'The Walking Dead': Who Did Rick Just Meet — And Will They Go to War Against Negan?

(Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 7 follow.)

Tonight's mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead left the audience much more hopeful than we were after the initial Season 7 premiere. In comparison to gruesomely losing two beloved characters, tonight's episode was much more enjoyable, especially after the massive walker kill rolled out by Rick and Michonne.

Not only was Rick and Michonne's zombie kill awesome to watch, but it signified Rick's return to action. He's been in a submissive state since Negan took control of his group, but this act of defiance is the first step toward Rick becoming a leader once again — just in time for him to make some new allies.

Rick's Group Finds Another Survivors's Community

Apart from Rick getting his groove back, it looks like he also has hope, evident by the smile on his face when a new group of survivors surround him at the end of the episode. They'll probably be of some use in the war against Negan, but Rick shouldn't be so happy with that many guns pointed at his face!

Actually, Rick may even be happy that they approached him with their guns at his face because it shows that they're trained and capable of holding their own in a fight against Negan. We've yet to officially meet this new group, but considering the cliffhanger ending left with their first appearance, they'll probably begin negotiations with Rick in next week's episode.

Are these new survivors based on a group from the comics?

As of now, this new group of survivors has no definitive traits to match them up with a group from the comics, so it's anyone's guess what they'll bring to The Walking Dead. They'll either become more antagonists for Rick to have to contend with, or they'll decide to assist Rick in his play to take Negan down.

We don't know if this new group is somehow affiliated with Negan — or if they're even aware Negan exists — but considering how they're living in Washington, they've probably had at least one run-in with Negan or his bandits.

How will the new survivors respond to Rick's request?

We won't know how this group of survivors will react to Rick's proposal to join them until next week's episode, or possibly the following episode. Whatever the case, Rick is going to have to approach this new group in the correct manner. Otherwise, they might start firing those guns pointed in Rick's face.

We've already seen the deadly "precautions" of the Oceanside Community, so another survivors' group might take similar preventative measures whenever they meet a new batch of strangers.