The Walking Dead season premiere: Josh McDermitt recaps 'Mercy' 

s very own Josh McDermitt, who plays Dr. Eugene Porter, is taking EW behind the scenes of the hit AMC horror series. For each episode, McDermitt will share his thoughts on what went down and what’s coming up, plus walk us through the ins and outs of the show. This week, McDermitt dives into the season 8 premiere, “Mercy.”

is back and it seems like we are barreling toward an intense first half of the season. I hope you’re wearing your sh—ing pants because I don’t think Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) is and it looks like he’s in trouble. He never really answered Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) question. Maybe in the next episode?

, which was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Scott Gimple, was packed full of juicy tidbits. I’ve been telling people to re-watch it. Just re-watch it. As usual, there’s too much to break down in this little article that I write while sitting on the toilet.

last night, Seth was saying it was worse to lose Rick (Andrew Lincoln) than it was to lose Negan. And that’s why he stopped Rick from deviating from the plan and just killing Negan. That’s interesting. Seems like there might be a bigger piece of the puzzle that is being set up. I know the first four episodes of season 8 are an action-filled journey, and I can’t wait for you to see it. Again, go re-watch the first episode. It seems like some stuff was being setup for payoff down the road. I love finding those little seeds and watching them grow.

But I have a question for you: How many stale Twizzlers could you eat in the apocalypse? Right now I think Tara (Alanna Masterson) holds the record and she’ll be hard to take down because she is very competitive. She doesn’t like to lose. If you watched

last night, you heard Alanna talk about tossing the Twizzlers over the bridge at the end of each take — and they were raining down on the crew and walkers below. This job is already hard enough to do and now the next hazard our awesome walkers have to contend with is a Twizzler shower? Sorry y’all :) We always find a way to make this job harder. That’s why we’re a family.

Okay, so Rick said, “There’s only one person who has to die. And I will kill him myself. I will.” I can’t be sure, but I think he’s talking about Negan. I was scratching my foot when he said that so I wasn’t paying too much attention. But if that’s the case, then cool. I like it when Eugene (me) is alive.

I remember it was really cold when we shot that episode. It was 50 degrees and rainy. That kind of weather in May in Georgia is unheard of. And yes, I KNOW, 50 degrees isn’t cold. I get it. But I grew up in the desert and when it dips below 72, I grab a parka. It’s the only time I get to wear it okay? SO LAY OFF!

Now I’ll say this as I wrap up this wonderfully written recap because my leg is about to fall asleep… we couldn’t do this show without you — the fans. It seems rare that a show gets to 100 episodes these days, and the fact that you’ve been with us every step of the way is humbling. I love you guys so much and you are the icing on the yummy cake that is working for

Next week SPOILER ALERT! STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT EVERYTHING SPOILED!!!

1 Colbert has some funny theories on how Bush made Obama laugh

2 \'Stranger Things 2\' is a bloated sci-fi sequel: EW review

3 \'Twilight,\' \'How I Met Your Mother\' are leaving Netflix next month

4 \'Young and the Restless\' star in treatment after mental health scare

5 \'Roseanne\': The cast is back on set and already goofing around