The Walking Dead season nine has drawn to a close with a much different episode to the one that saw the death of three main characters last week.

This instalment, titled “The Storm”, saw characters were pitted against the weather, as snow descended upon the AMC series’s landscape.

It also found time to set up the 10th season, which will shortly begin filming.

The closing scene of the finale saw former Kingdom leader, Ezekiel (Khary Payton) – now a Hilltop resident – communicate with Judith (Cailey Fleming) via radio.

As they sign off the transmission, Ezekiel walks away and the camera stays fixed on the machine. After static sounds, an unknown voice can be heard saying: “Hello, can you hear me? Is anybody out there?”

Speaking about the decision to end the season on this note, showrunner Angela Kang told The Hollywood Reporter: “We always like to have a little bit of mystery for the audience [and] the radio voice falls in that mould. Any time we have a mysterious moment like this, whenever we have different entities and people come into our characters’ world, it’s something that’s going to turn the story in a new direction. Hopefully it’s all something you’ll enjoy seeing in the next season.”

The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead Show all 6 1 /6 The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead Are Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead set in the same universe? Scroll through to find out. Screenshot/YouTube The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The meth One theory suggests that original Walking Dead character Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) bought some Blue Sky - which we see with our own eyes in season 1 episode, 'Guts.' Later, Merle's brother Daryl (Norman Reedus) shares an anecdote about the drug deal with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). Apparently, the dealer - descrived as "a janky little white guy" - threatened: "I'm going to kill you, bitch." Sound familiar? The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The car Another fact the theory hammers home relates to the car Walt buys Walt Jr (RJ Mitte) in Breaking Bad season 4 which is near-identical to the one driven by a fresh-faced Glenn (Steven Yeun) back in The Walking Dead season 1 (they both have two black stripes on the front). Evidence supporting the theory doesn't stop there: when Skylar (Anna Gunn) orders Walt to take the car back, he brings it to "Glenn's Car Lot." Yeah, really. The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The "first walker" This theory relates pretty directly as it claims Walt's meth caused the outbreak for not reason other than Gus Fring looked like a walker after that season four explosion (this assumes he dabbled with the substance off-screen). The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The song In the third season of Fear the Walking Dead, Madison (Kim Dickens) and Qualtega (Michael Greyeyes) walk into a market where the song “Negro y Azul: The Ballad of Heisenberg” is playing in the background – the same track which featured in Breaking Bad season two Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP/AMC The 5 Breaking Bad references in The Walking Dead The lullaby One moment in The Walking Dead's ninth season sees Alpha singing a lullaby to her daughter – the 1939 song “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, which was written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen and first appeared in the Marx brothers film, At the Circus. Breaking Bad die hard fans will remember this song very well. It’s the tone that rings when drug distributor Lydia Rodarte-Quale (Laura Fraser) calls creepy Todd (Jesse Plemons) in the series finale. AMC Studios

While there’s no knowing what exactly Kang has in mind for the 10th season, it’s a sure bet the series will introduce an ongoing story arc in Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s comic book series: The Commonwealth.

Based in Ohio, The Commonwealth is home to over 50,000 people – a full-sized community with jobs, theatre and a military force. It’s the place that many suspected Maggie (Lauren Cohan) to have upped sticks and left for after her season eight meeting with Georgie (Jayne Atkinson), a mysterious woman who may or may not be doubling as the community’s leader, Pamela Milton.

It’s a huge hint at yet another universe expansion – probably the show’s most ambitious one yet and suggests the show is dangerously close to catching up with the source material.

In the comics, the woman heard on the radio is called Stephanie and she sparks a friendship with Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who’s in mourning following the death of Rosita (Christian Serratos) at the hands of Alpha (Samantha Morton). As fans know, the show strayed from this plot twist, killing Tara (Alanna Masterson) – among others - instead

