Four days out from the show’s return, there’s currently a palpable swell of goodwill twisting and turning around The Walking Dead season 8.
Hailed as a return to form for AMC’s undead juggernaut, which admittedly fell on hard times during the sluggish seventh season, everyone involved in The Walking Dead‘s latest instalment have assured viewers that season 8 is a breathless, unrelenting thrill ride, as the communities of the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the Alexandria Safe-Zone come together to take down Negan once and for all.
Doing so won’t be easy, of course, given that he’s flanked by the demented Saviors, but there’s strength in numbers, and that’s something Andrew Lincoln addressed while speaking to Entertainment Weekly. Not only that, but the series mainstay also reflected on the difficult season 7.
It was a hard season last season, I think, for everybody. I think for the crew because certainly my character suffered so much and had to endure so much of that. And I think what happens is, the crew feels it. When you come on set and you’re carrying this weight, everybody else kind of feels it.
But if the show’s leading players were scattered to the wind last year, The Walking Dead season 8 is set to unify all our favorite survivors – yes, Daryl Dixon included – as the fight against Negan begins to reach its bloody climax.
Per EW:
When you start getting the swagger and the mojo back — because you bring that energy into the scenes, and also I get to play with some good buddies that I haven’t got to mess around with — that’s great. It’s kick-ass, man. This is a fun season.
First and foremost, The Walking Dead season 8 will begin with a heartfelt thank you to the show’s impassioned community, after director-producer Greg Nicotero hinted at all of the callbacks included in Sunday’s premiere, “Mercy.” It’s an extended episode, too, which is just as well considering that it’s been bigged up as TWD‘s “most ambitious” instalment to date.