(Spoilers ahead for the Oct. 14 episode of “The Walking Dead” on AMC)
It’s been a while since we heard anything about Georgie (Jayne Atkinson) — she first popped up midway through the second half of season 8, and we’ve heard nothing about her since then. But a significant amount of time has passed in the show since then (longer than it’s been in real life), and apparently Georgie’s influence has been felt in the Hilltop even if we hadn’t heard about it.
So after five episodes without any word about Georgie, we got a brief conversation between Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Jesus (Tom Payne) this week that gave us some very big info on what her deal is.
Jesus: “The twins drop off another letter from Georgie?”
Maggie: “Now, I was just reading one of the old ones she sent, thinking about how much she’s done for us. How much there’s still left to do.”
Jesus: “You thinking about joining her? You know she’ll never get tired of asking.”
Maggie: “No. I like her ideas, but not that much.”
Jesus: “I bet she’s got a killer record collection by now.”
Maggie: “I’m plenty busy building a future right here.”
So, a few things here.
First, the two women who were with Georgie before (that would be the “twins” Jesus mentioned) have apparently been making regular visits to the Hilltop to deliver messages from Georgie.
Second, they may have been bringing more of Georgie’s useful knowledge with them, presumably in trade for crates of supplies. Thus the “how much she’s done for us” line. Though it’s possible she’s referring to the book that Georgie gave Maggie last season, if they’ve been meeting regularly with the twins then it’s probably because they are continuing the arrangement they made with Georgie back when.
Third, and this is the biggest thing, is that apparently Georgie has been pitching the Hilltop on “joining” something. Georgie didn’t say anything about being a part of any sort of greater entity when she first appeared, instead presenting her little squad as a sort of wandering trio trying to help restore civilization.
That last item is huge for the speculation that Georgie is part of the Commonwealth, a city of 50,000 people in Ohio that is the subject of the current story arc in the comics. We figured she was probably with them before because her whole look was very similar to that of the leader of the Commonwealth in the books, even though her name was different. So while it’s still possible that Georgie is part of some other group, this new detail is certainly going to add fuel to that fire.
And, for the record, I do think that Georgie is from the Commonwealth, and that thought is where my mind went directly during this scene.
Could it be a coincidence, by the way, that this episode also brought back the mysterious helicopter that may or may not have been paying visits to the junkyard last season? A lot of folks think the helicopter is also involved with the Commonwealth in some way. I don’t know.
But it will probably take until at least then end of season 9 before anything major develops with the Commonwealth, because “The Walking Dead” is going to spend at least a chunk of this season dealing with a conflict with a new faction of zombie-worshipers called the Whisperers.
In the comics, notably, the Commonwealth arc started subtly during the Whisperers storyline, with occasional radio chats between Eugene and a woman from the Commonwealth named Stephanie. So Georgie may be filling that role on the show. Maybe. We’ll find out someday.