6 Things to Know Before 'The Walking Dead' Season 6 Midseason Premiere

"The Walking Dead" returns this weekend from its midseason hiatus, and with it, lots of questions about the fate of our survivors. Here, we've collected the most important intel to remember as the show continues its sixth season, including preparing to meet some new antagonists -- and possibly say goodbye to some beloved characters.

1. There will be blood

Producers and cast members have promised plenty of carnage in the return episode, and we're guessing that that will directly affect the group attempting to escape Jessie's house drenched in zombie guts. When we last saw Rick, Carl, Judith, Michonne, Jessie, Ron, Sam, and Father Gabriel, they were trying to sneak past a gathering horde of walkers undetected – and then Sam started freaking out. We're guessing that that's going to attract some curious zombies, and the human chain they formed will break (a.k.a. get eaten).

2. Alexandria is at a crossroads

After the Wolf attack, the community was ravaged. Now, with zombies surrounding them, their walls are literally crumbling. This broken and battered community will take lots of fixing if it's going to prevail – and that's not even considering how many of its residents will survive this current predicament. Before her death in the midseason finale, Deanna appointed Rick the new leader of the settlement, though she entrusted its future expansion to Michonne. (If Rick is president, Michonne is now VP of idealism.) How will that dynamic play out between the wild-eyed sheriff and the more stoic katana-wielder? It's already been established that Alexandria is the long game for this group; seeing how that's possible after so much devastation will be a key component of the rest of the season.

3. Negan is coming

The biggest bad of them all from the "Walking Dead" comics isn't due to pop up himself until the season six finale, but we'll be meeting a bunch of his henchmen in the midseason premiere. The prologue that we've seen so far introduces a bunch of menacing guys on bikes, who threaten Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham, and demand all their supplies (including their recently-acquired armored truck) unless they want bullets in their heads. This tense scene is but a microcosm of the twisted things to come – including the promised "larger world" outside of Alexandria -– as our core group of survivors tangles with this dark new threat.

4. Even more dangers await

Setting aside the looming presence of Negan and the Saviors -– not to mention the immediate issue of the walker infiltration – there's still the matter of the Wolves lurking about. In the midseason finale, Morgan wrestled with Carol over the soul of his imprisoned member of the pack (first figuratively, then literally) – and accidentally wound up setting him loose, with Dr. Denise as a hostage. The Wolf also has plenty of guns now, weapons his already-dangerous group didn't previously carry. "The Walking Dead" loves to play with the Chekhov's gun motif, and we're certain we'll see those weapons again -– most likely in the hands of more Wolves who've returned to get their revenge.

5. Maggie and Glenn's reunion won't be sweet

Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, has teased that the long-awaited reunion between these two won't be as satisfying as fans are hoping, mainly because there's too much else going on in Alexandria to savor any happiness. "The reunion is going to be somewhat overshadowed by a lot of other darkness," Cohan said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Because they have found each other and just in time to sort of help everybody else in this huge battle that's continuing. They're completely underwater right now." It seems that there will never be a truly happy ending for the twosome -– who are also expecting a baby, if there wasn't already enough anguish over their separation – though that seems to be par for the course with this show.

6. Expect some major twists

Showrunner Scott M. Gimple has already proven he's not above completely faking out fans when it comes to beloved characters' fates, so we're bracing for even more confusing and shocking twists when things pick up. As we noted in our midseason finale recap, there's been a lot of death imagery floating around this season, including a specific camera angle that seemed to foretell the demise of characters including Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and Ron. Whether or not that was intentional – or intentional misdirection – remains to be seen, but we're not taking anything (or anyone) for granted. As producers have noted in the past, no one is really safe on "The Walking Dead." (Except maybe Carol.) With all the different dangers now surrounding our survivors, that seems more true than ever.