The Walking Dead season 8 finale photos tease the all-out war, Carl’s return

Take a look at the photos from The Walking Dead season 8 finale that teases the all-out war to come and a flashback with Rick and young Carl.

There’s only one more episode left in The Walking Dead season 8 with the season finale airing on Sunday, April 15. This promises to be the end of the all-out war between Rick and Negan and the rest of the saviors. At least, that’s what we’ve been led to believe. So does this mean this is the episode where Rick kills Negan? Or will Negan escape only to return and fight another day? We’ll find out Sunday night, but before then, we can speculate at will because we have the first batch of photos from the finale to share and theorize what’s in store for Sunday night and who will survive and who will meet their end.

The Walking Dead season 8 finale photos

The first two images reveal Alden and Maggie talking. Alden came to Hilltop as a prisoner after he was running with the Saviors. He had his chance to leave when the other prisoners escaped when Henry opened the gate and the camp got overrun with walkers. He’s tried to be the voice of reason to Maggie and I think he’s harboring a crush on the leader of the Hilltop. She’s still very early in her pregnancy as she is showing no visible signs of even being pregnant, but this is a storyline worth watching in season 9 if both of them survive the finale.

The next two photos see the Hilltop prepare for war. Tara is crouched and aiming her rifle and Rick, Maggie, Jesus, Morgan, Carol Rosita and Daryl are ready for what happens next. Oh, man, this is going to be intense.

Poor Dwight. He played both sides and it finally caught up with him. He thought he could betray Negan without him finding out about it but despite his best double agent attempts, he couldn’t keep this secret. Negan discovered his secret after picking up Laura from the side of the road after he left Jadis. She spilled the beans and now Dwight is wearing the scarlet letter across his chest. This could be the last episode for poor old Dwight.

Siddiq and Jerry represent the sprawling members of Hilltop that will put their lives on the line in this all-out war. The big shots help show just how many people are a part of this group. It’s easy to get so focused on Rick vs. Negan, but a lot of lives are on the line here.

Michonne has put her sword to the side in favor of the rifle as Rosita, Maggie and Jesus are close by.

Rick and Michonne manning the front lines waiting for Negan and the Saviors to strike.

This may be my favorite show. This is going to be my new desktop wallpaper and on my phone. This is an awesome representation of the leaders of Hilltop in the foreground with the people entrusting their life in them following behind them.

Morgan has his staff ready to draw blood. Morgan is one of my favorite characters on the show and while I haven’t always loved how the writers treated his character, I’m so excited and nervous to see what’s in store for him in the finale. After the finale, we know he’ll be appearing in the season 4 premiere of Fear The Walking Dead.

Michonne has her sword and she’s putting it to use as she fights off one of the Saviors who brought a machete to the fight. I wonder if this means there was a problem with the bullets Eugene was supposed to make? We know he’s made some successful bullets, but why go to a gun fight with a sword. Not even Michonne went to war without being fully armed and ready for battle.

And there’s Jesus delivering a spinning roundhouse kick to another machete-wielding Savior.

This is another gorgeous shot representing how beautiful this world still is if you can see through all the walkers, war and death. Not to mention how vast and enormous this world is. There are more people out there who are trying to just survive somehow and find allies and build a better future. Of course, the beauty of it all is masked by the presence of a single walker. We don’t know who the walker is and if it’s someone from Hilltop or a Savior, but we know they’re dead now. Or undead.

And finally, an image of Rick holding hands with a young Carl in a flashback scene that references a moment from Carl’s letter to his dad. Carl retold a memory he had holding his dad’s hand when he was three and walking around the neighborhood to Ross’ farm. He remembered the sun, the corn and a cow that walked up to the fence and looked him in the eye. Carl told that story because when he held his dad’s hand, he felt happy and special. He felt safe.

Next: TWD season 8 finale trailer and preview

Now let’s just hope this isn’t a flashback that Rick has when he’s about to die because I can’t deal with that, but I think that’s what’s going to happen. Rick will be badly wounded in the all-out war and seek refuge against the tree in a scene that was foreshadowed to collect his final thoughts before reuniting with Carl and his wife, Lori in the afterlife.

I don’t really think Rick will ultimately die, but don’t be surprised if season 8 ends with a cliffhanger with Rick’s life hanging in the balance.