'Walking Dead' Season 7 Reveal Doesn't Reveal Much

Entertainment Weekly this week provided a glimpse of The Walking Dead's upcoming season via a still image presumably from the season's first episode. Fans who've been agitated by last season's unnerving cliffhanger won't learn much from the image or from the "intel" that EW gathered about the fall's season premiere.

The image shows Negan brandishing his barbed-wire embellished baseball bat, Lucille, in a shot apparently from the very scene that ended last season's finale. If you're hoping that the shot gives a clue to the identity of the person that Negan walloped with the bat, you're out of luck. In fact, Lucille's pristine, blood-free condition suggests that the shot comes from a moment before Negan even hit anyone with her - in other words, a moment you already saw last season.

Beyond that, EW's reveal only says that producer Greg Nicotero assures the cliffhanger won't extend into season 7.

"Yes, who was at the receiving end of Negan’s bat will be revealed in the first episode," he says.

For viewers who expected Negan's victim to be revealed last season, that's a small consolation. Keeping that bit of information a secret past the beginning of next season would surely push many fans' patience past the breaking point.