Five things that will happen when The Walking Dead returns

The Walking Dead is back on Monday for the second half of season seven. Here we predict five events from the comics that should happen in the next eight episodes.

THE Walking Dead is back on Monday with the second half of season seven — and here’s five bold predictions for what is going to happen in the second half.

The new episodes promise to get fans much more excited than the first half of the season, which veered between violent and tepid.

And if most or all of these predictions/wishes come true — and they are based on what has happened in the comics — then fans are going to go crazy.

Ezekiel and Shiva should see some chomping action soon.

1. Shiva gets chomping

The first half of the season didn’t show us nearly enough tiger action. We only just met Shiva and Ezekiel and who didn’t love the possibilities? A tiger who can’t be infected by Walkers and is happy to do the bidding of his trainer Ezekiel? In the second half of the season, Rick is going to need Ezekiel and his knights. We know Ezekiel hates the Saviors and his knight Richard wants to fight them, so obviously they are going to get into the action. Hopefully the show has the budget to bring Shiva along for the battle and the tiger earns its stripes with some ripping, tearing and chomping.

Eugene needs to find someone who loves him for more than just his hair.

2. Eugene finds love

Thanks to Rosita being a useless shot in the mid-season finale, Eugene has been snatched by Negan and his gang to go and make bullets for them. That can’t be allowed to continue and plainly Rick has to get his mullet-haired whiz back. It hasn’t been much of a fun ride for Eugene lately and surely Rosita will want to welcome him back to Alexandria after she was the one who turned him into a slave. Now she’s moved on from the (dead) weasel Spencer, it’s time for her to run her fingers through Eugene’s gloriously long mullet.

So is Tara Chambler the TV equivalent of Holly or is it Sasha?

3. Holly/Sasha

One of the biggest twists in the comics is the fate of Holly, who was Abraham’s girlfriend. Without revealing what happened, let’s just say that, in the comics, it was a method used by Madison to save Travis in season two of Fear The Walking Dead. Naturally Holly wants revenge and she is used by Negan to get back at Rick. So far so exciting but complicating things is the way the TV show changed Abraham’s death. The show gave his death to Denise and had him beaten to death by Negan, instead in the infamous Orange Crush theory. So there is some debate as to whether comic Holly will be taken by the TV show’s Sasha (Abraham’s girlfriend) or Tara (Denise’s girlfriend, who was killed in Abraham’s stead). Given that Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) has just landed a top gig as the lead in Star Trek: Discovery, it seems likely to be her.

When Negan gets angry, people die. So expect some deaths in the second half of the season ...

4. Negan fights back

Much of this half-season will be devoted to Rick rallying the different communities to fight Negan. But eventually they will reveal their hand and Negan will summon his army to cut the head off the snake — and attack Alexandria. This will probably finish up the season but looks set to be the biggest battle since The Governor crashed a tank into the prison in Season Four.

5. The Whisperers arrive

Well, actually they may have already turned up. My tip is the mysterious spying figure with the groovy boots is from Oceanside but many fans think it is a Whisperer. Given Negan has to be defeated before Rick and friends need to worry about a new baddie, it could still be a bit early. But if they don’t show their faces (well, actually that’s the whole point of them, that they never show their faces ...) in season seven, then they definitely will in season eight. Unlike Negan, w ho’s definitely in your face, they like to stay in the shadows. This charming bunch disguise themselves by skinning Walkers and then wearing the skins as a disguise, allowing them to not just move among the Walkers but direct them and use them as a weapon. Lovely.

Now we wait to see how many of these will happen. And it all starts on Monday at 1.30pm on Foxtel’s FX channel.