The Walking Dead’s Mid-Season Finale Gets An Official, Ominous Synopsis

The Walking Dead is slowly gearing up for another mid-season finale, and true to season 8’s breathless pace, next month’s show-stopper will be an extended episode.

That’s an exciting announcement in and of itself, as it ensures that, much like season 8’s opener, viewers will have plenty to digest once the credits roll. Going one step further, the folks at SpoilerTV have now uncovered the official title and synopsis for episode 8, which will be called *cue drum roll* “How It’s Gotta Be.”

There’s also some new intel relating to December’s penultimate episode, “Time for After,” which sees Negan enlisting the help of his lieutenants in solving a “huge issue facing the Sanctuary.” Both synopses are relatively free of spoilers, too, so you needn’t worry about running into any unwanted story clues after the jump.

Here’s that official info dump, courtesy of SpoilerTV:

Episode 8.07 – “Time for After”

Negan has to enlist the help of his lieutenants in solving a huge issue facing the Sanctuary; Rick and the group continue to enact the plan.

Episode 8.08 – “How It’s Gotta Be”

Every story and battle from the first half of the season comes crashing together.

So, there you have it; season 8’s mid-season finale will be the culmination of “every story and battle from the first half of the season,” which leads us to believe that one of Rick’s closest allies will bite the bullet come December.

Back in August, a small pocket of The Walking Dead‘s fanbase managed to capture a series of nighttime shoots, which allegedly took place at the gates of Alexandria. One source claimed to have heard plenty of gunfire, shouting, explosions, and fire, with Negan and Carl – Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chandler Riggs, respectively – spotted close-by, so take from that what you will.

The Walking Dead season 8 continues this Sunday with the premiere of “The Big Scary U,” before December signals the arrival of “How It’s Gotta Be.” And in keeping with the mid-season finales of old, it’ll be a feature-length instalment of AMC’s undead juggernaut.