‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7B Spoilers: Andrew Lincoln Promises More Optimism, Return of Rick’s Willingness to Fight Back

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7B is set to bring on a more positive and optimistic tone compared to its first half. Andrew Lincoln, who plays main protagonist Rick Grimes, hinted that his character is finally ready to fight back against Negan and the Saviors.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lincoln revealed that the second half of season 7 will be a more optimistic one for his character Rick Grimes as well as the survivors reeling from Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) vicious rule over their communities. It seems that Rick is finally ready to fight back once the popular horror-drama television series returns on the small screen.

Lincoln said, “It’s probably the opposite of what you just witnessed,” referring to the first half of season 7. He added, “Certainly from Rick’s point of view. You see a man in action again with some of the members of his closest family.”

Season 7A struggled through darker plot lines and was criticized by many fans and critics alike, especially with the gruesome deaths of Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun). It featured Negan’s bullying, oppression, and humiliation of Rick, to which the main protagonist was left a hollow shell of his former self.

Based on season 7B’s teaser, Rick will call upon his allies to plan for an uprising against Negan and his Saviors. According to Comicbook.com, the teaser featured Rick meeting King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) to propose an alliance between the communities of Alexandria, the Kingdom, and the Hilltop.

Lincoln teased, “There’s a lot more levity, if you can believe that, than you’ve ever seen before in Mr. Grimes… There’s sort of a freedom in him, a feeling that comes from losing everything, and also the thrill of the fight. It’s the thrill of the fight again. He’s back in. All I’m saying is that the band is back together.”

The 43-year old actor also expressed his enthusiasm with filming scenes for the second half of season 7 saying, “There are several episodes that I loved being involved in and it certainly feels very much more like a show that I knew and recognized in the back eight… I loved the episodes that I was in.”

He added, “It’s The Magnificent Seven in the back half. Rather, the magnificent eight episodes. Wait till [episode] 16. I promise you, there is one beat in 16, I dropped my script and started punching the air and did a little jig.”

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7B is expected to return on AMC on February 12, 2017.