If you did not like the first half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7, you should love the second half, 'cause "it's probably the opposite of what you just witnessed."

That's the word from Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) to Entertainment Weekly. Lincoln has been surprisingly candid about his distaste for the first eight episodes of Season 7. He understood the need for Negan to push Rick down, in order for Rick to learn from his mistakes and prepare for the butt-kicking ahead, but it was still hard for him -- and fans -- to watch.

But pull a "Frozen" and let it go, because the next eight episodes are much more to Lincoln's taste. As he told EW:

"There are several episodes that I loved being involved in and it certainly feels very much more like a show that I knew and recognized in the back eight. I loved the episodes that I was in."

What about the episodes that he's not in? Is he preparing us to see less Rick Grimes? Whatever we do see, it should be good:

"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."

Lincoln added that the band finally gets back together, comparing the second half's eight episodes to "The Magnificent Seven":

"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."

Episode 16 is the Season 7 finale, which should air the first Sunday in April. Interesting that Lincoln is already hyping it as worthy of some kind of celebratory dance. Yeah, it's his job to promote the show, but he didn't like how the first half treated Rick, and he's all-in for the second half. Will you be there to watch it play out?

TWD Season 7 returns Sunday, February 12 on AMC.

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