- Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for season one, episode three of "
The Walking Dead : World Beyond," "The Tyger and the Lamb," and "FearTWD " season six, episode two, "Welcome to the Club." - The final six minutes of "TWDWB" revealed a critical piece of information about the Civic Republic Military (CRM), the mystery group who flew Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) away on a helicopter on "TWD" season nine.
- Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) says the CRM is a community made up of over 200,000 people.
- In the comics, another group named the Commonwealth, who were just introduced on "TWD" season 10 finale, is comprised of 50,000 people.
- "Fear TWD" has introduced its own large mystery group as well led by Ginny (Colby Minifie). On Sunday's episode, she designates Strand (Colman Domingo) to be the leader of her own forthcoming army.
- "TWD" universe could be teasing a giant showdown between the three communities for the super-sized final season of "The Walking Dead" or the future Rick Grimes' movies.
The final six minutes of Sunday's "The Walking Dead: World Beyond" delivered some crucial information about the mystery Civic Republic Military (CRM) group who took Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) from "TWD" in 2018.
Near the end of the episode, CRM leader Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) tells us the group consists of over 200,000 people.
That is the largest group of survivors we've heard about so far in "TWD" universe. Apparently, they have functioning schools, courts, and still are using some form of currency.
The CRM doesn't exist in "TWD" comics. But there is another group, who was recently introduced on "The Walking Dead," who should have enough manpower to give them some trouble.
Together with "Fear TWD," which currently takes place a few years behind "World Beyond" and "TWD," the two shows revealed interesting tidbits of information which may be hinting at a big war to come toward the end of the flagship's final 11th season or in that Rick Grimes' movie.
Why it matters that the CRM has over 200,000 people. There's another huge community out there which may have 50,000 people.
The biggest shock on Sunday's "TWDWB" was learning how large the community is which has Rick Grimes.
Over six years have passed since his disappearance and we've been wondering why Rick hasn't been able to get back home to Alexandria. Rick's capable of a lot of things, but he may not be able to easily escape the watchful eyes of that many people.
We also learn they're pretty dangerous. Sunday's "TWDWB" confirms the CRM wiped out and killed the entire Campus Colony community we met on the series premiere. This is a group that doesn't put up with anyone who doesn't fall in line and follow them blindly. If Rick ever dared to try something, he would likely be punished, killed, or placed in some sort of confinement.
The larger takeaway here is that "The Walking Dead" season 10 finale just introduced a group of mystery soldiers. Comic fans know they belong to the Commonwealth, another large community living in Ohio that has rebuilt civilization.
In the comics, they're led by a governor named Pamela Milton and are protected by a large army of trained, armored soldiers. Though we don't know how large they are on the show, the group contains about 50,000 survivors in the comics.
Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess were hoping to find this group to consider forming an alliance.
Though we don't have the exact timeframe, both shows take place around the same time — 10 years into the zombie apocalypse — making us wonder if there's a war for Rick brewing on the horizon. If Eugene and the survivors need to go up against the CRM in the future, they'll need a big group like the Commonwealth backing them.
Ginny is also building up her own army on "Fear TWD" for her network of communities.
On Sunday's episode of "Fear" we learned another vital piece of information that makes this idea of a future war more enticing.
Towards the end of the episode, Ginny made Victor Strand the leader of her future army, saying she may need them when the time comes/at some point in the future.
"Congratulations, Victor. You just formed us an army, the start of one at least," Ginny told Victor after he helped clear out a massive group of the undead successfully after multiple failed attempts by others in the past.
Skeptical, Strand asked Ginny almost immediately why they were building an army.
"I will. In time," she coyly responded. "Just know, when the time comes for me to call you all up for the big show, y'all best be ready."
What does that mean?
Dakota briefly says Ginny wants to kill someone else who is out in "TWD" universe. From what we know now, she's probably talking about Morgan. But, hey, there are other threats out in the world.
It's worth noting that "Fear TWD" takes place a few years before "TWD" and "TWDWB." "TWD" and "FearTWD" were aligned for a short time on season eight so Morgan and Dwight could cross over to the show. "TWD" has since had a massive time jump of six years after Rick's disappearance.
So that gives Strand some time to build a respectable army.
There is one other thing worth pondering. Who's to say the army Strand is building isn't the very same one we saw on "TWD" finale? Yes, comic fans have been waiting to see Mercer, a popular comic character, lead the Commonwealth army. But it would be cool if this was remixed to show Strand, a character that's already well-established, forming that army instead.
One thing we don't know yet is whether or not these key communities eventually join together to form the Commonwealth with Ginny possibly in power. That seems slightly doubtful since showrunner Angela Kang told fans in a live chat during New York Comic Con that the leader of the Commonwealth hasn't been found yet. (She also said Mercer hasn't been cast yet.)
A lot can happen over six years. Maybe Ginny doesn't make it and someone else takes command to form the Commonwealth.
So what does this all mean? Is "TWD" universe setting up a giant war for Rick?
It sure seems that way.
At the moment, we have a total of three large communities — the CRM, the Commonwealth, and, what we'll call the Key communities — spanning multiple shows, which, presumably, will all have their own formidable armies. (Of course, that's if the Key communities don't wind up evolving into the Commonwealth led by Strand's army.)
We see this going in one of two directions.
Either we get a massive crossover showdown where all three shows face off with their armies by the end of "The Walking Dead" season 11 in 2022 or these armies are on a collision course that will lead us toward the first Rick Grimes' film.
How would that happen?
It's assumed the CRM likely has Rick somewhere. Michonne went on a journey to go and find her long lost love. It's possible she can find out where he is, but know she can't save him on her own once she learns the size of their community.
If Eugene and the others are able to align with the Commonwealth, it would position them to go to war against the CRM. It's currently unclear how the Key communities could come into play. If Morgan is successful in ridding of Ginny and winds up having any say, maybe they'll become an ally to the Commonwealth.
One thing's certain. All of these little teases appear to be leading us towards a war for Rick.
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