'The Walking Dead' Season 9: Burning Questions After Season 8 Finale
"The Walking Dead" has ended its eighth season, and while the viewership and ratings decline suggests that the show's quality has dipped over the years, the season 8-ender still made for one of the most entertaining hours of television the zombie drama has provided in a while.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) has decided to honor his son's dying wish, became the good guy Carl (Chandler Riggs) believed he is, and decided to look beyond the fighting and violence by building a new world.
While "The Walking Dead" season 8 finale tied some loose ends, it did open up new mysteries for season 9 to explore. Here are some of them:
Get Our Latest News for FREE
1. Who will be the new big bad?
While Rick made his speech about starting over not long after he slit Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) throat, he points to the massive horde of walkers on the horizon to remind everyone what death looks life ("We are life.")
However, some fans believe that the showcase of the legion of dead was not merely done to help Rick make his point, but the show may have been teasing the new villains the group will have to deal with in "The Walking Dead" season 9.
Those who read the comics would know that after dealing with the Saviors, Rick's crew comes across another group of people who live life and survive by guising themselves as the undead.
This group goes by the name Whisperers. Eagle-eyed readers point out that the presence of poles on where the final season 8 battle takes place is another hint of their arrival as these baddies found a gruesome way to use these things in the comics.
2. What happens to Negan?
From what has gone down so far, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) will serve the rest of his days atoning for his sins in prison. He will be the example of the civilization that Rick is trying to build.
Fans were excited when Negan was brought on to "The Walking Dead" because he was one of the most unforgettable villains in the comics. The hype was made more intense due to the perfect casting. However, viewers feel like his arc should have wrapped up a long time ago because dragging it out seems to have hurt the show.
Now that Negan gets to live, fans will likely be seeing him in season 9 especially since Maggie (Lauren Cohan) has hatched a plan to kill him and avenge Glenn (Steven Yeun).
She intends to bide her time before exacting her revenge so if this arc will be the main one for Negan, he might not appear as much in the new season as he did in season 8.
3. Why is Jesus on board with Maggie's secret plan in the first place?
Even though she wants to get justice for her husband badly, the widow still sets aside her anger and decides to rebuild Hilltop first before making her move.
The end tag reveals that Jesus (Tom Payne) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) are in on whatever she has up her sleeves, but fans believe both are an odd choice to team up with, especially the former, who did nothing this season but to convince people to stop killing.
For the latter's part, it feels like his character development after he let Dwight (Austin Amelio) run free in "The Walking Dead" season 8 finale was undone because he is game with killing Negan.
However, his decision to help Maggie kill the Saviors leader makes sense since he probably stills feels he got Glenn killed even though Negan confessed to Rick that he already made his choice as to whose heads he will be beaten to a pulp that fateful night even before the most intense "eenie meenie minie mo" he pulled.
4. Will Maggie even be back?
Cohan is yet to renew her contract to be part of "The Walking Dead" season 9, so it is unclear if she will reprise her role. She is reportedly negotiating for pay parity with her co-stars while also considering several pilot offers.
The fact that she has not signed a new deal yet suggests that she is yet to reach one with AMC that she's happy with. Despite this, "The Walking Dead" still went ahead and built up a story for the next season that centers on Maggie.
Fans might learn Cohan's status on the show soon though. Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays former Scavenger People leader Jadis, teased recently on Instagram that they will be back in Georgia to film the new season "soon."
5. What in the world is up with that helicopter?
A helicopter popped up twice this season of "The Walking Dead." First, Rick saw one flying over him, but he seems to have forgotten all about it. Then, Jadis, whose real name is Anne, appears to have contacted whoever owns it and was scheduled to be picked up from the garbage dump until Negan sabotaged what appears to be her one and only chance.
The show was not planning to solve that mystery in season 8 as it appeared to be something they want to pay off in the next season.
The helicopter hints that there is another group out there for the characters to meet at some point in "The Walking Dead" season 9. Whether they are friendly or not is a mystery. While they appear to be willing to help as the case with Jadis, their priority seems to be conserving their resources, which is why they only devoted a limited amount of time to rescue her.
