Well, it looks like The Waking Dead's war has officially begun.
With just one episode to go before the sure-to-be massive season seven finale, fans of the AMC zombie thriller saw what can only be described as the first shots in the epic battle between Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and their respective armies that has been looming ever since Glenn and Abraham had their fateful run-ins with Lucille.
With Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) firmly behind enemy lines the Sanctuary, guns blazing on her suicide mission to avenge Abe's death, and Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) right outside, ready to back her up, there's no going back now. All we can say is that Rick had better get his many disparate allies all on the same page—and quick.
With such little time left in the season and our minds running wild with theories about what's to come, E! News grilled the cast on the red carpet ahead of the show's PaleyFest event, where they offered up some insight into how this season's big conclusion compares to last year's deadly cliffhanger.
"Now that we've gotten a chance to really get to know Negan and what makes him tick, I think the fans are going to really get to see this clashing of the two men that they've been waiting for all season," Ross Marquand, who stars as Aaron, told us. "Rick and Negan have been doing this dance of trying to figure out how they could live together diplomatically, and it just hasn't been working out. And now they're going to see a different side of Rick and the gang."
"Last year's was just relentlessly brutal. And then you had the cliffhanger as well. This year's is more exciting in a different way," Jesus himself, Tom Payne, teased. "It has moments when you want to jump up and cheer, but also really sad moments. It's a mixture of all different things. it's a whole roller coaster. But then the resolution at the end is very strong."
For more from the cast, including Lauren Cohan's somewhat confounding promise of a hopeful road to the finale that somehow also includes brutality, be sure to check out the video above.
Are you looking forward to Rick and the gang getting their crap together and bringing the fight to Negan? Do you think they can pull out a win? Let us know in the comments below!
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.