The Walking Dead season 8 episode 1: What we can decipher from the flash-forward scenes in 'Mercy'

*major comic book and TV show spoilers follow*

The Walking Dead fans knew to expect a flash-forward at an unspecified time in the future at some stage in season eight, but episode one's main surprises lay in just how many glimpses we were actually treated to in the premiere alone.

Fans were treated to three scenes seemingly set at a time after the war against the Saviours, shot hazily not dissimilar to Sasha's flashback scene in the season seven finale. Still, some are wondering whether these scenes could merely be a dream - the result of Rick's yearning for a happy ending he's continually shown looking towards throughout the episode.

'Mercy' actually features another timeframe - also in the future - set apart by the close-up of Rick's bloodshot eyes. “Have mercy... prevail... over my wrath,” he manages, echoing words spoken by a new character Carl meets earlier in the episode (a sequence mirroring the show's very first episode). Another shot shows him stood ominously over freshly dug graves.

While the usage of these words remains cryptic, the quote - taken from the Quaran - is concerned with God's willingness to forgive in favour of punishment. Considering Rick's promised to kill Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) multiple times now, it seems like Rick may meet his biggest challenge yet when forced to alter his plans and perhaps let Negan live (he survives the war in the comic book series, becoming Rick's prisoner at Alexandria).

Events depicted in the comic book provide hints as to what we're seeing in the flash-forwards are actually going to happen. Going by the fact that Judith is no longer a toddler, but a young girl engaging in conversation with her father, this places these scenes as around four years after what we're watching unfold.

Rick, hobbling about with a cane, is still with Michonne (Danai Gurira). Carl (Chandler Riggs) is also present, and we hear him talk about a harvest festival - something we see when Judith escorts her father outside to a serene village that may or may not be Alexandria (as featured in the comic books - see below).

The scenarios currently at play are that this version of events will take place or that Rick is imagining this future perhaps after the death of either Michonne or Carl - an event that could convince Rick that showing Negan mercy may be the only way to keep his loved ones alive.

The Walking Dead season eight continues Sundays in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening on FOX at 9pm and NOW TV - watch the action-packed trailer for episode two here.

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