'The Walking Dead's Huge 'Day of the Dead' Easter Egg Revealed

The Walking Dead snuck a Day of the Dead Easter egg into Rick's final episode which actually turned out to be a spoiler for Rick's fate.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 9x05 follow. Major spoilers!

Early in Rick's final episode of The Walking Dead, he stumbled past a mailbox labeled, "Cardille," with a herd of walker behind him. The mailbox seemed unimportant but it actually offered a huge bit of insight regarding Rick's fate of flying off in a helicopter in a November 4 episode.

In Day of the Dead, Dr. Sarah Bowman is played by Lori Cardille. Day of the Dead was one of the first film experiences The Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero notched onto his belt. In the film, Cardille's character was one of very few to survive.

How did Cardille's Sarah Bowman survive by Day of the Dead's end? She flew off in a helicopter to a deserted island on a date marked by a calendar as November 4. The Walking Dead Episode 9x05 aired on November 4, 2018, sending Rick flying off into the sunset with Jadis for an open-ended fate to be resolved in movies.

When asked by ComicBook.com how he pulled off such an Easter egg, including a matching date for both Rick Grimes and Sarah Bowman's sendoffs, Nicotero smirked and kept the details to himself. He did confirm, though, the intentional Easter egg in reference to a character created by his dear and late friend George Romero.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.