Sometimes TV show errors are hard to spot. Sometimes theyâre plain to see. And sometimes theyâre just an actual plane.
As we learned in a recent interview, even a âWalking Deadâ actor seems suspicious of a possible catastrophic error in the Season 7 episode âNew Best Friends.â
After the episode debuted, one particular moment captured the internetâs attention. During a scene in which Rick (Andrew Lincoln) stands on a trash heap in front of what looks like an obvious green screen, an object flies across the sky behind him. It made people wonder:
Was there an airplane in âThe Walking Deadâ?
Many fans thought the object was an actual jet, as it appeared to move too fast to be a bird. Hereâs a smattering of their reactions:
Having an airplane in the show wouldnât be the end of the world. After all, there was that helicopter earlier in the apocalypse. But that was very early. Ignoring an airplane at this stage would be difficult.
Of course, it could be a hint at âfowl play.â Other flying specks in the background were definitely birds, so we werenât ruling out the possibility that it could be an unidentified feathered object â until we spoke with actress Pollyanna McIntosh, that is.
McIntoshâs character, Jadis, the leader of the junkyard people, made her debut in âNew Best Friends,â and though she wasnât able to tell us much about the moment in question, the actress seems leery of the object, too.
âI canât say anything. You either talk about a studio screw-up or you talk about a possible thing that might be part of a story, so either way Iâm not doing the show justice,â she said.
âI certainly will tell you as an audience member when I watched it, I didnât notice it, and itâs only when the internet went buzzy about it that I thought, âHm, whatâs going on there?â So the fans are informing me as much as Iâm able to inform the fans.â
Was it a plane? Was it a bird? Regrettably, the world may never know for sure.
But itâs definitely an airplane, right?
Besides chatting about the UFO, McIntosh clued us in on the other interesting and weird things going on with her mysterious character.
What is the official name of your group?
I call them the Heapsters, because weâre very proud of our heapy home, that we can call the place The Heap. And also we do dress a bit like the original Berlin black-wearing hipsters. ... I also love [that] the fans have come up with the Garbage Pail Kids. That makes me very happy.
What happened to Jadis and the Heapsters at the end of the Season 7 finale, when Neganâs group gets surprised by the Kingdom and Shiva the tiger?
She definitely came prepared for any eventuality, but I donât think she expected a tiger. Actually, the tiger coming in, Carl not getting killed â itâs not such a bad thing for her. Itâs not like she wants everybody to suffer all the time. I took no enjoyment out of her watching Negan do that. The disappointment, though, is she loves her people, and of course she didnât get her deal with Negan because she was out of there.
Jadis sounds a lot like Judas. Do you think that connection is on purpose since she does betray Rick?
[Showrunner Scott Gimple] would have to answer that question, but I certainly thought about it when I got the role. I thought about what it could mean, and itâs also interesting that itâs the ice queen from C.S. Lewisâ The Chronicles of Narnia.
Youâve got a lot of unusual names in your group â Jadis, Brion, Tamiel. Do you think those are their actual names or did they pick them?
You know, itâs funny. I wonder about that, too. ... Itâs definitely possible.
Do you know your characterâs backstory?
I was told some backstory, but obviously thatâs hopefully for discovery later down the line [so] that the fans enjoy that. But thereâs a lot I donât know as well. Iâm being kept somewhat in the dark, too.
Is there anything about Jadis or her outfit that might tell us more about her?
If you look closely with the wardrobe, sheâs got this wonderful knife on her coat, and itâs from an old railroad spike, so I think that tells you that she doesnât waste anything, and sheâs very adaptable. She likes to make use of things in unexpected ways. She does that with people as well as with materials.
I think she dressed to obviously avoid walkers touching her skin so she wears gloves and what not. I also think it reveals she doesnât need to get her hands dirty. She has people that can do that for her, and it adds this regality to the character, which she certainly has in spades, and then the long coat shows her regal nature as well. On the suit youâll also see this electrical wire used to add on a buckle, which again is her not wasting anything. And last thing, I think the fact that it all goes together and makes an intimidating look, which makes an outsider not sure what theyâre dealing with here because they might be wary. ... Sheâs got a certain love of aesthetics about her, and I think if somebody can uphold that in this time, and see the value of it, that also tells you that art is important to her, and it tells you sheâs kept some part of herself.
What can fans expect from the rest of Season 8?
They can expect an explosive season. They can expect to cry. As ever, someoneâs gonna die, so their heartstrings will be pulled as always. But hopefully the enjoyment, the excitement and war element of the show â this season, they will not be disappointed. Weâve been leading up to this for a while, and Season 7 was thoughtful and brilliant, but weâre ready for war now.
âThe Walking Deadâ Season 8 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.