The tail end of The Walking Dead Season 10 showed the culmination of the Whisperer War while also sending Eugene, Ezekiel and Yumiko off to find help from Eugene’s mysterious radio contact, Stephanie. They found Princess along the way, but when they all arrived at their rendezvous, things went south in a hurry. As Eugene and company were waiting in a railyard, floodlights came on, and they were surrounded by a large group of organized soldiers wearing white armor. The soldiers roughly arrested, detained and questioned them.

Ever since that display of force from the Stormtrooper-looking soldiers, fans have been dying to get a look inside the soldiers’ community — the Commonwealth. However, the first few episodes of Season 11 have only shown the long, arduous processing steps that Eugene and company have had to endure at the hands of Commonwealth officials. “Acheron Part II,” showed that they finally passed processing, and now, in “Out of the Ashes,” fans finally got a look inside.

The first thing that fans saw was the orientation video that Eugene’s group watched. Staring Director of Operations Lance Hornsby, the video officially introduced the Commonwealth as a community of fifty thousand strong, governed by Pamela Milton. It also said that their core values were community, caregiving and security. Overall, the community looked like a safe place that was the closest anywhere has looked to pre-outbreak living. However, the whole thing, especially the video, gave off an unnerving vibe, as if everything was all too good to be true.

Everything started off well for the group: Princess got her two-dollar bill back, Yumiko found her brother, and Eugene met Stephanie. However, it didn’t take long before the Commonwealth started giving them reasons to be warry. For starters, the Stephanie that met Eugene was an imposter. That fact hasn’t been addressed on-screen yet, but actor Josh McDermitt kind of spoiled it. He drew attention to the fact that Chelle Ramos plays Stephanie in Season 11 while Margot Bingham, who is also credited for Season 11, voiced the character in Season 10. That cannot be a coincidence, and the likely answer is that Mercer planted the fake Stephanie in an attempt to get Eugene to reveal more about Alexandria.

Another reason to be warry of the Commonwealth was that soldiers were everywhere. In the ultra-safe community, it was obvious that they were there to monitor people, not walkers. Essentially, they live under a caste system, and there’s an authoritarian way of living where people better do what they’re told or else. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the community is evil, but it’s clear that the people inside have sacrificed a lot of liberties for the hope of security.

In The Walking Dead comics, the Commonwealth was pretty neutral. There were good and bad parts and good and bad people. Just like in the television show, people in the Commonwealth were separated into classes while Pamela Milton led with an authoritarian rule. Two major events happen in regards to the Commonwealth. First, Pamela’s son killed Rick. Secondly, after a time jump, the Commonwealth expanded to include the DC communities (Alexandria, Hilltop etc..), and Maggie Green was named governor over the whole entity, which is how the comic series ended.

With The Walking Dead wrapping up after Season 11, it’s possible that its conclusion could line up with the comic’s ending. However, the show has been known to regularly deviate from its source material, so there’s no telling exactly what might happen. The Commonwealth could end up being an ally or an antagonist. Only time, and more episodes, will tell.

To see if the Commonwealth can be trusted, tune into Season 11 of The Walking Dead. The series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and is available to stream early on AMC+.