With The Walking Dead seemingly shifting away from the CRM, the franchise appears to have already revealed its next big villain group. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live finally linked the main characters with the deadly CRM, but the group doesn’t seem like they’ll be around much longer. Despite the CRM seeming like the next big threat in The Walking Dead universe, The Ones Who Live‘s ending featured Rick and Michonne defeating the group and telling the Civic Republic their secrets. While there is a chance they may still come back, the CRM’s villainous run seems short-lived.

This leaves questions as to who will be the franchise’s next antagonist. The Walking Dead‘s best villains have helped carry the show at points over the years, with Negan still being one of the main characters despite finding some form of redemption. Each spinoff has had its own specific antagonist group, but with the CRM’s defeat, none of them look poised to be the overarching threat of the franchise. This leaves a gap for some new villains to take over, but The Walking Dead may have already revealed its next main villains back in season 11.

“Designation 2” Now Looks Like The Walking Dead’s Next Major Villain Group

The Walking Dead Still Haven’t Revealed The True Nature Of The Mysterious Designation 2

Since the CRM was taken care of, Designation 2 looks like the next group to become The Walking Dead‘s main antagonists. Although the recent spinoff tied up a lot of loose ends, one of the biggest unanswered questions from The Ones Who Live was about Designation 2. The spinoff didn’t mention the group, but that was the strangest part as many theories tied them to the CRM. Designation 2 was mentioned in The Walking Dead season 11 by Pamela Milton and Lance Hornsby, but the show never revealed exactly who or what this villain group is.

Hornsby mentioned having powerful friends, and while this seemed to be related to the CRM, he may have been referring to his Designation 2 allies instead.

The main characters had to rescue Connie from being sent to Designation 2, but it is unclear why the group exists. Hornsby mentioned having powerful friends, and while this seemed to be related to the CRM, he may have been referring to his Designation 2 allies instead. Although Hornsby and Pamela are no longer threats in The Walking Dead, their connections with Designation 2 seem likely to cause problems in the future. While there is still a mystery about how this group will get involved, the uncertainties around Designation 2 set them up perfectly to be the franchise’s next villains.

Designation 2 Is Very Unlikely To Be The CRM

The Ones Who Live Didn’t Connect Designation 2 & The CRM

Although there were many theories about Designation 2 being tied to the CRM, this now seems very unlikely. The Ones Who Live makes it clear that the CRM didn’t know about Alexandria, suggesting the two can’t be connected. While neither Rick nor Michonne were part of the Commonwealth, they had plenty of connections with those in the community. If Lance Hornsby was part of the CRM, then he would have been able to pass on information about Judith Grimes, which would have easily connected Rick to the other survivors and completely changed the plot of the spinoff.

Jadis threatened that the CRM would attack Alexandria in The Ones Who Live, which was a key part of its story, as Rick and Michonne couldn’t leave without Jadis threatening to tell the CRM about their community. However, this makes it clear the CRM didn’t know about Rick’s past, shattering any possibility of Designation 2 being associated with the CRM. The Walking Dead‘s flashforward ending makes it even more unlikely, as the Commonwealth’s new leadership would surely be a problem. However, the CRM hasn’t reacted to Ezekiel being in charge, suggesting Designation 2 can’t be tied to the Civic Republic.

Daryl Dixon Season 1 May Have Teased The Walking Dead’s New Villains

Carol’s Radio Message Suggested She Was Concerned About Something

While The Ones Who Live didn’t do much to set up the franchise’s next villains, one line from Daryl Dixon may have. When Daryl contacted Carol on the radio, they had a brief catch-up, with Carol delivering the bombshell line, “He came back.” This has undoubtedly been the key takeaway from Daryl and Carol’s conversation, but one of the most significant elements of this is the concern in Carol’s voice. She seemed to be announcing the return of an ally, yet there was plenty of apprehension and fear in her voice, suggesting that something was wrong.

Daryl was unable to finish their conversation as the radio cut out, but it is possible there was more to the message. Perhaps Carol was going to tell Daryl that the Commonwealth was under attack, and that could be the reason she IS trying to find him in Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol. Given the CRM was defeated in The Ones Who Live and the Commonwealth didn’t have any major enemies, this call could have been about the show’s next villains, and Designation 2’s relationship with the community indicates that they could have launched an attack.

The Walking Dead’s Teased Crossover Needs A New Villain After The CRM’s Defeat

The CRM’s Defeat Leaves The Franchise Without A Central Antagonist

The Walking Dead has frequently teased a new crossover, meaning it needs a new villain for the potential series. The Croat and The Dama aren’t nearly big enough threats to carry the main show, and with Genet’s group being all the way in France, they won’t work for a crossover. Naturally, the CRM seemed like they would fill this role, but with The Ones Who Live all but dissolving the villainous aspects of the group, their involvement seems unlikely. This leaves the franchise in desperate need of some new antagonists to give the core survivors some trouble after they reunite.

Rick, Michonne, Negan, Maggie, Daryl, and Carol will all likely return to the Commonwealth or potentially the Civic Republic and face a new threat.

A crossover show will likely feature all the main cast, including those who currently have their own spinoffs. This means Rick, Michonne, Negan, Maggie, Daryl, and Carol will all likely return to the Commonwealth or potentially the Civic Republic and face a new threat. As exciting as it will be to see Rick reunite with the main cast as well as other smaller reunions, the crossover can’t work without a truly menacing threat. The Walking Dead season 11 suffered from having no central villain, and while Designation 2 could have been interesting, the group remained hidden in the shadows.

Whether they get involved in the crossover or a new group emerges to be the main threat, the franchise needs some new enemies. There may be no confirmation about a crossover yet, but with the recent teases and Andrew Lincoln being back in The Walking Dead, the show feels closer than ever. The success of the recent spinoffs means a crossover would be more hyped than ever, and if the crossover show happens, it will hopefully have an exciting villain or set of villains to reach its full potential.