Two New Photos Tease The Walking Dead’s Midseason Premiere

The battle for Alexandria may be lost but for Rick Grimes and Co., the war is far from over.

Season 8 of The Walking Dead is due to return on February 25th, and when it does, the show’s impassioned community will be forced to say their goodbyes to young Carl Grimes, who suffered a fatal bite in December’s “How It’s Gotta Be.”

Losing a series regular is never easy, and as producer Greg Nicotero recently teased, the upcoming episode will tug at our heartstrings. It won’t only be an emotional ride, though, as there’s sure to be tons of action, too. Having lost the battle for Alexandria, The Walking Dead‘s heroic trio – namely Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) – have their backs against the wall, and with Negan circling like a bloodthirsty shark, things are only going to get worse before they get better.

In fact, some of that is teased in two new photos which were released earlier today. Seen in the gallery above along with a few from the other week, the first one shows Carl writing a letter and given that it’ll include some of his last words, it’s sure to be heartbreaking for whoever its recipient is (probably his father). The second pic, meanwhile, features Rick and Michonne trying to to put out a fire, which is the work of Negan and the Saviors.

True, neither shot is that revealing, but with roughly a month still to go before The Walking Dead is back on our screens, we’ll take what we can get. Besides, we imagine a new trailer will drop in a week or two, before the promotion begins to really ramp up. And if everything we’ve heard so far ends up being on the level, then we should be in for a truly exhilarating – and heartbreaking – hour of television when AMC’s zombie drama finally returns.