Where Did ‘The Walking Dead’ Leave Off? A Recap Of The Season 7A Finale Before The AMC Series Returns

“The Walking Dead” is finally back and viewers are in for a serious treat. According to the Season 7B synopsis, much of the latter portion of the season is going to focus on the impending war between Rick and Negan.

Before we can dive into a new episodes, it’s important to recall where the AMC series left off. The Season 7A finale began with viewers catching up with Maggie (Lauren Cohan), who was speaking with Gregory (Xander Berkeley) — leader of the Hilltop. It quickly became clear that Gregory wasn’t comfortable with how likable Maggie had become among his people. He feared that they would realize, in time, that she’s a better leader and choose her to replace him.

Meanwhile, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) was cooking up a big plan, but trying to keep it from Maggie. She wanted to kill Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and, as she learned from Enid (Katelyn Nacon), she wasn’t the only one.

Elsewhere, Michonne (Danai Gurira) was getting a ride to the Sanctuary. She had a gun to her driver’s head and was firing off questions but getting no answer. Finally, the woman spoke. She stopped the car and urged Michonne to head home, take the car and get rid of it. She told her there was a silencer in the glove box, which seemed to spark something within Michonne who reluctantly took her advice.

Rick was still living in his own personal hell. He and Aaron (Ross Marquand) were shown attempting to cross a lake infested by zombies. They struggled, but finally made it across. On the other side, they found a note intended for them, but were not clear what the message meant. They didn’t spend much time thinking about it and instead decided to focus on the task at hand. Rick and Aaron loaded up their truck with supplies and moved along.

Daryl (Norman Reedus) had been held captive by the Saviors. He was separated from the ones he loved and there was no end in sight, but that didn’t stop him from trying to escape. He finally managed to do it and snuck into a room where he had a little snack, changed his clothes and got out of dodge. In the parking lot he found motorcycles and Fat Joey (Joshua Hoover). He decided not to stop Daryl, but that didn’t mean he was safe. Daryl decided to get a little revenge after who-knows-how-long of being tortured. He beat Joey’s head in, hopped on a motorcycle and left with Jesus (Tom Payne).

Back in Alexandria, Negan was running the show. He took up residence in a nice house and was keeping Carl (Chandler Riggs), Judith and Olivia (Ann Mahoney) in there with him. Olivia was falling apart at the seams, but refused to breakdown and risk Judith’s life. Negan demanded a family dinner, which Olivia made. They wanted to wait for Rick, but when he didn’t show up for several hours, Negan decided to move forward without him.

After dinner Negan received a surprise visitor at his home. Spencer (Christian Serratos) came by and wanted to talk. He brought along a bottle of scotch and planned to try and convince Negan to make him, rather than Rick, his go-to guy in Alexandria. Negan, who doesn’t really like Rick, grew angry at Spencer for this betrayal. He told Spencer that Rick was at least “swallowing his hate” and getting things done. He called Spencer a coward and, over a fun game in the street, gutted him as everyone looked on.

Negan called on the onlookers to clean up the mess at which time Rosita pulled out a gun and shot a bullet in Negan’s direction. She missed, however, and hit Lucille instead, which angered Negan more than if he had been shot himself. He ordered one of the Saviors to kill someone in retaliation. When Rosita refused to reveal who made the bullet for her, Olivia was killed.

Rick and Aaron returned just in time for the bloodbath. Aaron was assaulted by Negan’s men and Rick got the lowdown on what had happened. Eugene (Josh McDermitt) stepped forward admitting that he made the bullet and Negan snatched him up and took him with him. It was not clear what would happen to Eugene, though we are hoping it will be revealed in Season 7B.

Michonne and Rick later came together to talk about their plan. Michonne told Rick she knew what they needed to do. She explained that the Saviors outnumbered them, but that their team was still standing through everything they’ve endured. She and Rick both realized that they would have to stand up to Negan and his crew, and knew it wouldn’t be easy. This moment was set up for what is to come in “Walking Dead” Season 7B.

The episode ended as it began — with Maggie. She was sitting at Hilltop, looking down from the lookout. She saw Rick, Michonne, Sasha, and everyone else opening the door. On the other side was Daryl and Jesus. Rick and Daryl hugged to celebrate their reunion after so long apart. The final scene was of the same muddy boots seen at the lake early in the episode. They were spying on Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) in the Alexandria watchtower.

“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 9 p.m. EST.