'The Walking Dead' season 7B spoilers: New promo shows Rick meeting Ezekiel; will The Kingdom join the fight against Negan?

Rick (Andrew Lincoln) will finally meet Ezekiel (Khary Payton) for the first time when "The Walking Dead" returns for season 7.

As previously teased, the back half of season 7 picks up with the Alexandrians getting all the help they could get to stop Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) reign of terror. Rick and the rest of the group realized that they've had enough, so they are all banding together to fight against him. Titled "Rock in the Road," the midseason premiere will see the Alexandrians meet up with the denizens of the Kingdom. Rick tries to convince Ezekiel to join them in their battle against Negan and the Saviors, but the teaser hints that he is a bit hesitant. However, it is believed that Ezekiel will end up saying yes to Rick.

Negan and the rest of the Saviors are probably the characters fans love to hate on the show. Given their antics on the story, the reaction from viewers is understandable since they've continuously made Rick's life a living hell. December's midseason finale saw yet another Savior victimize an innocent character when Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow) killed Olivia (Ann Mahoney).

Ludlow recently caught up with Comicbook.com, and she revealed that many fans attacked her online after the episode. "I did receive my fair share of negativity for killing Olivia but it was expected," she said. "She was an extremely loved character so I had an expectation of negativity when I read the script for that day. The love I have received and continue to receive heavily outweighs the negativity though so it's easy not to pay attention that stuff," the actress went on to say.

Despite the initial backlash, Ludlow mentioned that most fans eventually responded with overwhelming support — with most viewers expressing appreciation for her work through social media.

The seventh season of "The Walking Dead" returns on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.