New synopsis and key art for AMC’s The Walking Dead teases a last stand

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After eight seasons, it seems that AMC's The Walking Dead is not the ratings juggernaut it once was, with viewership falling to levels not seen since its second season, but the series is still trucking along and will soon return to finish out the remainder of its eighth season. AMC has released a new piece of key art for the second half of the season, featuring Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) preparing themselves for the last stand.

The mid-season finale delivered a shocker, when Rick returned to find that Carl had been bitten by a walker, seemingly cementing his fate. The mid-season premiere is expected to serve as a swan song for Carl, who is one of the very few characters remaining from the first season, and will run for an extended 82-minutes. AMC also released a lengthy synopsis for the second half of The Walking Dead's eighth season, which you can read below.

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.

Are you still aboard The Walking Dead train?

The eighth season of The Walking Dead returns on February 25, 2018 on AMC.