The Walking Dead
Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (L) and his wife actress Hilarie Burton pose at the premiere of Marvel's "Ant-Man" in Hollywood, California, June 29, 2015. Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

“The Walking Dead” season 7, episode 9 airs in three days and everyone is excited for Rick and company’s return. They’re about to have an all-out war against Negan and the Saviors, but the numbers are currently stacked against them. Luckily for Rick, he’ll get to meet new faces to try and convince to side with him against Negan.

Spoiler alert: This preview contains plot details about “The Walking Dead” season 7. The season premiered Oct. 20. The series is available for Australian viewers to watch on Foxtel every Monday, 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm.

Rick is the character that has undergone the biggest transformation since Negan put his foot down on the rest of the communities. The series of traumas that he went through during the first half of “The Walking Dead” season 7 have definitely taken their toll on him. Even the show’s executive producer Gale Anne Hurd believes so.

“We get to see him brought even lower than when he decided to become a farmer. That didn’t really last very long,” said Hurd in an AMC interview. “I think he was doing it to try to be an even better father to Carl, but now he realises that his move against Negan was very ill-considered. He didn’t have all the information and he was overconfident.”

Hurd said that the second half of “The Walking Dead” season 7 shall indicate whether or not Rick can “take back the mantle of leadership,” especially since everybody has been changed in some way. Daryl, for one, feels that he’s responsible for the murder of Glenn. But now that he and Rick are reunited, the producer says it won’t bode well for Negan. It will take more than Rick and Daryl to take out Negan, though, and Hurd says that they might have a hard time convincing Gregory more than anybody else.

“Ezekiel’s a fantastic leader. He’s someone who will take a great deal of time and effort considering what Rick is asking. Gregory, on the other hand, is a coward,” said Hurd. “He’s not really a leader. All he wants to do is defend his position, and I think anything that puts his life or his leadership at risk sounds like a really bad idea to him.”

Fans should be glad to know that new locations and characters are coming. “The Walking Dead” season 7 introduced new communities like the Kingdom and the Sanctuary, and they have been intriguing to say the least. Expect some of the upcoming newbies to stand with Rick against the bat-yielding baddie and his crew.

“We will continue to expand the world,” said Hurd. “We’ll get to know those locales and the people in them much better, and we’ll round out this world as our characters are rising up to take down Negan.”

“The Walking Dead” season 7, episode 9 returns on Feb. 12 (Feb. 13 in Australia). The midseason premiere episode entitled “Rock in the Road” will run for 73 minutes.

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