Warning: SPOILERS for The Walking Dead: World Beyond episode 1.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond episode 1 ends by revealing an intriguing, albeit dangerous, connection between Hope and Elton, which may come back to haunt them later in season 1. As the second spinoff and third show overall, World Beyond's biggest draw to franchise fans is how it ties into the main Walking Dead show as well as the upcoming Rick Grimes movies. AMC has leaned into the fact that World Beyond heavily incorporates the Civic Republic - and plot points from this series could connect to other Walking Dead properties.
Given that Rick Grimes was taken by the Civic Republic Military - not to mention the CRM was part of a recent Fear the Walking Dead story - World Beyond's connection to that storyline is intriguing to many Walking Dead fans. But still, that doesn't mean World Beyond's story doesn't have its own plot points to go through, and some of them are quite interesting, such as the danger Hope and Iris' father faces by working with the Civic Republic. Beyond that, though, there was a twist in World Beyond's premiere episode that may lay the foundation for a betrayal.
There were flashbacks scattered throughout The Walking Dead: World Beyond's premiere to the night the "sky fell" - the night the zombie apocalypse began. Hope and Irish were attempting to escape the city along with their mother and father, but they were separated. Iris was with their father and Hope ended up with their mother, who was later shot and killed by a pregnant woman who wanted to take a nearby truck. Hope then picked up the pistol the woman dropped and shot her with it, killing her and her unborn child. The event has haunted Hope ever since, but World Beyond episode 1 made it worse by revealing that woman was, in fact, Elton's mother - and the child she was carrying was his unborn sister.
World Beyond alluded to this connection a few times throughout the episode, but it wasn't confirmed until Elton looked at a photo of his mother, thus confirming she was the pregnant woman who killed Hope and Iris' mother. If that wasn't enough, the fact Elton mentions that his mother disappeared that night and was pregnant with his sister is another surefire clue. After all, World Beyond is still a drama series and this type of connection is perfect for its brief storyline.
It's too early for the connection to be addressed in World Beyond episodes 2 or 3, or even 4, but it's something that's obviously being set up for the future. Whether it happens this season or not remains to be seen, but it could very well be developed further in World Beyond season 2 (its final season given that the series has been ordered as a two-season limited event). When it eventually does come up, though, it won't just change Hope and Elton's relationship but also Hope and Iris'. No one knows what happened to Hope that night, so it may change the way Iris sees her sister.