While the end of Season 11 premiere of The Walking Dead may have focused on a particular comic book storyline involving Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), eagle-eyed viewers find another startling revelation among the Wall of the Lost.
Scanning over the wall, which featured images and messages of what is presumed to be missing loved ones, a name stuck out: Heath (Corey Hawkins). This character has been missing since Episode 13 of Season 10 of The Walking Dead.
In that episode, Tara (Alanna Masterson) had been separated from Heath and, when she returned, found his van missing and only his damaged glasses as proof that he was ever there. The assumption from this is that Heath was taken against his will.
Since then, there has been very little by way of information about this character — until now.
What happened to Heath?
In real life, the actor who plays Heath had to step out of The Walking Dead due to several upcoming movie roles. Because of this, the character has been sidelined for now. However, AMC has always stated that they would like to return to this character.
According to Insider, both Robert Kirkman, who created the comics, and the TV series showrunner, Angela Kang, would like to see Heath’s story explored further.
“We are hoping to get him back and tell his story,” Kirkman said.
“There are definitely plans in place there. It’s just a matter of making sure that everything can line up because it is somewhat complicated.”
There have been a few theories involving Heath. However, there has not been a lot to go on in the actual TV series. Insider also pointed out that his van was sighted at the junk pile where Jadis’ (Pollyanna McIntosh) group lived.
Then, when it was revealed that Jadis belonged to the Civic Republic Military (CRM) group, the assumption was that they had abducted him.
However, Sunday night’s episode may give another theory.
Could Heath be a member of the Commonwealth?
During the storyline involving Eugene’s (Josh McDermitt) group, an escape plan was hatched and nearly executed before Princess (Paola Lazaro) saw a picture of Yumiko and a message from her brother, Tomi, on what Ezekiel (Khary Payton) referred to as “a wall of the lost.”
As soon as Yumiko saw the message, she decided to stay at the Commonwealth and track down her brother.
However, as the camera panned over the vast wall, a piece of paper with Heath’s name written on it was sighted by many fans.
While this is no definite confirmation that Heath will turn up, it certainly gives fans something to hope for.
As the board above the photos and messages suggest, these people are all flagged for “expedited assessment and admittance to the Commonwealth.” So, if this message is written about Heath, it seems like he might be about to become a member of the newly introduced community.
Heath and Eugene also know each other, so it could mean that the message will mean something to Eugene or that the pair will meet up in some other manner and recognize each other. In fact, a newly-released image for Episode 2 shows Eugene surprised to see someone — could this be Heath?
However, viewers will most likely have to tune into further episodes of The Walking Dead to find out more about Heath’s potential return.
The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC.