--- title: The Walking Dead: Mid-Season Premiere Recap description: After half a season of Rick Grimes bowing down to Negan in The Walking Dead, the leader that fans have come to know and love has returned. canonical: https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-13T03:15:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:03:42.558Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Real Rick Grimes Is Finally Back on 'The Walking Dead' og:description: "We're the ones who live" og:url: https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35367a8b750f47e4/6988b86697cdffd1446af587/rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7.jpeg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Real Rick Grimes Is Finally Back on 'The Walking Dead' twitter:description: "We're the ones who live" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35367a8b750f47e4/6988b86697cdffd1446af587/rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7.jpeg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Real Rick Grimes Is Finally Back on _The Walking Dead_ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 13, 2017 3:15 AM UTC  Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes - The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 9 Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes - The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 9Gene Page/AMC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Feb 13, 2017 3:15 AM UTC **Warning:** This post contains spoilers for the mid-season premiere of [_The Walking Dead_](http://time.com/4194632/walking-dead-villains-ranking/). After half a season of watching [Rick Grimes](http://time.com/4544880/walking-dead-andrew-lincoln-rick-grimes-negan/) consistently bow down to an enemy for the first time in [_The Walking Dead_‘s six-year run](http://time.com/4542059/walking-dead-negan-kill-abraham-glenn-season-7-premiere/), the leader returned to his defiant roots in Sunday night’s mid-season premiere. The show opened with a mysterious sequence in which Father Gabriel was seen abandoning his lookout post before driving away with the remainder of Alexandria’s food supplies. The episode then picked up right where the [mid-season finale](http://time.com/4597453/walking-dead-mid-season-7-finale/) left off—with Rick and crew banding together at the Hilltop. Despite Gregory’s refusal to ally with the Alexandrians and go to war with Negan, several residents of Hilltop declared they were ready to join the cause. The group then took their case to Ezekiel at the Kingdom, where they were reunited with Morgan. Unfortunately, after taking the night to consider their proposal, Ezekiel also chose to remain neutral—a stance that will almost certainly change in the near future—but offered the escaped Daryl asylum in the Kingdom. The episode’s best scene occurred as the group traveling back to Alexandria came across a blockade of cars rigged with a line of explosives that they proceeded to steal as a horde of zombies quickly approached. “We’re the ones who live,” a breathless Michonne whispered to Rick after the pair narrowly avoided death, presumably summing up the theme of the second half of the season. However, the mood was quickly brought back down as the Saviors showed up almost immediately and began ransacking Alexandria in search of Daryl, making it clear that he would never be safe there again. The episode ended with a rather cryptic sequence as the crew found a note reading “BOAT” left behind by Father Gabriel. Minutes later they were surrounded by a weapon-wielding group of yet-to-be-introduced survivors once they followed his clue—a series of events that for some reason made Rick smile. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/"},"headline":"The Real Rick Grimes Is Finally Back on The Walking Dead","datePublished":"2017-02-13T03:15:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:03:42.558Z","description":"\"We're the ones who live\"","url":"https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/","keywords":["Television","The Walking Dead","TV","Rick Grimes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35367a8b750f47e4/6988b86697cdffd1446af587/rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35367a8b750f47e4/6988b86697cdffd1446af587/rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"rick-grimes-mid-season-premiere-7","caption":"Danai Gurira as Michonne, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes - The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 9","creditText":"Gene Page/AMC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4655815/walking-dead-mid-season-premiere-recap/","name":"The Real Rick Grimes Is Finally Back on The Walking Dead"}}]}] ```