SPOILERS: 'The Walking Dead' Returns For Season 2.5

by UInterviewFebruary 2, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

The bone-chilling cliffhanger that ended the first half of The Walking Dead's second season still has people reeling, and tension mounts as fans are less than two weeks away from the return of the hit AMC show.

In the midseason finale, entitled "Pretty Much Dead Already," protagonist Rick (Andrew Lincoln) bravely demonstrated that he "has what it takes" to make it in the zombie-overrun world when he was the only one to step up and shoot eight-year-old Sophia (Madison Lintz) in the head when she emerged from the barn as one of the "walkers."

Now the new season picks up right where it left off in the next episode, "Nebraska," with Rick standing over the decaying little girl, smoking gun in hand, silence surrounding him, until everyone starts crying and screaming at once. AMC released the first few minutes of the upcoming episode, which hints at how the bitterness and mistrust will start to bubble up and boil over.

In addition to the mounting rivalry between Rick and Shane (Jon Bernthal), the increasingly complicated romance between Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and the sudden edict that the survivors immediately leave the relatively safe haven of Hershel's (Scott Wilson) land, there will also be a couple of new faces — human ones! — joining the group. Aaron Munoz and Michael Raymond-James will appear in "Nebraska," according to Examiner.com, portraying characters Dave and Tony, respectively.

Dave and Tony will be "two of a few new survivors that will cross paths with Rick's group," reports SpoilerTV.com. "According to the casting call, Dave is a charming and friendly guy from a city in the Northeast and has spent a significant amount of time in low-rent bars. He's able to disarm with a smile, but can quickly turn dangerous. He is the seemingly nice guy who is ruthless and cunning."

Catch the return of The Walking Dead on AMC at 9 p.m. on Sunday, February 12.

Watch a trailer for Season 2 here: