What is going on with The Walking Dead’s new promo images?

We all know that The Walking Dead has been facing some issues in the latest season. The ratings are still incredible for a horror survival drama, but there has been a significant dip since season 7 began. Some were turned off by the violence of the opening episode, some were on their way out of the door even before this. Many viewers were tired of the cliff hangers, the fake-outs and the dumb decisions made by characters in the final episode of season 6.

But as many people have walked away from the show, there are many more of us who have stuck with The Walking Dead through the first half of season 7. And what have we been rewarded with? Well it’s been a bleak eight episodes from the deaths of two beloved characters in the first episode right through to the death of a much less beloved character at the hands of Negan in the final episode. But now, finally, with the last scene of episode 8 there is the promise of an uprising.

So what do the marketing folks at AMC decide to use to get us all excited for the upcoming back half of season 8? A bunch of cryptic pictures that might get a herd of writers pontificating and speculating about their relevance, but are not about to win back many of those fans who have been choosing to walk away from the show. Have the good folks at AMC gone completely nuts?

Funnily enough, the pictures above show rather a lot of nuts actually. They also show melons, rubber ducks, a bucket and something attached to what looks like a bike frame with a light on it. At least, there is a hammer in one of these photos. Maybe that might come in handy in the war that is brewing with the Saviours. As for the rest of these images, if AMC wishes to be annoyingly cryptic, then they’ve certainly done the job. If they want to win back wavering fans, probably not so much.

On the other hand, it’s not all random nonsense. Of slightly more interest, but still perhaps not enough, there are also some photos of a shallow (and quite small) grave, some dynamite and a bloody hand print. The hand print could well be in a house in Alexandria and that grave only looks like it could fit a child. These are both very, very bad signs.

The images are a mysterious bunch, but they are vaguely more exciting than churning out the same old character posters that many shows seem to offer up year after year. But what does it all mean, beyond the idea that maybe there is going to be more blood, death and an explosion or two in the second half of the season?

Do you have any idea what the significance of the melons, nuts and bucket is? Please do let us know!