‘The Walking Dead’ Drops Helicopter Twist Bombshell

The Walking Dead packed an unexpected twist into Episode 8×14 when a helicopter appeared on-screen.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 8×14 follow!

After months of wondering who the helicopter belongs to, some details have been revealed. It was first spotted in the first half of Season Eight, as Rick made his way from a Savior outpost to the trash heap. It flew past him, leaving him questioning his own sanity as there was no feasible explanation for it at the time.

Now, though, a pair of characters and the audience know it is connected to the trash heap community. With fans being left to wonder the same thing as Negan (“What the s—?”), let’s take a look at whose helicopter that might be…

Heapsters

The trash heap is known to have a helipad in its sprawling yard. Clearly, that helipad is active.

The first scenario is that the helicopter belongs to the trash heap and surviving members of the mysterious community were jetting out of town. As revealed earlier in Episode 8×14, the heapsters actually lived quite comfortably despite appearing to live a filthy life with minimal luxuries. Jadis, however, had quite a cozy little room ready to go in her shipping container.

If the trash heap community was, in fact, more advanced than given credit for, it’s possible they have communities connected to them as the Alexandria group has the Hilltop and Kingdom. Still, it is hard to imagine why they would join a war without their allies…

Twice now, Jadis has deflected giving any information regarding her connections to helicopters. A couple of episodes back, Simon outright asked about the helipad and, in Sunday’s Episode 8×14, Jadis’ only response to Negan’s questions about it was pouting.

“Georgie”

With Georgie having come to town prior to Episode 8×12 and quickly leaving, the helicopter could very well belong to her. After all, she did acknowledge to Rosita, Maggie, Michonne, and Enid that she is aware of other communities.

Perhaps Georgie used the helipad to get in and out of town after discovering it and Jadis was merely hoping the helipad would one day become active. If her location was once a military base, she could have been waiting for a government body to come along and off her help at some point.

Georgie actress Jayne Atkinson tells ComicBook.com, she believes the helicopter could very well belong to her character.

“It is possible because clearly when they ask her about whether or not, has she done this with other people, she had clearly been doing a scouting process to find out about these different groups,” Atkinson said. “She’s clearly been around. So it could very well be.”

They’re Connected?

Could Jadis actually be a mole planted or recruited by the woman referring to herself as Georgie to relay information about communities in other areas?

If Georgie’s community, wherever it may be, is so advanced, she could be planting people in different areas who offer insight regarding surrounding communities. Jadis may have told Georgie about Rick and Maggie and, by the time Georgie arrived, the Alexandria Safe-Zone was in ruin.

It seems a bit odd to imagine Jadis (or anyone) accepting the job of living in a trash heap to discover surrounding communities and taking on such strange living habits. If Georgie is, in fact, tied to the helicopter as clearly as Jadis is, it seems like the other only plausible scenario.

Fear Gang

With The Walking Dead set to have a crossover with Fear the Walking Dead, it’s possible the helicopter is somehow connected to Morgan’s journey to the sibling series.

The character played by Lennie James is set to exit The Walking Dead following the Season Eight finale but how he will arrive in Texas remains unclear. That would certainly be a long distance to walk or drive, so a helicopter would be quite ideal for a half-way across the country journey.

With AMC teasing a crossover which is “bigger than you think,” the helicopter could actually establish a means of characters traveling back and forth between the two worlds at some point. 

Randoms

In the off-chance this helicopter is unrelated to Jadis, Georgie, and the characters of Fear the Walking Dead, a new group which has also not been introduced seems to be the only possible scenario.

A random bunch of survivors with access to a helicopter would be the most disappointing scenario, however. It’s possible characters left behind in Atlanta, such as the folks as Dawn’s hospital or the Vatos could make a return, but it’s tremendously unlikely. Morales’ return in Season Eight as a Savior was one of the rare moments where missing characters from the past actually pop up again.

Who do you think the helicopter belongs to? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.