The Walking Dead season 10: Did episode 9 just kill off two main characters?

Plot twist will send shockwaves through the group

The Walking Dead returned with a claustrophobic episode that left the fate of two characters in the balance.

In its first instalment since December 2019, the AMC drama picked up where it left off: with several characters trapped inside a cave with nothing but the Whisperers’ horde of the undead for company.

The episode sees Daryl (Norman Reedus) leading the group – including Carol (Melissa McBride), Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Kelly (Angel Theory) – out of their prison.

Following some near-misses – Jerry (Cooper Andrews) almost meets his end – everyone makes it out alive, bar two: Magna (Nadia Hilker) and Connie (Lauren Ridloff).

Both characters are still inside the cave when dynamite causes their escape route to come crashing down. As Daryl frantically tries to remove the rubble, a devastated Kelly – Connie’s sister – orders him to stop, considering the noise will have attracted more walkers to the area.

Showrunner Angela Kang has now commented on the ending. Asked if the pair had died, she told The Hollywood Reporter: “That’s part of the story going forward. There’s a contingent that strongly believes they are alive and there are some who may lose hope along the way, but you will find the answers to that as the season goes along.”

Kang continued: “In the midst of this episode where we wanted to do something that was a fun horror adventure, there’s also a lot of deep and dark emotional underpinnings to it all. There’s a lot of danger to come for our heroes.”

Much like Michonne star Danai Gurira, who appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Okoye in Black Panther, Ridloff will appear in new film The Eternals, which will be released later this year.

Gurira will leave the show before the end of season 10.

The Walking Dead airs in the UK on FOX at 9pm and is available to view on NOW TV.