The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Show all 15 1 /15 The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Sophia's a walker When: Season two, episode seven What happens? Much of season two's opening half is spent looking for Sophia, the missing daughter of Carol (Melissa McBride). Turns out she was locked up in Hershel's barn as a zombie all along. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Shane re-animates When: Season two, episode 12 What happens? When Carl (Chandler Riggs) guns down a deranged Shane (Jon Bernthal) to protect his father, viewers were shocked to see him turn into a walker despite not being bitten, leading to the revelation that everyone's infected with the virus and will turn, whichever way they die. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Lori dies in childbirth When: Season three, episode four What happens? Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) goes into labour at the very moment a walker siege breaks out at the prison. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it through the procedure leaving son Carl to be the one to put a bullet to her head. That it came in the same episode which saw T-Dog (IronE Singleton) die didn't help matters. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments The Governor slays Hershel When: Season four, episode eight What happens? The Governor makes his dramatic return for a showdown at the prison after he captures Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Hershel (Scott Wilson). Rick attempts to reason with him – but The Governor starts a war when he proceeds to decapitate poor old Hershel instead. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments "Look at the flowers" When: Season four, episode 14 What happens? In a standout episode from the show's fourth season, Carol is forced to take drastic measures when young teenager Lizzie murders her sister Mika in the belief that she'll live on as a zombie. Realising Lizzie's depraved mind would endanger those around her, Carol puts a gun to the young girl's head and, telling her to "look at the flowers," pulls the trigger, fighting back the tears. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Rick turns feral When: Season four, episode 16 What happens? Ambushed by a group of redneck peadophiles, Rick takes matters into his own hands Ambushed by a group of redneck peadophiles, Rick takes matters into his own hands – by taking a chunk out of the leader’s neck before gutting another and mercilessly stabbing another in the stomach. It’s one of the more shocking moments from a character whom, at this stage of the show, blurred the lines between heroism and villainy. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Bob gets eaten When: Season five, episode two What happens? The threat of Terminus is cemented when we disocver they haven't just kidnapped Bob (Larry Gilliard, Jr) but that they're slowly eating him body part-by-body part. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Beth bites it When: Season five, episode eight What happens? Beth (Emily Kinney) is kidnapped and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital managed by Atlanta Law Enforcement. Forced to reside there against her will, the group – including Rick and Daryl (Norman Reedus) – eventually find her, only for Beth to be accidentally shot in the head by her captor. The worst thing? Her sister Maggie (Lauren Cohan) had just arrived outside. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Glenn's fake death When: Season six, episode three What happens? With an innumerable number of walkers catching up with the group on their way back to Alexandria, Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Nicholas find themselves trapped in an alleyway. Climbing onto a dumpster, the two are surrounded by the undead with no discernible escape. Nicholas draws his gun, utters a "Thank you" to Glenn before shooting himself in the head, his flailing body pulling Glenn into the pit of walkers below. Despite the episode leading you to believe he died, it emerges four episodes later that he managed to crawl away as the walkers feasted on Nicholas' corpse leading to fan furore. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Carl takes a bullet to the eye When: Season six, episode nine What happens? Season six returned from its mid-season break in typically dramatic fashion when an iconic moment from the graphic novels came to life: Carl takes a bullet to the eye. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Richonne When: Season six, episode 10 What happens? Following the stress of Carl surviving a bullet to the eye, Rick and Michonne realise they have more than just friendship in common. It was a welcome deviation from the comics that disarmed a number of the show's fans, and has been a relationship that's continued to shape the DNA of the series to this day. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Negan kills Abraham When: Season seven, episode one What happens? Season seven opened in brutal form as we discovered it was Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) at the opposite end of Negan's baseball bat. "Suck my nuts," the soldier growls as the Saviours' leader brings Lucille raining down on his head until nothing remains but a pulpy mess. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Glenn's actual death When: Season seven, episode one What happens? ...that wasn't all. Negan decides to punish the group once more after getting clocked round the face by Daryl. Without expectation, he thwacks Lucille round the head of poor Glenn. With his eyeball popping out of his head, he manages: "I'll find you, Maggie" before Negan proceeds to finish the job, ending Glenn's life. AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Shiva When: Season seven, episode two What happens? In a moment that comic book readers never expected to manifest on screen, we meet Shiva – a living, breathing tiger belonging to the Kingdom's leader, Ezekiel (Khary Payton). Carol summed it up best: "I don't know what's going on in the most wonderful way." AMC Studios The Walking Dead: 15 most controversial moments Carl dies When: Season eight, episode nine What happens? Having had a near-miss with a walker episodes before, fans were left blindasided by the reveal that Carl, in fact, giot bit by the walker and was slowly succumbing to his wounds. It's been the biggest deviation from the comics and one that fans were unanimously upset by. AMC Studios

Before The Commonwealth, though, it seems the characters will have to fend off The Whisperers after crossing the border of spikes in order to survive the weather in the finale. Still, perhaps The Commonwealth’s military force could lend a hand?