Another cycle of death and survival has just begun in "The Walking Dead" season 8, following the season premiere last Sunday, October 22. Bunches of mixed reviews quickly made the rounds, which pointed out the possible aftermath of episode 1, and, the season 7 villain Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who seems to be getting a lot of attention.

"The Walking Dead" season 7 was a total wrap for Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) success and Negan's defeat, but the bloodbath doesn't end there.

The ruthless villain, who had tortured and killed several fan-favorite characters during the past season, won't accept defeat unless he meets his own demise.

Here's why Rick didn't kill Negan

The predictions suggest that Season 8 might be off to Negan's favor this time around, but, given the fact that the mega-popular zombie series can always go dynamic with unexpected storylines and twists in the latter, it's too early to make assumptions about Morgan's character in this season.

In the middle of so many speculations lurking about what can possibly be in store for season 8, series showrunner Scott Gimple has recently dropped a few hints as to why Rick ended up keeping his mortal enemy alive.

According to Forbes, the protagonist wants to proceed with his next plan by trying to win the support of everyone, including the antagonist's allies.

The 46-year-old writer/producer went on to say, "If he just shot Negan there, that would have been a shortcut to the war. He was making a play to not be in full violence with these people because you see what happens after that."

The 'all-out war' continues: Who dies, who survives?

The set-up as to how the creators of the show would usually sketch the whole story has basically transitioned from worse to worst. "The Walking Dead" freely evolves from one bloody season to a more distressing chapter, wherein the good guys get killed while the bad ones live, or vice versa.

In season 8, dying and living might be just as bad as the past seasons, but what makes it more thrilling is the idea of an "all-out war" in between Kingdoms, which can probably lead to more deaths than survivals.

During the finale of season 7, Sasha met her demise in the latter after Negan locked her up in the coffin. It wasn't the first time that the series killed another fan-favorite, so the audiences will likely expect that the new season could either keep the characters alive or the other way around.

"The Walking Dead" season 8 episode 2 titled "The Damned" is set to air this coming October 29, Sunday on The CW.