The Walking Dead Season 9 finale has aired, and it may have laid the groundwork for the next big story arc ripped directly from the comic books.  [Be warned, this article is about Season 9, episode 16, titled “The Storm” and may contain spoilers.] 

The episode ended with King Ezekiel contacting Judith Grimes via a long-range radio developed by Eugene. At the end of their radio exchange a third voice is also heard coming through the transmission. In case you couldn’t make out what the voice was saying, turning on closed captioning reveals the voice belongs to a female and says the following:

“Hello? Hello?” asks the voice. “Calling out live on the open air. Is anybody out there?”


King Ezekiel and Judith Grimes in Season 9, Episode 16 of The Walking Dead

The season finale scene appears to borrow directly from The Walking Dead comic book issue #151.  The dialogue is nearly word-for-word lifted from the comic, although in the comic it was Eugene on the radio not King Ezekiel and Judith as it was in the TWD television episode.

The Walking Dead

Who are the Commonwealth in The Walking Dead?

In the comic book series, Eugene’s contact is eventually revealed to be Stephanie, a radio operator who becomes a pen pal and then later his girlfriend.  As the story line progresses, we learn that Stephanie is a member of the Commonwealth, a massive community in Ohio.  The Commonwealth boasts more than 50,000 survivors spread across dozens of smaller communities. The Commonwealth is a city with such amenities as bakeries, cafes, a court room, and a baseball stadium.

THe Walking Dead

If the TWD television series follows the comic books then we could see Michonne, Eugene, Siddiq, Yumiko, and Magna venture out to find the Commonwealth.  The real question will be if the The Walking Dead television series will follow the comics into its current story, which is still unfolding, or deviate down its own path.

Unfortunately, all this is a mystery left to be explored when Season 10 of The Walking Dead returns in October.