‘Walking Dead’ Spoilers: Rick’s Tough Choice And A Big New Villain

The Walking Dead mid-season premier happens in less than a month now, and over the last several days AMC has been ramping up anticipation for new episodes by providing Walking Dead spoilers on their Instagram account. Each day for a week they have released pieces of an online collage that reveal a little of what fans can expect in Season 6. Let’s dig into it and see what we can see.

Spoilers begin now! Stop reading if you don’t want to read them.

New #WalkingDead key art for second half of season 6 pic.twitter.com/yfRK6CHujQ

— Natalie Abrams (@NatalieAbrams) January 13, 2016

Let’s start with the most obvious Walking Dead spoiler contained in that collage – the title. A Larger World is the title of the 16th volume of the comicbook series. And it’s the volume where Paul “Jesus” Monroe enters the picture. Back in September, The Hollywood Reporter learned that Tom Payne had been cast for this role so we can probably expect to see him this season. In the Walking Dead comic, Jesus is a citizen of Alexandria, but before living there he lived in a community called the Hilltop Colony.

The addition of the Jesus character to the series provides another possible Walking Dead spoiler. In the comics, Jesus is a critical part of the story when the group has to fight big-time villain Negan. In November, HitFix reported that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast for this role, but in a guest appearance for Season 6, then as a regular character in Season 7. Bringing Jesus into the Walking Dead TV show now, lays the groundwork for this to happen.

Other Walking Dead spoilers in the collage include a restored RV that could provide the ability for the group to travel to the Hilltop Colony. There is speculation that they must travel somewhere because of another photo in the collage that shows Rick and Michonne looking down at a burning settlement. Jesus looks down at a burning Alexandria in a similar way in the comic. One more hint that the group may travel to Hilltop is the photo of Morgan on a saddled horse. The group currently does not have access to either a saddle or a horse, so they must travel somewhere to get them.

There is also a photo of a satellite dish that on-set sources say will be part of the story in the twelfth episode of Season 6 and it’s speculated that Negan is present in the same place the satellite dish is located.

There are at least two more Walking Dead spoilers in the AMC collage. One is the photo of a handcuffed walker. Fans of the comicbook series speculate that this may be a depiction of Negan’s practice of using handcuffed walkers to guard his group’s sanctuary.

Perhaps the biggest Walking Dead spoiler in the collage is the photo of two people holding hands. Design Trend reports that those are the hands of Carl and Jessie, a reference to a major event in the comic. As the group is trying to escape from Alexandria, Jessie’s son is taken and killed by the walkers. In her emotional state, she holds on to Carl’s hand and will not let go of him. Even as a herd of walkers approaches, she maintains her grip on Carl. Refusing to watch Carl die, Rick chops off Jessie’s hand to free Carl and, instead of watching Carl die, watches as Jessie is devoured by walkers.

The Walking Dead TV series was created by Frank Darabont and first aired on Halloween Day in 2010. It’s based on the comicbook series of the same name that was written by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The Walking Dead Season 6 Midseason Premiere airs Sunday, February 14 at 9/8c on AMC. You can view a trailer for Season 6 on their website.

[Image courtesy of Larry Bussaca/Getty Images]