The Ones Who Live left out a vital piece of information regarding A & B designations
By Renee Hansen
The Civic Republic Militay (CRM) has been referenced in several Walking Dead series, including the main series, Fear the Walking Dead, and World Beyond. The most detailed information has recently been revealed during the first episode of the sixth spinoff, The Ones Who Live. This series finally gave a detailed explanation of the designations of A & B, forgetting one vital piece.
During The Ones Who Live first episode, "Years," Lt. Col. Donald Okafor (Crait Tate) encouraged, Consignees Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his co-worker Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt), a former South Africa Naval woman, to join the CRM and enlist in the soldier training. He did this because he saw potential in both individuals, but he also had another plan.
He took them to a remote location where he handed them study material that included The Art of Peace, the same book Eastman (John Carroll Lynch) gave to Morgan (Lennie James) in season 6. This has been theorized to either be a nod to Rick's long-time friend or foreshadow his appearance in the series. Regardless, Okafor also shared more details regarding the A & B designations given to newcomers to the CRM.
A's are people who are leaders who think for themselves and would die for what they believe in, while B's are followers, people just trying to get by. The reason the CRM eliminates A is they don't want people to think for themselves but rather to fall in line with their program and become good, rule-following citizens of the Civic Republic. This is why the community has continued for so long.
As and Bs first became a hot topic in season 9 of The Walking Dead, when Jadis mentioned the A & B designations. She admitted to trading humans for supplies to the CRM and tells Gabriel that she always thought him a B, but she guessed she was wrong.
When she connects with the CRM for removal from a lousy situation in season 9, she is told she needs an A to make this happen. She lies and tells them she has an A but finds Rick, lies, and says he is a B, which saved his life, in order to save herself as well.
The key element The Ones Who Live left out regarding A & B designations
One KEY element that Okafor left out, and was likely unaware of, is that the CRM doesn't just kill A's but uses them in testing that attempts to find a cure or at least a way to stop the spread of the virus. They utilize humans and undead for test subjects, a practice done in secret for years. Is this something Jadis would be aware of, or why else would she have called Rick a B?
In World Beyond this research was conducted at the Ithaca Underground Research Facility where scientists from the Civic Republic, Omaha and Portland were sent to further the reasearch ordered by the CRM. By the end of the series, the facility is overrun by the undead, but it is unknown if the CRM has other facilities like it.
Do not underestimate the power of the CRM. Being an A means things could become problematic for Rick and Thorne, especially due to the death of Okafor.
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