"The Walking Dead" Season 8 returns Sunday, Feb. 25 with a super-sized and super-sad episode.

Executive producer/special effects guru Greg Nicotero directed the midseason return. He compared it to Season 5's "What Happened and What's Going On," the lyrical Episode 9 that showed the death of Tyrese. As fans know now, Season 8's Episode 9 will show the death of Carl Grimes.

Here's an Episode 9 photo preview, via Entertainment Weekly:

"I think it's one of our most powerful episodes that we've ever produced," Nicotero told EW. "When I watched the first cut of this episode, tears were coming out of my eyes 20 minutes into it. [...]

I would compare this episode very much to the episode with Chad Coleman [Tyrese] in terms of really having some space to breathe with these characters as they process what happened."

Carl's big death episode will be extended to 82 minutes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that makes it the second-longest episode behind Season 7, Episode 4, "Service," which was 85 minutes.

The killing of Carl Grimes was a shock to fans, actor Chandler Riggs himself, and all of his co-stars.

"The Walking Dead" returns Sunday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. on AMC, followed by "Talking Dead."

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