The Walking Dead is that really Stephanie at the Commonwealth?

AMC has aired the second episode of The Walking Dead’s eleventh season. “Acheron Part 2” was a continuation of the previous episode, and the story at the Commonwealth continues with Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Princess still awaiting the results of their assessments.

Spoilers for “Acheron Part 2”

In “Acheron Part 1,” the plan was for the captives to escape until it was discovered that Yumiko’s brother might be living in the community. She felt she needed to stay and find out for sure, and the rest of the group decided to stay with her.

When the episode starts, Ezekiel is nowhere to be found, causing Eugene much stress. And Yumiko is finished with the nonsense and demands to speak to someone in charge. They escort her back to the auditors who performed her assessment, where she proceeded to give them the rundown of who was assessing whom. She used her keen skills as an attorney to tell them exactly what she has surmised about the Commonwealth and how it is run. She also requests for her and her friends to be expedited as citizens per their rules since her brother is a resident there.

The Walking Dead enters the Commonwealth

It was a great episode, with outstanding performances by Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), Mercer (Michael James Shaw) and Princess (Paolo Lázaro), at least in the Commonwealth storyline.

We saw Eugene battle with many emotions and have a very revealing conversation with Mercer.

As mentioned above, Yumiko owned the room with the auditors, proving that her time at Harvard Law was well spent.

Mercer is an impressive figure and puts off an authoritative vibe but also recognizes greatness in others, as he did in Yumiko.

We will never have a dull moment with Princess around. She is always one step ahead of everyone else and brings a whimsical dynamic to whatever scene she is in.

Newcomer Chelle Ramos was introduced as Eugene’s mysterious radio contact for the Commonwealth, Stephanie. Once the group was granted citizenship into the community, she timidly stepped onto the train car and asked, “Um, which one of you is Eugene?” he raises his hand and she introduces herself,  “Hi. I’m Stephanie.”

But, wait a minute. Margot Bingham has confirmed that she has been cast as Stephanie on The Walking Dead. 

So, do we think the Stephanie we met in this episode is a decoy? Someone that Eugene will share the location of Alexandria with? This could make for a bad situation as Eugene is very vulnerable where Stephanie is concerned. He seems to be head over heels in love with her and this could jeopardize Alexandria and its residents.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on September 5 with “Hunted.” This episode is available to stream on AMC+.