The war begins on Sunday, February 12th.

When we last saw Rick Grimes and friends, they had finally reunited inside the walls of the Hilltop Colony, determined to take the fight to Negan and his Saviors and reclaim the apocalypse-ravaged world that they once dominated. As this hot-off-the-presses synopsis indicates, the second half of Season 7 will document the road to the all-out war that they plan on unleashing…

The first half of Season 7 saw Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the group broken by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), forced to fall under his will and brutally convinced to live under his rules. The second half of the season will focus on preparing for war and gathering the supplies and numbers to take Negan down once and for all.

Rick’s group will find out yet again that the world isn’t what they thought it was. It’s much bigger than anything they’ve seen so far. While they have a singular purpose – to defeat Negan – it won’t come easy. More importantly, victory will require more than Alexandria. They need the numbers of the Kingdom and the Hilltop, but, similar to how Rick felt, Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Gregory (Xander Berkeley) do not want bloodshed. To convince them otherwise will take more than speeches. The lengths Rick and the group will have to go to in order to find weapons, food and new fighters is nothing short of remarkable.

We’ll meet new survivors in incredible places. We’ll see Rick and the group tested in ways we’ve never seen before. We’ll see treachery from people we trust.  Rick is confident as he will see his group and many others band together with the common goal of taking down Negan. But no amount of planning will prepare the group for all-out war with Negan and his army.

Along with the official synopsis, AMC also sent over three brand new images from February 12th’s return episode; you can see one above and the others below. What can we learn from the images? Our group of badass survivors sure looks to be as united as ever, and it also looks like Rick has finally regained his confidence. We look forward to seeing him be the leader once more.

You messed with the wrong group, Negan.

“The Walking Dead” is executive produced by showrunner Scott M. Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, Dave Alpert and Tom Luse.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Ross Marquand as Aaron, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler – The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Tom Payne as Paul ‘Jesus’ Rovia, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha Williams, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa – The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC