The Walking Dead season 8 episode 6: What's the meaning of the letter 'A' Jadis writes in 'The King, the Widow and Rick'?

*Major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 8 episode 6*

The latest episode of The Walking Dead season 8 was an episode packed with characters designed to set the stage for the final two episodes before the midseason finale.

One moment saw Rick (Andrew Lincoln) attempt to recruit Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) into his army once again, an effort which ultimately saw him stripped and locked up in a crate by her Junkyard folk.

The episode's climax sees Jadis - wearing Rick's boots - walk over to the crate he's imprisoned inside only to scrawl a letter 'A' on the outside as Rick peers out through a peephole - an act which has left fans scratching their heads in confusion.

It's important to note that this isn't the first time the letter 'A' has cropped up in The Walking Dead. But what could the 'A' represent in Jadis' case?

Firstly, the entire situation is reminiscent of Rick's trip to Terminus, the cannibal-laden community discovered at the end of the train tracks in the season 4 finale. This fact is leading many to assume that Jadis may have once been a part of that group, especially when considering that members liked to steal the items of their prisoners (after being greeted with smiles, Daryl smelled a rat when he saw one of them wearing Glenn's pocket watch).

Another theory doing the round seems to corroborate earlier assumptions that Jadis may, in fact, be a primary antagonist featured in the comics known as Alpha. If so, this would position her as the leader of a group known as The Whisperers - survivors who walk around dressed in walker skin and speak only in hushed tones, not a far cry from the stunted language currently spoken by Jadis people).

The reveal wouldn't be too out of place considering the timeline of their introduction in the comics - they appear in volume 22 and the All Out War arc occurs in volume 20.

Regardless of what the letter 'A' could represent, it seems Jadis has a bigger part to play in the show than first thought - however, considering the character we currently know her as doesn't appear in the comics, it's hard to know what the writers have in store for her.

The Walking Dead season eight airs every Sunday in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening on FOX. It will also be available on NOWTV

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