Whose Shadowy Figure Is In ‘The Walking Dead’ Preview?

The preview for The Walking Dead‘s midseason 8 finale comes with several questions but chief among them surrounds the identity of a shadowy figure lurking near Aaron and Enid.

A clip from Episode 8×08 which was released during Talking Dead reveals Aaron and Enid’s destination to be Oceanside. The two Alexandrians currently residing at the Hilltop are on their way to the hostile group’s home in hopes of recruiting their numbers to help Rick win the war against Negan.

Of course, journeying through these apocalyptic streets in the dark of night is almost never a good idea. It’s no surprise Aaron and Enid will be encountering a potentially intimidating stranger. The possibility remains this is simply a random Savior patrolling the Alexandrian outskirts but there’s little fun in theorizing on extras.

So, who is the mysterious shadowy figure approaching their car?

Heath

Heath has been promised to return to The Walking Dead. With Corey Hawkins having left for the 24: Legacy series, its cancellation may have opened the door for his return.

“We definitely have not seen the last of Heath, period,” showrunner Scott Gimple told EW. “I will say that. I don’t mean to disappoint the Heathies. He will be on the show. He will be within The Walking Dead again.”

If Heath were to return, Aaron and Enid would have a lot to fill the Alexandria native in on. Heath’s last interaction with a non-Tara character from Alexandria came before the arrival of Negan. Therefore, the character has no knowledge of the deaths of Glenn, Abraham, Olivia, Spencer, Eric, or Denise. In fact, he has no idea Alexandria is at war in the first place.

Heath’s return would present the opportunity for the character to have his leg blown off as he did in The Walking Dead comics, in the issue which saw Negan hurling grenades over the Alexandria walls. 

After all, with Morales finally coming back and being killed off, there are very few other missing characters to choose from when it comes to a surprising return.

Eugene

Dwight wouldn’t be as exciting as Heath’s return, but the character has a history of lurking in the shadows.

Throughout Season 6 and Season 7, Dwight had a tendency to pop out on characters. The habit was so frequent that Dwight actor Austin Amelio even made a few jokes about it. 

With the Saviors free to leave the Sanctuary with Daryl having skewed Rick’s plan by allowing the herd to move inside of the walls rather than remaining planted outside, Dwight may have taken an alternate route than Negan and for good reason. The character is clearly loyal to Rick Grimes and Alexandria. He may be trying to find a member of the group or make his way to Alexandria before the rest of his gang in an effort to warn them of what’s coming.

A Whisperer

With the Whisperers having been teased in Episode 8×07, it’s possible Aaron and Enid will see the first real Whisperer ahead of their comic book debut.

In The Walking Dead comics, the Whisperers were introduced when two characters heard walkers talking to one another outside of Alexandria. They took cover and ultimately made it back to Alexandria to reveal what they had observed but no one believed them.

As it turns out, those walkers talking to one another were actually living people wearing faces of the dead in order to blend in and roam the earth without being bothered or threatened. Their first appearance didn’t come until issue #130, four issues beyond the All Out War story arc, but the AMC series may look to plant seeds of the show’s future in order to keep fans interested beyond Negan’s inevitable demise.

The Helicopter

Earlier in The Walking Dead Season 8, Rick observed a helicopter flying over his head. The chopper’s pilot might be the shadowy figure approaching Aaron and Enid, should the show choose to ever reveal who was flying it.

With The Walking Dead comics teasing the arrival of a well-established and advanced community January’s issue, the AMC series may have been teasing the group by bringing the helicopter in. The chopper was not a part of the All Out War story in Robert Kirkman’s source material, so the opportunity to deviate from the books by introducing the new group a little early is always possible.

However, the helicopter’s pilot arriving early seems a bit more unlikely than anything else. After all, the script for the episode called for Rick hearing a helicopter but did not explicitly state that he would see it fly over heard according to Father Gabriel actor Seth Gilliam. “I haven’t seen the episode,” Gilliam said in interview ahead of the episode’s airing. “I’ve just read it and it said ‘hears’ a helicopter and I’m like ‘Okay, but do you see the helicopter?’ So you do actually see a helicopter?”

With the helicopter possibly being a hallucination, it seems unlikely Aaron and Enid would be anywhere near its pilot.