The Walking Dead is back and there's only one question that matters: Who did Negan kill?

The big question of season 7 is who did Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) kill? And where to next? Photo / AMC

The Walking Dead is returning on Monday after months of speculation over its cliffhanger finale - but it's got a lot of work to do to win fans back.

At the end of the last season, our heroes were captured by the new resident bad guy Negan and one of them was killed at the end of the episode.

The shot cut to black before we had a chance to see who it was, leaving fans to wonder which of their favourite characters had kicked the bucket.

Safe to say, said fans weren't pleased. Many took to social media to share their annoyance and some renounced the show altogether, forcing producers to defend the decision.

Seems like the writers failed, because this cliffhanger didn't leave me curious about S7, it just made me angry. #TWDFinale

— Rini 🦇 (@RiniNukekubi) April 4, 2016

Seriously a cliffhanger.? 90 minutes of suspense and it ends with a cliffhanger..!!! #TWDFinale pic.twitter.com/5z61xaGz51

— ૮αɳ∂ყ ️ (@_CyberCandy_) April 4, 2016

got was basically 80mins of filler with 10 mins of tension, ending with a totally unnecessary cliffhanger. Ok I'm done now #TWDFinale #TWD

— Robin ❤️🇺🇸👈🍑 (@rob0349) April 4, 2016

That said, viewers will no doubt be back to see who got the chop.

Fan theories have been flying thick and fast around the internet with many narrowing the list of potential dead down to two characters - one of which was the one who died in the comic books the series is based on.

However, the series has gone off book many times in the past so there's no knowing until it hits screens on Monday.

All that is certain is that the entire show is about to change. From the off, our heroes will be dealing with a loss, and they also become a part of Negan's world where they soon learn that "the world isn't what they thought it was - it's bigger and it's even more dangerous".

The Low Down:
What: The Walking Dead, Season 7
When: 9.30pm, Monday, October 24
Where: TVNZ 2