Fans who fall into the camp that found the last half-season of "The Walking Dead" to be too dire may be heartened to hear that when the series returns in February, it will feature a somewhat less dreary tone. Of course, we are talking about a world where being eaten alive by zombies is a constant threat, and that danger that pales in comparison to what happens when you roll up on an armed militia of survivors like Negan's Saviors, so "less dreary" is relative.

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The second half of Season 7 is "probably the opposite of what you just witnessed," Andrew Lincoln recently told Entertainment Weekly. "There’s a lot more levity, if you can believe that, than you’ve ever seen before in Mr. Grimes. There’s sort of a freedom in him, a feeling that comes from losing everything, and also the thrill of the fight. It’s the thrill of the fight again. He’s back in. All I’m saying is that the band is back together."

"[I]t certainly feels very much more like a show that I knew and recognized in the back eight," he added, teasing that the season's final episode contains a scene that will have fans cheering as they head into the summer break.

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"It’s 'The Magnificent Seven' in the back half. Rather, the magnificent eight episodes. Wait till [episode] 16. I promise you, there is one beat in 16, I dropped my script and started punching the air and did a little jig."

Returning Sunday, February 12 at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC, “The Walking Dead” stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peleteir, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Green, Danai Gurira as Michonne and more.