Walking Dead fans are probably looking forward to Season 7’s second episode with mixed emotions. On the one hand, there’s the anticipation that accompanies any installment of the mega-hit zombie franchise. On the other, last week’s premiere was a tragic, gory affair that left many fans grieving the loss of their two favorite characters, Glenn and Abraham. With a premiere that intense, it’s hard not to wonder where the show will go next. To get the inside scoop, Vanity Fair chatted with star Christian Serratos, who plays Rosita, about the season to come—and how Negan’s introduction inspired an “amazing evolution” within the show.

The series might have gotten some flak about its controversial cliffhanger at the end of Season 6 but, naysayers be damned, the Season 7 premiere garnered huge ratings, becoming the second most-watched episode to date. Naturally, the episode also sparked some controversy, driving some critics and fans to announce that they’re quitting the show. Still, given the show’s massive fan base, it’s hard to imagine it’ll go anywhere anytime soon—especially as it’s already been renewed for an eighth season. So what’s up next for Rick and his battered group?

According to Serratos, this season is all about how all of our favorite characters react to finding themselves beaten down: “Do they remain the people that we know and love? Do they change for the better? Do they change for the worse?”

For those who are unsure if they can take much more tragedy, not to worry: as Scott Gimple noted on Talking Dead last week, Serratos agrees that this week’s installment will be a little lighter—even somewhat funny. Just don’t expect things to slow down.

“We kicked off this season with such a bang,” Serratos said, adding, “Episode 2 is going to be just as insane, and episode 3 will be even crazier. And at this point, we’re just fucking going at it hard.”

Negan, Serratos said, is the biggest, baddest, most evil villain in the comics. So bringing him into the show has changed its alchemy—spurring, as she called it, an “amazing evolution.”

“These characters are all submissive to Negan now, so that’s what’s going to be different and interesting about this season,” Serratos said. “They’re on the bottom now. They’re not on the top. You’re not watching the heroes fight the bad guys . . . We’re real people. We’re at our lowest. And now it’s a question of, Will we get back up?”

Rosita, in particular, could be an interesting character to watch this season. Sasha wasn’t the only one in love with Abraham, after all. The premiere understandably focused on Maggie and Sasha’s reactions, but going forward, Serratos said viewers will get a chance to see how all of the characters process those losses. “And I think especially for Rosita, having been romantic with one of them, and having such a large, extreme past with Abraham, it’s going to be interesting for her, specifically—how she deals with it,” Serratos said. Here’s hoping she, Sasha, and Maggie are the ones to take out Negan—after assembling a covert hit squad, of course.

And, as always, the show will continue to explore the concept of heroism and villainy. Fans have followed Rick and his group for a long time, so it’s easy to give them a pass on their own violent acts—but, as director Greg Nicotero and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have pointed out, from a certain point of view, it’s easy to see where Negan’s coming from, too. This season, Serratos said the choices our favorite characters make in this direst of situations will be particularly fascinating.

“In the past, we’ve been able to fight the bad guy,” Serratos said. “Now we can’t fight the bad guy. This bad guy has stumped us. And that’s what makes it scary. Because you’ve never seen these people outwitted. And now we are.”

Here’s hoping they figure something out—or, at the very least, that Negan’s bat takes a break.