The first trailer for The Walking Dead Season 7 has arrived, and the walkers are now the least of Rick & Co's worries. Season 6 left off with a controversial cliffhanger (which I didn't think was all that controversial) that held the fate of one of their posse in the hands of Negan (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and his Saviors. Someone's head is the consistency of ground chuck and we don't know who exactly at this point, though you've certainly heard some theories about who tastes the business end of Negan's beloved bat, Lucille.

the-walking-dead-season-7-dwight
Image via AMC/Gene Page

Thankfully, the trailer moves beyond that after the first minute or so of the three-minute length to give us a larger sense of what the season is about, and things look endearingly strange, bloody, and beautiful at the same time. There's plenty of footage of Negan and his Saviors ruling over their kingdom and Alexandria - there's a memorable image of Negan sitting next to one of the more innocent neighbors of Alexandria that will send a shiver right up your spine. Just as important, however, is our first glance at the almighty Ezekiel, played by Khary Payton, the leader of the new area known as The Kingdom, which he looks over with a pet tiger, named Shiva, at his side. That's right - a fucking tiger.


There are other scenes, such as when Carol (Melissa McBride) begins laughing in an empty movie theater, that attest to the show's attention towards the funnier, odder moments in these people's lives, where the madness of their situation is fully felt beyond the fear and panic. That's what keeps me coming back to this series, even when the show does feel a bit repetitive and sluggish in its pacing, though I've only felt that once or twice throughout the show's six-season run thus far. And mind you, there are plenty of moments in this trailer that speak to the danger that Negan represents, and the fatal decisions that Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his group must make to outplay him, but when it comes to The Walking Dead, it's more important than ever to remember the humanity at the core of the series as much as the gruesome, ugly, and violent passages.

Here's the first trailer for The Walking Dead Season 7, straight from Comic-Con 2016:

The Walking Dead returns for Season 7 on Sunday, October 23rd at 9pm on AMC.

For more on The Walking Dead, take a look at some of our recent coverage below:


the-walking-dead-negan-jeffrey-dean-morgan
Image via AMC
the-walking-dead-season-6-finale-michael-cudlitz
Image via AMC
the-walking-dead-season-6-finale-sonequa-martin-green
Image via AMC

the-walking-dead-season-6-finale-andrew-lincoln-chandler-riggs
Image via AMC