The Walking Dead might actually be ending as a little radio call in Season 10 put it on a path towards the grand finale in the comics. For The Walking Dead fans, this might be bitter sweet news in the form of a theory based on the comics laid out by Robert Kirkman earlier this year. The Walking Dead might finally be heading towards an actual ending following the events of Sunday night’s Episode 10×06 but the AMC series has already set the stage for its finale to be different and possibly more expansive than that of the comics.
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In Episode 10×06, titled “Bonds,” Eugene used the parts of that satellite which fell out of the sky in the show’s Season 10 premiere to boost the range of his radio in the Alexandria community. He found himself having a conversation with a woman far away in an unknown location and community. While she wouldn’t reveal where she is, she did give a slight tip when she said she was originally from Pennsylvania, which points her in the direction of a massive new community north of Alexandria.
Before we theorize what’s going on with Eugene’s new lady friend, let’s take a look at how this went down in The Walking Dead comics. In issue #151, a woman contacts Eugene over the radio and sets a similar set of rules as the woman on the TV series: no one else can try to contact her and she’s not ready to reveal where she is.
As time goes on, this woman reveals herself to be Stephanie, who first appears in issue #176. Stephanie is a resident in the Commonwealth community, a group 50,000 strong, which aren’t really having to deal with the apocalypse like the people in Alexandria. Instead, the Commonwealth’s issues deal with social classes and political feuds. No actual wars break out between groups this time but that doesn’t mean major deaths don’t come from the story.
Ultimately, the Commonwealth turns out to be the last big arc of The Walking Dead comic as it is where Rick Grimes is killed off before a massive time jump suddenly wraps up everyone’s story in issue #193. The Commonwealth’s leader Pamela Milton has a son who feels as though Rick Grimes is intruding on his lifestyle. This annoying young character’s name is Sebastian and he is responsible for the death of Rick Grimes, shooting him in issue #191 and finishing the job in issue #192 before Carl Grimes has to put a reanimated Rick Grimes down.
The TV series might handle this differently as Rick Grimes is no longer a part of it but it seems The Walking Dead‘s endgame might finally be put in place with this little radio communication starting the Commonwealth’s story thread.
While the comics never explored beyond the Commonwealth community, The Walking Dead universe’s chief content officer Scott Gimple has revealed that the three-circle logo on the helicopter which flew away with Rick Grimes is a symbol representing three communities. One of those communities will be explored in the third Walking Dead show next spring, one is where Rick Grimes flew off to, and the other might be the Commonwealth where Maggie and Georgie have been hanging out.
The stage has already been set for The Walking Dead to explore a story beyond that of the comics but the Commonwealth and these other well-established communities seem to be the endgame for the zombie series — which might not be too far away considering a few things: A, Princess, a character introduced in the comics on the journey to the Commonwealth, has been cast on the AMC show with Paola Lazaro appearing in Season 10. B, Lauren Cohan is bringing Maggie back later this year, so we might just arrive at this community before Season 11.
The interesting thing will be seeing how the community where Rick is and the upcoming Rick Grimes movie factors into this grand finale for the main threads of the Dead universe. Could they be the villains behind the final story arc of the live-action universe? Could they be responsible for a cure?
Do you think The Walking Dead is coming to an end with the Commonwealth story? Are you ready to say goodbye after a decade in the apocalypse? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC.
