the only person who’s living in peril. Aaron and Enid are in a dire situation at Oceanside — unclear if they’re in friendly territory, or if they’ve just made new enemies. Father Gabriel will do his part in attempting to smuggle Dr. Carson safely back to the Hilltop and a pregnant Maggie is wrestling with the many moral gray areas that come with leadership during war. In a standoff with the Saviors, she must decide how to proceed with the dozens of POW lives she’s currently in control of, as well as new complications that come with being a leader.
In addition to the war, Negan continues to deal with struggles within his ranks as workers, traitors, and others’ thirst for power cause conflict at the Sanctuary. Having gifted the Saviors a major victory, Eugene’s loyalty is repeatedly tested as new obstacles present themselves.
As all-out-war consumes us, the line between good and evil continues to blur. People fighting for what they believe in. Everybody working together for something bigger — to feel safe and have a world worth living in.