Season nine of the show had finally introduced the Whisperers, a group of people who disguise themselves as the dead by wearing the walkers’ face as a mask. With the previous two seasons slacking in creativity and growing in staleness, things finally turned around for the better with the introduction of this new threat.

Norman Reedus plays Daryl Dixon who when we last left the show, arrived at Hilltop after years of living in the forest searching for Rick’s body. “We’re making the show that we want to make right now and you can feel it on set, you can feel it all over the place,” Reedus told Deadline. “The show’s morphing into something else but it’s got the heart and the feel of the original show, there’s just new life breathing through it.”

Christian Serratos, who plays Rosita Espinosa on The Walking Dead, was recently at Walker Stalker Con Atlanta to talk more about the show and her character.

“When we’re trying to outdo everything we’ve done [it’s] to please you guys and to make sure that it’s constantly staying fresh and exciting, and I think especially with Angela [Kang] being our new showrunner, we have a new fresh female perspective on the show,” said Serratos. “All the women are really shown in a great way this season. So I think it’s just going to bring a whole new flavor to the show and I think it’s going to keep everyone as excited as they should be and want to be.”

This season has really shown that women handle way more than necessary. Michonne has stepped up as leader of Alexandria all the while raising two kids. Carol became the “queen” of the Kingdom when she married Ezekiel, but she is just as ruthless with her enemies as she used to be. In today’s world, women are becoming the forefront of addressing the most important issues. The show recognizes and accepts the movement by giving the female cast bigger roles.

The second half of season nine will return on February 10 on AMC.