Is ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7 Introducing The Kingdom? Theories From Carol And Morgan’s Plotline

“Walking Dead” fans may be focusing on who Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) killed in the Season 6 finale, but viewers can’t forget about another important storyline.

While Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the others were attempting to get Maggie (Lauren Cohan) some medical attention, Morgan (Lennie James) was out searching for Carol (Melissa McBride). After a little bit of chasing her around, Morgan was finally able to catch up to her. However, the Savior she had shot in episode 15 got to her first. Wanting revenge for watching his friends die, the Savior shot Carol in the arm and leg. His initial plan was to watch her die a slow and painful death, but Morgan arrived on the scene just as the Savior was about to fatally shoot her. After a failed attempt to convince the Savior to stop, Morgan fired a number of bullets, killing the man and saving Carol — despite her wanting to die.

Seeing Morgan kill a man was shocking because he had taken a vow never to kill again. However, that wasn’t even the biggest jaw dropper of that storyline. Two men wearing what looked like armor showed up and questioned what happened after seeing Carol on the ground. Morgan recognized one of the men, who had been searching for his horse near a barn the week before. Rick had attempted to shoot him, believing him to be a member of the Saviors.

Morgan told the man that he had found his horse and that his friend needed medical attention. Shaking hands with Morgan, the unidentified survivor agreed to take them back to his base camp and get Carol the help she needed — but who exactly were these mysterious strangers? “The Walking Dead” finale didn’t give any names, but the comic books might hold some clues.

In Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels, the Alexandria Safe Haven and Hilltop Colony join forces with another settlement of survivors who live at a high school in Washington, D.C. The location is surrounded by a makeshift wall and called The Kingdom. Those people are led by a man named Ezekiel, a former zookeeper with a pet tiger, and are also forced into trading with Negan and the Saviors. Rick and Jesus (Tom Payne) convince Ezekiel to become their ally to defeat Negan. Together the three groups have enough manpower to plot an attack to remove the Saviors from power.

With Negan claiming the life of an Alexandria survivor in the Season 6 finale, the show is on course to introduce The Kingdom in Season 7. However, showrunner Scott M. Gimple won’t confirm if the mysterious characters Carol and Morgan met are from that community.

“Those guys may or may not have been from The Kingdom,” Gimple told ComicBook.com. “We may or may not see The Kingdom. I we do see The Kingdom, it’ll be a big reveal and it’ll be a new world to inhabit and explore.”

Executive producer Greg Nicotero, who directed the finale, was also careful about what he said about The Kingdom. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after the episode, he simply stated that the world of “The Walking Dead is “growing and it’s very, very exciting.”