Warning! SPOILERS for The Walking Dead season 9, episode 3 ahead!

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Tonight's Walking Dead finally confirms a long-running theory - the cryptic "A" seen tagged on everything from train cars to shipping containers has a meaning, and it's connected to that mystery helicopter.

The Walking Dead season 9 has so far been a big improvement over recent seasons of the show, recapturing the feel of earlier seasons by focusing more closely on character relationships and the re-building of civilization. Still, the series continues to suffer in the ratings, which might just signal that the effort made to improve The Walking Dead this season is too little, too late.

Related: Who Died In This Week's Episode of The Walking Dead?

Then again, with the series finally digging in to one of its biggest mysteries, this could just stir up enough intrigue to reignite viewers' interest. The helicopter and "A" have been mainstays of Walking Dead theories for years now, with both first appearing seasons ago. And in tonight's episode, "Warning Signs," we learn that Jadis/Anne definitely knows who's flying the helicopter, as well as the meaning behind those "A" messages.

The Helicopter Sightings Explained

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There have actually been several helicopter sightings on The Walking Dead, but most agree that this particular helicopter first shows up in the season 7 episode when Rick first visits the Scavenger's garbage dump. The scene has Rick looking out over the expansive dump and far off in the distance a helicopter can be seen moving right to left in the frame. Some assumed it was merely a gaffe - just a totally normal helicopter accidentally caught on camera. But that scene was clearly filmed in front of a green screen and not anywhere a random helicopter could accidentally appear.

In season 8, the helicopter became an even bigger deal when Rick watches a helicopter fly over head at the end of episode 5, though even he thought he might hallucinating. This was soon followed by Simon questioning Jadis about why the Scavengers' dump has a hidden helipad and solar panels before massacring them in episode 10. Then in episode 14, the helicopter returns in another low fly over the dump when Jadis is holding Negan captive. She desperately tries to signal the helicopter, but the flare is extinguished in her fight with Negan and the helicopter flies off.

This helicopter reappears again in last week's episode, spotted by Jadis - now going by her real name, Anne - when she's on watch. That sighting leads Anne to return to the dump in tonight's episode, where she recovers a walkie-talkie she stashed there. She uses it to make contact with... someone, telling them she saw the helicopter last night and knows they're nearby. And it's this conversation that confirms what many have long suspected - Jadis/Anne knows all about the helicopter, where it comes from and who's piloting it.

Related: Here's How Much Time Has Really Passed In The Walking Dead

The Sightings of "A" Explained

The Walking Dead Jadis A Shipping Container

But that's not all Anne's conversation with the mystery person on the other end of the walkie-talkie reveals. In response, the person on the other end replies: "What do you have - an 'A' or a 'B'?" This is the first time any characters have mentioned "A" (or "B" for that matter) but it is certainly not the first time The Walking Dead has included the cryptic lettering.

The first and most notable appearance of "A" came during season 4 when the group arrived at Terminus and faced the cannibals. In that episode (itself titled "A") the letter is written all over the Terminus compound, and most notably it appears on the train car that Rick and the rest of the group are imprisoned in at the end. Since then, "A" has taken on a very ominous meaning, and whenever it appears - as it did on Daryl's sweatshirt when he was a prisoner of the Saviors - fans are quick to assume it means something really bad is about to happen.

In season 8, the "A" reappears when Jadis captures Rick and puts him in a shipping container that she then labels with an "A". At the time, many assumed it was just another wink at the audience, another hint that something really bad was about to happen. But in tonight's episode, the conversation Anne has on the walkie-talkie - as well as her conversation with Gabriel when he later confronts her - exposes that there is a definite meaning behind "A" and it's linked with whoever is flying around in that helicopter.

Page 2: What Do "A" and "B" Mean?

Jadis The Walking Dead

Jadis, The Helicopter, & "A" Explained

Anne's conversation on the walkie-talkie makes it apparent that she used to work for whoever has the helicopter. She asks if they are who took the missing Saviors, to which they reply: "No pickups. But the deal still stands - will you have an 'A' or a 'B'?" So previously, as Jadis, she made deals with these people, and it in return for delivering whatever an "A" or "B" are, she was "compensated." Anne then asks, "What will it take?" - which is presumably referring to what it will take for them to come back for her, seeing as she had been trying to signal the helicopter last season. Their response: "An 'A'."

It's then that Gabriel confronts Anne, and in his questioning of her, more details are revealed. The "A" and "B" terms, for instance, refer to people she traded for supplies - her "compensation", which is probably where things like the applesauce Jadis eats after luring her people-turned-walkers into a giant trash compacter come from. On that can of applesauce is a symbol - three interlocking circles - and it's the same symbol seen painted on the side of the helicopter in The Walking Dead season 9 trailer.

Related: The Walking Dead Season 9: New Cast & Characters Guide

Anne tries to convince Gabriel to come with her, that they'll go to this mystery community where they can have a "life like you can't imagine." All he needs to do is help her with "one small part of the deal." Obviously, Anne needs to collect an "A" before she can be welcomed back to this far away community that's well-supplied and capable of operating a helicopter. But Gabriel doesn't want any of part of it, so Anne - perhaps now Jadis once more - knocks him out, saying: "Funny, I always thought you were 'B'."

What Do The Helicopter & "A" Mean?

The Walking Dead Gabriel Jadis Anne

So we have a community that's far away, is well-stocked on supplies as well as equipment, and is willing to share those supplies with anyone who will give them people for some unknown purpose. It's more information than we had before tonight's episode, but it still raises a lot of questions.

For one, while we now know "A" and "B" are classifications for people, it's still unclear exactly what they mean. Our best guess is that "A" refers to someone who's a leader, an alpha if you will, while a "B" is someone who's more of a follower, a beta. This is why Rick would have been labeled "A" and why Anne assumed Gabriel was a "B". But when Gabriel refuses to go along with her, he proves he's more of an "A" than Jadis initially thought. (Note, this isn't to be confused with the characters named Alpha and Beta of the Whisperers, a new group appearing in the back half of season 9.)

What happens to these "A's" and "B's" once they're delivered? That's another mystery but it's surely nothing good. If Terminus, for example, is in any way linked with this other community, then these "A's" and "B's" might be on the menu. But then, a community as well-stocked as this one isn't likely to be eating people, so why do they need to collect people? Well, if it's a large enough community that they can fuel and fly a helicopter, they may need more manpower to keep their whole operation up and running. In which case, these "A's" and "B's" might end up as some form of slave labor.

Related: Director Greg Nicotero Talks Filming The Walking Dead Season 9

Might this place be the Commonwealth? That's a new and very well-established community in Ohio that was recently introduced in the comics. They also function with a very strict social hierarchy, which perhaps this "A" and "B" labeling fits within. Some fans also believe that Georgie - the woman who gave Maggie the Key to The Future book - is from the Commonwealth, but it'd be strange for them to be helping some while harvesting others. So either Georgie or the helicopter could come from the Commonwealth, but it's unlikely that both do.

Whatever the real story here is, it certainly doesn't bode well for anyone in Alexandria, Hilltop, or the rest of the communities. Especially not for Gabriel, who's already been collected as Jadis' latest "A".

Next: Walking Dead Theory: Maggie Leaves For The Commonwealth (But Will Return)

The Walking Dead season 9 continues next Sunday, October 28th with "The Obliged" at 9/8c on AMC.