The Walking Dead’s season 9 sneak peek: Communities need rules, or else

The Walking Dead’s sneak peek into season 9 previews hopeful communities ready to rebuild… as long as some “rules” are set in place.

With a day away before San Diego Comic-Con drops The Walking Dead‘s season 9 trailer, we were gifted a sneak peek today, and it is quite ominous.

Here’s a quick recap of what we know is to come next season. We’re jumping ahead in time. Rick will go bye-bye (how exactly is still murky). Maggie will come to the end of her storyline as well. We’ll see “complicated” relationships between Maggie, Rick and Daryl, plus stronger stories for our leading women.

Per the sneak peek, we see how survivors are rebuilding society. We see a tent town within the forest, an armory with a check-in and check-out list, and lots and lots of new faces. A quick shot of directions to all the communities shows us Oceanside, Alexandria, Sanctuary, and randomly, Toledo.

Negan’s voice looms over our preview of this seemingly peaceful situation, saying “You think you got all of this on lock.”

Apparently, not everything is as peaceful as it seems. While there are familiar faces like Arat and Laura, and Ezekiel’s sidekick Jerry kissing Nabila adorably, there’s easily tension.

Michonne approaches Maggie with a line that is heavy with foreshadowing.

“We need to start talking about making some rules. An agreement between all of the communities,” Michonne says. “This is how we treat each other and this is what happens when we don’t.”

What exactly could cause some problems with these new communities? For starters, the Saviors are mixed in with people they abused, tortured, and for some, took loved ones from. There’s a quick glimpse of Daryl beating someone up, who could be a Savior or perhaps an unlucky passerby who touched his crossbow.

What the “rules” will be and how they’re enforced is a big question. As always, this show has never really been about walkers, but people learning how to survive when everything has crumbled around them. Rebuilding society is not an easy task, especially with all that has happened between these survivors and their communities so far.

As Rick walks past everyone, not saying a word (at least in this preview), we wonder if he’s proud of what he’s created or if he’s concerned if and when it will all go to hell.

Watch the sneak peek here:

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Stay tuned for tomorrow, when the full extended Comic-Con trailer comes out.