Posted in: AMC, Fear The Walking Dead, Opinion, Preview, TV, TV, Walking Dead, YouTube | Tagged: amc, episode 6, huck, Jadis, Rick Grimes, season 2, The Walking Dead, world beyond

The Walking Dead: WB S02E06: Jadis, Rick Grimes & CRM Clues & Theories

Heading into tonight's Heather Cappiello-directed & Rohit Kumar-written episode of AMC's The Walking Dead: World Beyond, we learned in last week's post-credits scene that there were going to be some major changes at the CRM facility now that Elizabeth (Julia Ormond) has been called back to the main Civic Republic Military (CRM) headquarters for the time being. Oh, and did we mention that there's a "new" face in charge (for now) that's going to start testing folks' loyalty? Yup, as viewers already knew going into the final season, Pollyanna McIntosh returned to the TWDU as Warrant Officer Jadis Stokes- which means it's time for us to start looking at how the final season is going to connect with the upcoming Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) films. We already have a sense of what the "bigger picture" plans are that CRM has in play. Staring down a timeline that would have them turning over authority to civilian rule, CRM orchestrated the walker attacks on two colonies to create a plausible reason why the handoff should be delayed. Meanwhile, some seemingly well-intended research is suddenly vibing like it won't be used for the betterment of all (like finding a way to deactivate the walker trigger before death) as much as another weapon of power for CRM to use to keep control. With that background intel in mind, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer as we look at in what ways the episode's narrative threads began weaving their way towards the big screen.

So when Jadis and Jennifer/Huck (Annet Mahendru) reunite, we learn that Jennifer trained Jadis and that Jadis appears to think very highly of Jennifer. That said, Jadis makes it clear that she's there for a security audit (requested by Elizabeth) to weed out any "complicity, ineptitude, betrayal." And while she makes it clear that she sees "the whole picture" about what her undercover mission embedded with our heroes involves. Hmmm… could that be a clue that Jadis is "embedded" in CRM for a bigger purpose? But while there is definitely a lot of good history between the two, Jadis establishes an emotional line in the sand by making it clear that anyone… and you know she means anyone… is a target for a deep-dive into their true intentions.

And this is where things start to spin into motion. Sharing that drink with Jennifer that she promised earlier, Jadis begins to offer her some background on her original story. She explains how she used "theatrics" like creating a new language to help her quickly build "a little society" (Scavengers) that she claims she loved but that she "made the wrong alliances" (Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan and the Saviors, with Steven Ogg's Simon killing her people while she played dead to avoid the same fate). She then goes on to explain the opportunity she received "six years ago" that would change her world completely. "I had an opportunity and I created a ticket to get into the Civic Republic. I gave the CRM something very valuable. And I got a new life." Well, we pretty much know what she's alluding to here. In Season 9 episode "What Comes After," Jadis races to her CRM meeting point after promising she had an "A" (?) but she didn't. But she discovers a gravely wounded Rick post-bridge explosion and offers him as a "B" (?) to accompany her onto the helicopter. Clearly, that was more than enough because they were quickly flown away to the "new life" that Jadis mentioned. So while we continue to try to figure out the full meaning behind "A" and "B", it's clear that a "B" is something "very valuable" to CRM or Jadis undervalued how significant of a catch that Rick was. Maybe it was Jadis' "upgraded" offering that helped accelerate her rise through CRM?

Having said all of that, it would be pretty easy to say that Jadis has clearly drunk the entire gallon of CRM's "Kool-Aid" because she definitely sounds ride-or-die when it comes to the military organization being "that last light of the world" and "the last hope." And yet, with all of that talk of being a survivor and understanding if Jennifer has issues cutting away from her "Huck" life? We can't shake this feeling that Jadis is running on an entirely different agenda, one that might require her to take some players off the board for the bigger win. Whether or not that's the case, I have a feeling we'll have a clearer picture of where this is all going sooner rather than later, with only four episodes of AMC's The Walking Dead: World Beyond remaining.

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