'The Walking Dead' Season 7B Premiere Episode Synopsis Released, Season Wasn't Intended To Be Sadistic

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) will be meeting new people and new community when the second half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7 returns. The shows' producer also said that season 7 wasn't intended to be sadistic, they just want the audience to be put in a similar mindset with the characters.

According to a report from Adam Starkey of the Metro, the second half of season 7 will definitely feature Grimes meeting new people and communities. They are most likely to meet King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), his pet tiger Shiva, and the Kingdom, and, possibly, the all-female group in Oceanside.

Starkey adds that the official title for the premiere episode of the second half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7 is "Rock In The Road." He said the official synopsis of the episode is also brief, as it only reads "Rick is introduced to a new community."

Aside from meeting new people, Starkey said Grimes and his group is likely to Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviors in an inevitable clash. He adds that the cast said the second half will be very different from the first and actor Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, said his character is ready to fight.

Speaking of being different, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the show's executive producer Greg Nicotero, said that the sadistic and dark nature of the first half of the season was part of their plan. He said it was part of showing how brutal the world is and what kind of character Negan is.

"The fact that people responded so positively, just to the embrace between Daryl and Rick, seeing those two characters and knowing that they will rise again out of the ashes of what Negan has done to them," he said. Nicotero adds that for people to respond positively to that kind of scene, they first need to burn the place down.

"The Walking Dead" Showrunner Scott M. Gimple adds that their intention in doing it is to let the audience have a similar mindset as to what the characters are having. The second half of season 7 will premiere on February 12, 2017. Check out the trailer for the second half of season 7 and the mid-season finale clip.