This post contains spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 9 finale, “The Storm.”[hhmc]
Its nice to have the family back together again—well, in a way. On Sunday night, The Walking Dead concluded its ninth season with another time jump, this time leaping ahead to a brutal winter after the fall of the Kingdom. Ezekiel leads whats left of his realm through a brutal storm to their new home, Hilltop, while a bevy of Alexandrians—Judith and Negan included—are forced to cross the community during the peak of the storm. In the end, everyone makes it out unscathed. What matters more, though, is that the finale also reveals that the radio Eugenes been tinkering with is finally up and running, allowing Hilltop and Alexandria to communicate directly.
And while there were no dramatic deaths on par with last weeks bloodbath, the episode also introduced a cliffhanger in the form of a disembodied voice on that radio—one that may indicate the series is about to import another major story line from the Walking Dead comics. If thats the case, the world of The Walking Dead just got a whole lot bigger—and more importantly, Maggie Greene could maybe, possibly stage a return.
Sundays finale put a nice, cathartic bow on a season thats unfolded a little unevenly. The repeated time jumps delivered a series of seemingly random romances that ended, in some cases, in hollow tragedy, but the penultimate episode and its follow-up ended things on a more hopeful note. As Michonne tells Negan at the end of the season finale, “The point is, we came together and we made it.”
Thats not to say there havent been some casualties—both literal and figurative—along the way. Most notably, the finale also saw Carol and Ezekiel break up, unable to overcome the strain of losing their adopted son Henry. But as Carol told Ezekiel, “Ill never regret the fairytale.” She was also able this week to forgive Lydia, at least to some degree, for Henrys death. Ezekiel, meanwhile, appears to have found solace in rhapsodizing about the communities journey—their trials, tribulations, and valor—on the radio, with Judith on the receiving end. And once the two hang up at the end of the episode, a world of possibilities opens when a strangers voice comes in, asking, “Is anybody out there?”
The radio broadcast is too staticky to determine the age or sex of whomever is speaking, but all signs appear to point to Stephanie, a character from the Walking Dead comics. Shes a member of a new settlement called The Commonwealth, the largest and most advanced group weve seen so far. The group is an inter-connected group of communities numbering 50,000 members. They enjoy a life uncannily similar to that of the pre-apocalyptic world, with sports and entertainment events and a class system deliberately made to mimic the one that once existed. (The Commonwealth is run by those who were rich before the outbreak; as a result, its an elitist society run by a bunch of pompous people who consider themselves superior.)
The Commonwealths story is still developing in the comics, but those who live there are not outright villains—at least, not yet. So far, their interactions with The Walking Deads core group have been civil, if not always warm. (Magna, for instance, is not a fan of the Commonwealths class system.) Ever since Georgies appearance last season, some fans have suspected that she might be part of the Commonwealth—which means that assuming it truly is coming to the show, this plot twist could provide an avenue for Lauren Cohan to return to the series, should the actress choose to do so. That maneuver could, perhaps, be what showrunner Angela Kang was alluding to last summer, before Cohans official exit from the show: “We think theres more story with Maggie to tell. We already have some plans brewing that I think are pretty cool,” she said.
That could also explain why this weeks finale also went ahead and reminded fans Maggie is still out there; Michonne asked Yumiko if theyd received any word from her, to which Yumiko replied, “The Council sent another letter, but we havent heard anything back.” Yet?
That said, maybe dont bet on the Commonwealth making its appearance anytime too soon. The Whisperers are, after all, still out there, and would seem unwise for the series to stretch itself too thin by exhausting two major sources of story fuel. Speaking with Digital Spy after last weeks episode, Walking Dead producer Denise Huth said, “Fans of the comics probably know [the radio] is a story line directly from the comics. There is a big story with the radio. . . I like the idea that these characters have found a relatively safe home—the Whisperers notwithstanding—but theyre still trying to find out if there are other people. Are there other survivors? Are there other people who are living in a different way that they can learn and benefit from?”
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Vanity Fair
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