Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Sunday’s “The Walking Dead.”
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” brought back the mysterious helicopter Rick first spotted on season eight.
While we’ve seen Anne react to the helicopter several times now, we’re no closer to knowing where the chopper came from or why it continues flying above the air in Virginia.
Is the military around searching for survivors after so long? Whatever its business is in the area, Anne seems to know something about the aircraft. We’ve rounded up what may be going on with the helicopter on Sunday’s episode.
This is an updated version of a previous story we first ran last November.
1. Anne knows more about the helicopter than she's letting on.
Anne seems to know more about the helicopter than she's letting on. During season eight, Simon mentions a helipad and solar panels behind the junkyard. When he asks her what the place was before the zombie apocalypse, she quickly threw him off the scent by playing dumb and saying it was always "a dump."
Why this is the most likely scenario: Anne wasn't surprised to see the helicopter show up. She had a suitcase packed up and ready to go for a rescue. She even appeared to have a timer on a watch set up for its arrival.
It's not clear if she sent a distress signal for someone to come and rescue her, but it is curious that a helipad is conveniently located at the junkyard for a landing. Again, on Sunday's episode, Anne looked at the helicopter knowingly.
"It's really exciting to try and figure out, to think of where that could go because she's certainly in touch with people that don't seem to be the people that we know already," Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays Anne, tells INSIDER. "This seems to be some other situation out there. Is it an extension of the Heapster community? Is it another community? Is it a single person? Is it a group? I don't wanna give too much away."
While she may not know exactly who operates the machine, she's clearly very familiar with it. We're expecting to see it again this season.
You can read more from our talk with Pollyanna McIntosh here.
2. It belongs to the Saviors.
Negan has been able to provide his people with food, hot water, and electricity. He also seems to have an unlimited amount of hair gel at his disposal. Is there anything Negan doesn't have at his fingertips?
Why fans thought it was possible: If you were paying close attention in November, Simon made a reference to a "flyer" in Sunday's episode. He said if they can't get the Hilltop under control then the answer may be to "take a flyer on the place and kill everyone there."
Some think he was referring to a chopper.
Why this doesn't seem the case anymore: Negan seemed genuinely surprised to see a helicopter when it appeared at the junkyard. If he had a chopper at his disposal, he probably would have used it to hightail it out of there by now.
3. It has something to do with the show's spin-off, "Fear the Walking Dead."
Morgan is on season four of "Fear the Walking Dead." Maybe the shows are working towards meeting up in a larger way down the road.
Why it's likely: We've seen government groups before on "Fear the Walking Dead" and the actress who plays Madison (Kim Dickens) believes her character is related to someone on "The Walking Dead," possibly Daryl. We know she "died" on the show, but until we see an actual body no one is actually ever dead.
4.. It's from a newer story arc in the comics.
The January cover of "The Walking Dead" comic introduced a new story line called "New World Order" with a group of military types that help protect the Commonwealth, a group of about 50,000 survivors.
Some fans believed the helicopter may be hinting at this group and that they'll affect Rick, Maggie, and even Negan down the line.
Why we're buying it: Now that the war with Negan is over, it would be a clever way to start laying the seeds for a future plot that is currently underway in the comics. It would be interesting if the show wanted to eventually unite Maggie, Negan, and more against a common threat.
Why others are skeptical: The new group in the comics is based all the way in Ohio. What would they be doing in Virginia? We know the show likes to change things up from the comics though, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if the series was trying to keep things fresh.
5. It has something to do with Georgie's mysterious character.
Why it could be her: When Georgie appeared on the show, fans were quick to think she may be the future leader of the Commonwealth. Even actress Jayne Atkinson thought that may be the case.
Why that's probably not the case: If Georgie had access to a helicopter, do you think she'd be traveling around from camp to camp handing out survival booklets from a giant vehicle? No way. She'd be soaring the skies in that helicopter. Or at least we would be.
You can read more on who Georgie and her comrades are from our interview with Atkinson here.
6. It's Heath coming back with a vengeance.
The last time we saw Heath he was lost out in the woods and then no one ever went looking for him. Heath wasn't a big fan of how Rick was managing the group. Maybe he found his own group and he
Why it's a long shot: It seems a bit random for the person in the helicopter to be Heath, but he does know where Alexandria is located unlike others. The problem is that the actor who plays Heath, Corey Hawkins, has moved on to a lot of other big roles in Hollywood. He was on "24: Legacy," and starred in both "Kong: Skull Island" and "Straight Outta Compton."
Don't give up hope, though. At New York Comic Con, Robert Kirkman said the show has plans to bring back Heath at some point.
You can read about how the show mishandled Heath's character on the show here.
7. It has something to do with the mysterious "PPP" card Tara found.
When Heath went missing, Tara found a mysterious card on the road with what looked like "PPP" written on it. Was this a clue about what happened to Heath? Did a group of mysterious people kidnap him and leave behind an access card to a building?
Why it's possible: "The Walking Dead" has previously introduced mysteries that it doesn't resolve for seasons. Morgan's reappearance on the show was hinted at for a long time before he became a series regular again.
Maybe "PPP" is in reference to some other group and the card Tara has is an access card dropped by someone.