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The fight is on in season 8 of The Walking Dead as the communities of Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom have united in the battle against their oppressor Negan. And that means many of our favorites who barely interacted last season are back together fighting side by side. Favorites like, say, Daryl and Carol!

EW has the exclusive first photo from season 8, and it features Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride as their Walking Dead alter-egos just as you like them — with Carol packing heat and Daryl on his trusty motorcycle. And if you like seeing this, there’s plenty more where that came from as showrunner Scott M. Gimple promises season 8 will build off the reunions and first-time unions that unfolded in the season 7 finale.

“The season finale last year, seeing all the characters together interacting as one, was thrilling. It was exciting to see all these configurations of characters we hadn’t seen before. Even Aaron merely giving Jerry an apple felt satisfying.” Season 8 will continue that trajectory in a major way. “This is that times a million,” says Gimple of what’s to come. “Though it would be cool if the season began with just everybody giving each other apples. I’d be down with that.” He pauses. “But it’s not that.”

Whatever it is, expect it to be intense and feature plenty of action. And expect Daryl and Carol to once again be at the center of it all. For more Walking Dead scoop, follow me on Twitter @DaltonRoss. And make sure to take our Walking Dead quiz, where one lucky winner will get to meet and interview the cast of the show!