WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead season 8

The second installment of The Walking Dead season 8 was an intense, bullet-strewn thrill ride and that trend looks set to continue in next week’s episode. “The Damned” featured battles on three fronts: Aaron and Eric’s team hit a Savior supply post, Morgan did a stellar John Wick impression to take down the Satellite and Ezekiel and Carol’s group pursued a runaway baddie through the woods. Meanwhile, Rick and Daryl went on the hunt for a gun stash and came up with only a baby and season 1 character Morales to show for their efforts.

With the “All Out War” arc continuing to escalate, “The Damned” left many questions unanswered in anticipation of next Sunday’s offering. How would Rick wriggle out of his former friend’s clutches? Would Jesus continue to live up to his name or would Tara and Morgan’s “take no prisoners” attitude win out in the end? And is Eric going to be okay after taking a bullet to the stomach?

The trailer for next week’s episode “Monsters” suggests that answers to at least some of these questions will be duly provided. The clip sees the tense stand-off between Rick and Morales continue and it appears as if Daryl is desperately fighting alone against the backup Morales had called in. It also seems that the task of transporting a large group of prisoners will prove a tricky affair for Jesus, Morgan and Tara. Lastly, the teaser features Kingdom leader King Ezekiel on ‘dramatic voice-over’ duty, as he promises “Our first victory will allow our second, our second will deliver our third.”

However, it seems as if Ezekiel’s confidence could prove misguided, as the trailer suggests Team Negan might just chalk up their fight significant victory in the war, with the King’s group set to be ambushed in the forthcoming adventure. Rick Grimes has made this fighting lark look very easy indeed in season eight thus far and it feels as if his nemesis is due a victory if their season-long conflict is going to be a competitive fight.

Arguably the most interesting element of the “Monsters” teaser is the continued presence of returnee, Morales. The last time viewers saw this season 1 character, he was headed East to Alabama with his family. Quite how this shady figured ended up with the Saviors remains a mystery but this very issue could potentially be explored in the forthcoming crossover with Fear The Walking Dead. Franchise creator Robert Kirkman recently announced that a character from one of the Walking Dead shows would appear in the other and Morales is a figure some see as a potential candidate.

With that said, the current favorite to be the crossover character is deceased Negan victim Abraham Ford, who originally met up with Rick and co. after traveling from Texas. Does the reappearance of Morales increase his own odds of turning up in Fear The Walking Dead, with the spinoff exploring how he came to join the Saviors? Or is the ginger-mustachioed Texan still the hot favorite?