Details are drip-fed to viewers: he's still living with girlfriend Michonne (Danai Gurira), son Carl (Chandler Riggs) as well as baby-no-more Judith. His hair is greying, and he's hobbling around with a cane while wearing a dressing gown - a leader no more. It’s this which subtly injects the episode with reasons to keep you watching, touching upon the fate of Grimes - the show’s hero - with a series of ambiguous scenes that will no doubt emerge as the episode’s biggest talking point: flashforwards (or are they dream sequences?) show an older version of the character at an unspecified time in the future. While paying homage to past seasons with callbacks to scenes from far simpler early days (it’s been 100 episodes, after all), 'Mercy' is refreshingly far more versed in where these characters are headed as opposed to rehashing the reasons why they're at war with the Saviours.

Has everything been building to this premiere? Perhaps not, but it certainly feels like the series has been bolstered by a renewed sense of purpose since leaving screens in March. The Walking Dead: Official Comic Con Season 8 Trailer

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