'The Walking Dead' episode 2 brings back someone we never thought we'd see again

Spoiler alert: This recap contains plot details for The Walking Dead Season 8, episode 2, titled "The Damned." To refresh your memory of where we left off, check out our recap of the Season 8 premiere.

Well, we definitely didn't see that coming.

If it took you a second to recognize the guy holding Rick at gunpoint at the end of this week's Walking Dead, we can't blame you -- we haven't seen Morales (Juan Gabriel Pareja) since episode 5 of Season 1, when he and his family decided not to travel to the CDC with Rick and the gang, and instead strike out for Birmingham.

That's seven seasons for us, but in the timeline of the show, depending on who you ask, it's been less than two years since Rick woke from his coma, which makes it even more of a bummer that Morales has seemingly joined forces with the Saviors.

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Still, desperate times call for desperate measures in the zombie apocalypse, and since the Saviors' base is a long way from Alabama, a lot must've happened since the Morales family parted ways with Rick's group. We know that the Saviors trust him enough to have given him a walkie talkie and a gun, but are Morales' wife and kids still alive, or does he feel like he has nothing to live for at this point, and thus no need for a moral compass?

(It's worth noting that when they parted, Rick gave Morales a gun, a walkie talkie and a box of ammo, even though supplies were limited -- which kind of means Morales owes him, right?)

It was a rough episode for Rick after the triumph of the Season 8 premiere -- he also inadvertently killed the father of a sleeping baby girl, and sorry Rick, right now we're really stressing out about what's going to happen to her.

Fans have been hoping for Morales' return pretty much since he disappeared -- there are countless videos on YouTube from as far back as Season 3 wondering when he and his family might show up again, and Juan Gabriel Pareja has been campaigning for a comeback for just as long.

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It remains to be seen how long Morales will stick around or whose side he's really on, but considering the show just crossed 100 episodes, it's fitting that the series brought back another familiar face from Season 1 to pay homage to The Walking Dead's history.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.