Did ‘The Walking Dead’ Just Reveal The Helicopter Connection?

Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead brought an important moment from Season Eight back into the light involving a mysterious helicopter.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 8×10 follow!

After being sent to the trash heap to send a message to Jadis and her Scavengers, Negan’s right hand man Simon questioned the landfill’s leader on why she and her people live in the dump. More specifically, he not only named solar panels when looking for answers, but also questioned the helipad fans know is someone in the dump’s yard.

Jadis, however, dodged answering any questions regarding the helipad or potentially having a helicopter herself. During an interview on ComicBook.com’s After the Dead, which airs directly after The Walking Dead‘s new episodes, Jadis actress Pollyanna McIntosh also offered a coy dodge on whether or not she knows something about that helipad.

So, what’s the deal with this helipad? Is there a connection?

Flying Trash

It seems like a farfetched idea but the trash people may come from all walks of life. Until Sunday’s Episode 8×10, no one knew why the Heapsters dressed the way did or talked in shortened sentences. 

As it turns out, these are people who left their pre-apocalyptic lives behind. There is no reason to rule out a member of their community having been a pilot or coming from a military background. Someone in the group might have the ability to fly a helicopter. After all, this is a group of people who managed to make a walker into an intense and terrifying weapon which they called, “Winslow.”

While it seems unlikely, it’s not impossible the trash people can fly and Jadis knows something we don’t. 

No Mistake?

When Rick first visited the trash heap in Season Seven, fans called The Walking Dead out for two apparent mistakes in the same shot.

First of all, the shot above came with a less than impressive green screen as Rick stood atop the trash heap to see its sprawling acres of garbage. In the background, however, a black object zipped through the air. Some thought it was a bird. Others thought it was a helicopter or plane which the production team didn’t catch and edit out of the shot.

What if it was no mistake, at all? Now, the conspiracy theory hat might be getting a little tight here, but what if the Scavengers have contact and pre-existing alliances with communities Rick and Negan remain unaware of? Perhaps they fly in and out on the helipad and that little black object was an ally of Jadis on their way for a supply drop? Probably not the exact answer but 

Unrelated

The writers on The Walking Dead do have an impressive way of setting up what looks to be an important story beat or Easter egg which never pays off.

For example, showrunner Scott Gimple seems like dropping the letter “A” into scenes. It has been featured several times throughout The Walking Dead but, so far, has meant nothing other than being a letter on a train car, shipping container, stamp, and so on. It’s all just a coincidence.

So, maybe the helipad Simon called out in Episode 8×10 is unrelated the helicopter which flew above Rick Grimes in Episode 8×02. Perhaps the helicopter which flew over Rick was an hallucination?

In any case, it’s unlikely fans will get the answer to the helicopter mystery any time soon.