Andrew Lincoln swore that The Walking Dead would feel more optimistic in the back half of Season 7, and may actually live up to that promise. See Daryl and Carol lock and load once more in a new trailer, while Eugene surprisingly enjoys his stay with Negan, and even Rick cracks a smile!

In addition to yesterday’s extended featurette, AMC debuted a brand-new promo for The Walking Dead’s February 12 premiere, in the process inspiring a bit of hope. Not only does Daryl seem to have himself a new crossbow sadly no bike/vest for now), but even Carol’s taking up arms again, while Eugene proves surprisingly useful to entertain Negan’s wives.

Here’s AMC’s always-helpful synopsis for our February 12 return, “Rock in the Road”:

Rick is introduced to a new community.

And an extended synopsis of the next eight-episode stretch:

The first half of Season 7 saw Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the group broken by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), forced to fall under his will and brutally convinced to live under his rules. The second half of the season will focus on preparing for war and gathering the supplies and numbers to take Negan down once and for all.

Rick’s group will find out yet again that the world isn’t what they thought it was. It’s much bigger than anything they’ve seen so far. While they have a singular purpose - to defeat Negan - it won’t come easy. More importantly, victory will require more than Alexandria. They need the numbers of the Kingdom and the Hilltop, but, similar to how Rick felt, Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Gregory (Xander Berkeley) do not want bloodshed. To convince them otherwise will take more than speeches. The lengths Rick and the group will have to go to in order to find weapons, food and new fighters is nothing short of remarkable.

We’ll meet new survivors in incredible places. We’ll see Rick and the group tested in ways we’ve never seen before. We’ll see treachery from people we trust. Rick is confident as he will see his group and many others band together with the common goal of taking down Negan. But no amount of planning will prepare the group for all-out war with Negan and his army.

Check out additional sneak peeks of The Walking Dead Season 7B below, and stay tuned for more.

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