**Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Walking Dead. Read at your own risk.**
The Walking Dead season 10 finale is finally here!
It seems like an absolute age since the episode was supposed to air back in March, however, following the coronavirus pandemic, the latest instalment was postponed until now, and boy was it worth the wait.
Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) finally gets to take on Beta (Ryan Hurst) one last time in an epic war against the Whisperers – seeing him completely annihilate the villain in a grotesque scene where he stabs the new alpha in both eyes, before leaving him to be eaten alive by zombies.
And while we couldn’t bring ourselves to look away from the blood-curdling scene, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) also had a near-death experience as he was pinned down by the Whisperers while defending Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming).
It appears the showrunner Angela Kang decided to skip his comic book death (for now), seeing Lauren Cohan make her grand return as Maggie Rhee, who appeared just in the nick of time to save the priest from being murdered.
Luckily all of our survivors made it through the hotly anticipated episode – including Connie (Lauren Ridloff) who was presumed dead after the explosion in Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) cave.
But as the Whisperer war ends, and peace has finally been restored, where can the series go now as it edges closer to the final ever season?
What does Maggie’s return mean?
Maggie has made her return and we are so excited to have her back.
After leaving in season 9B to go and join Georgie’s (Jayne Atkinson) camp, it was uncertain whether or not we’d ever see the fan favourite again.
But, she is back with a vengeance and has already made waves by saving Gabriel from the Whisperer’s wrath, all with the help from her masked friend.
But what does her return mean?
It’s thought that Georgie is from The Commonwealth, a city of 50,000 people in Ohio – which is where Maggie was potentially staying.
Whether or not she saves her friends an integrates them into the new community is unknown – but, if the comic books are anything to go by, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his people finally find refuge in the Commonwealth where they live ‘happily ever after’, if that’s actually possible in a post-apocalyptic world.
Who is The Commonwealth?
The Commonwealth is a network of communities, made up of 50,000 people and governed by Pamela Milton.
While they may appear hostile at first in their Stormtrooper-esque uniform, they’re not actually a huge threat to Rick’s people.
In the comic books, Rick ends up trying to take control of the Commonwealth after his people finally find peace in the community.
And it looks as though this is where the series is heading with the storyline – but will we actually meet the Commonwealth in the finale season, or will this be left for the Rick Grimes movies?
Has Rick Grimes’ return been teased?
Andrew Lincoln made a vow that he would never return to the series, unless of course it was to direct.
However, now that the show will officially wrap up with an extended version of season 11, we can’t help but thing the hero will make a comeback – especially now that the Commonwealth has been introduced.
In the comic book, Rick has a bust-up with the leader Milton, who eventually gets arrested during a revolt – but is released under Rick’s supervision.
This, unfortunately, leads to Rick’s demise, as Milton’s son murders the hero, leaving Carl (Chandler Riggs) to kill the zombie version of his dad.
As Rick is remembered in the Commonwealth as a strong leader, part of us believes we won’t see him in the series, as this story could be left to play out in the Rick Grimes trilogy.
The survivors could, however, wind up at the Commonwealth and hear all about Rick’s legacy, finally getting closure on his story.
Is there a new threat now Beta is dead?
The Whisperer war is finally over after Daryl and his gang faced the threat of the group’s leader Beta for the past season.
However, while we all guessed that he would finally meet his end, we almost didn’t expect it to happen so soon – especially now that season 10 has been extended for six mini episodes.
And it doesn’t look as though there are many more threats on the horizon, apart from the obvious zombies and King Ezekiel’s (Khary Payton) cancer.
While the Commonwealth is set to make an appearance, it is not thought that they’ll put the survivors at harm – in fact, they’re a rather fine way to wrap up the series as Rick’s people find refuge in the new community.
There is the CRM though, which we cannot forget! The guys who kidnapped Rick in a helicopter when he almost died from an explosion.
Whether or not they will come back and cause havoc is unknown – some fans are already predicting a war between the CRM and the Commonwealth – but whose side will our people be on?
Has the Daryl and Carol spin-off been teased?
It has been announced that The Walking Dead will officially wrap up in 2022 after an extended version of season 11.
However, the franchise will continue through Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl as the duo will be getting a spin-off series.
And it looks as though they have already started to tease this in the original show when Carol returned to the group after leading the walkers off a cliff edge.
Daryl seemed surprised to see her and stated how the plan was to drive South.
She agreed that this is what they’ll eventually end up doing – but noted how there’s ‘still work to be done here’.
Daryl doesn’t actually feature in the comic books, and Carol ends up dying by suicide early on in the story – meaning the directors are free to do what they please with the pair.
We wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up getting their people settled in the Commonwealth before bidding them all farewell and carrying on on their own adventure – with the peace of mind that their friends are safe and being looked after.
We guess we’ll have to see how it all turns out.
The Walking Dead is available to stream now on NOW TV and AMC.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: David Beckham jokes his dogs ‘hate him’ as they get soaked on rainy country walk
MORE: David Beckham jokes his dogs ‘hate him’ as they get soaked on rainy country walk
0 Commentaires