‘The Walking Dead’ Finale: Will That Cliffhanger Lead to a Cross-Series Showdown?

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 10 finale “A Certain Doom” past this point.

It took a long time to get there, but thanks to the Walking Dead‘s season finale, we finally got to see the entrance of a massive new plotline for the series in the final moments of “A Certain Doom.” Exit The Whisperers, and enter the Commonwealth. But is the new organization characterized by their white and red armor headed for a collision course with the franchise’s other military organization, CRM (Civil Republic Military)?

“For right now, they’re two very separate stories,” Walking Dead Chief Creative Officer Scott M. Gimple told Decider about the introduction of the Commonwealth. “And two very different situations. However [similar] these highly militarized people look, they’re very different situations, very very different stories. But please stay tuned.”

For those not totally familiar with the comics by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, the Commonwealth was introduced in a very similar way to what you saw on screen, albeit with a slightly different cast of characters. After getting into contact with Eugene (Josh McDermitt), their group was revealed to be a far more advanced civilization than Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) group. Based in Ohio, with nearly 50,000 residents — including Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) long-thought-dead daughter — the civilization was so advanced, in fact, they had even brought back organized sports and stadium concerts. Naturally, not everything was perfect; though not explicitly evil, the Commonwealth relied heavily on a class/caste system based on wealth status pre-apocalypse.

We’ll have to see where it all goes on screen, but after Eugene, Ezekiel (Khary Payton), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) and Princess (Paola Lazaro) make their way to a meeting point with their contact, they’re surrounded by 16 Commonwealth soldiers. “Weapons down!” shout the soldiers, “Hands in the air!” Reticent at first, after giving one last warning, they all drop their weapons, even Princess. The episode ends with Eugene, terrified, the bladed guns of the soldiers pointed directly at the quartet.

For those who are watching the show, you know that Rick Grimes is missing, having been taken by CRM (more on that in a second); and Michonne has headed off in search of him after finding out that Rick may be alive, nearly a decade after he disappeared. So neither will be involved in this storyline (probably) in the same way, though as the show heads towards its endgame chances are we’ll see other characters sub in for those story points.

As for CRM, aka the three rings, aka the helicopter people, The Walking Dead: World Beyond is about to blow the lid off that whole plotline as the series is set in one of the three cities that makes up the rings of their logo. Unlike the Commonwealth, with their gleaming white armor, CRM is clothed in black, though similarly masked and mysterious. We’ve seen them pop up on Walking Dead, and Fear the Walking Dead, and now World Beyond (which will reveal a good deal more about what they’re about, and what they want).

But most enticing is to think about where CRM is located. The Campus Colony, where World Beyond is set, is in Omaha. The two other parts of the “three rings” are in Portland, and the Civil Republic itself, which is located somewhere in Nevada, Utah and Colorado, though we don’t know specifically where. That places them to the West, and the Commonwealth plus our loose confederation of Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside on the East. Yes, I looked at a map and checked this, because my brain is mush. Shut up. Anyway! There’s only so far those two highly armed groups can grow before they start bumping into each other. And chances are two organizations with massive firepower and specific ideas of how to live in the post-apocalypse won’t see eye to eye.

That said, given Gimple’s comments, presumably that blow-out won’t happen during Walking Dead‘s extended final season, or World Beyond. There’s plenty more TWD coming, though, so as Gimple says: stay tuned.

The Walking Dead will return for six additional Season 10 episodes in 2021.

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