The Walking Dead: Greg Nicotero Says The Old Rick Is Back, With Other Leaders (And A Beard?)

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 12 follow.

The first half of The Walking Dead‘s seventh season saw Rick Grimes humiliated, broken, and bullied. It was the first time fans of the AMC series saw their fearless leader have humility in his eyes as he was truly broken by Negan and the Saviors.

However, it was Rick’s overconfidence which landed him at the mercy of the merciless man wielding a baseball bat in the Season 6 finale and Season 7 premiere, ultimate costing Glenn and Abraham their lives. It’s the balance between overconfident, strike first Rick and realistic, yet humbled Rick which fans were waiting on seeing for the first eight long weeks of Season 7.

Finally, in the back half of the season, we’re seeing shades of the old Rick Grimes who leads communities and does what is necessary to stand for what is right. It was never more clear that Rick has been restored than when he firmly negotiated with Jadis of the junkyard in New Best Friends but Sunday’s Say Yes episode showed his confidence returning to form. Rather than head back to Alexandria, Rick elected to spend more time scavenging with Michonne and had a calm, cool attitude throughout.

In an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com on After the Dead, executive producer and director of Say Yes, Greg Nicotero, says the old Rick is, in fact, back on Sunday nights.

“I think the old Rick is back,” Nicotero said. “I think Rick is done taking grief from Negan, and the fact that we’re now at this great point where everybody’s been activated. Rosita’s obviously been activated. Even Tara’s sort of having that bit of conscience in terms of should she tell Rick about Oceanside or not. There’s a lot of momentum in this episode that’s propelling us forward.”

As for whether or not Rick will grow his beard again, which is often an indication of where he is mentally, Nicotero doesn’t have a clear answer but shared one strong advocate for it.

“I’ll have to ask Andy the question, because I know that he loves the beard,” Nicotero said.

MORE WALKING DEAD: Did We Just Meet The Whisperers? / Gallery Of Rick And Michonne Getting It On / Another Sign Michonne Is Taking Andrea’s Place / ‘Say Yes’ Recap With Spoilers / Nicotero On Sasha And Rosita’s Mission

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.