(Spoilers ahead for the Oct. 14 episode of “The Walking Dead”)
Oh my god, AMC, can we get some info on that helicopter? For the third time in the past two seasons of “The Walking Dead,” a mysterious helicopter flew by a major character. And it was the second time that Jadis (Polyanna McIntosh) was the major character in question.
This time, the helicopter’s appearance was much like the first time it showed up — it just flew over Rick (Andrew Lincoln) when he was heading to visit the Scavengers for help against the Saviors early in season 8. The second time we saw the thing, in the next-to-last episode of season 8, we saw it hover over the junkyard and then fly away even while Jadis was trying to flag it down.
And this time, the scene just involved Jadis hanging out in a lookout perch as it flew by, with Jadis looking quite alarmed by its appearance.
It was not in any way an illuminating sequence — there’s nothing to glean about what the deal is with the helicopter. But there is reason to believe we might learn something soon, because of Jadis’ other scenes this week. Jadis, it turns out, is cozying up to Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), and they shared a tender moment in which he shared a sad story from his past. And then they made out.
The big takeaway there is that Jadis, for maybe the first time since she’s been a character on the show, has somebody she might be able to open up to. It’s probably not a coincidence that the writers on “The Walking Dead” chose to start developing that kind of relationship for her in the same episode in which that helicopter appeared again. I bet there’s a good chance we’ll finally learn something — anything — about the helicopter very soon.
Let’s also not forget that the junkyard very conspicuously had a helipad that the Scavengers very conspicuously kept cleared of obstacles — and that they kept its purpose so secret that even the Saviors didn’t know what the point of it was.
There’s been speculation that the helicopter is from the Commonwealth, an actual city in Ohio with tens of thousands of residents in the comics. It may also not be a coincidence that this episode also gave a shout out to Georgie, a character that basically everyone is assuming is definitely from the Commonwealth. We probably still have a ways to go before we get to the Commonwealth story in earnest, since the stuff from the Whisperers hasn’t even begun yet.
But both the helicopter and Georgie could be the early stages of setting up the Commonwealth plotline — maybe the Commonwealth is watch our heroes, and evaluating their worthiness? We’ll find out someday.