Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) may have initially appeared onThe Walking Deadas just another character, an eccentric antagonist, sometimes ally and often foe to Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group. But she eventually turned things around and became one of them. She had a crucial role in the series, which then extended to two spin-offs:Walking Dead: World Beyondand the latest and best-received spin-off,The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
To understand how her role will impact the plot of that series moving forward, it’s important to look back at her journey and the meaning of her character inThe Ones Who Live.
How Will Jadis Play Into The Ones Who Live?
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Fans will recall that in the shocking end scene onRick’s last episode in season 9, he was whisked away in a helicopter, presumably to be treated for his injuries. It was revealed that it was Jadis who saved him. She was asked by the Civic Republic Military (CRM) if he was an “A” or a “B,” and she declared he was a “B.” But her eyes and expression suggested that he was really an “A,” and she was calling him something he was not, potentially to spare his life.
It’s confirmed that Jadis will appear inThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, though she hasn’t been seen just yet. However, knowing her role with the CRM, for fans who watchedTheWalking Dead: World Beyond, she’ll be important to the plot.
Interestingly, when Rick tried to escape in Episode 1 (for what was the fifth or sixth time), Pearl (Lesley-Ann Brandt) revealed that Donald Okafor (Craig Tate) knows who Rick is, including what community he’s from and who his friends are. She was warning him not to try again. It would stand to reason that Okafor has this information because of Jadis. She knows more about Rick than anyone else. She knows his strengths and weaknesses, who he is closest to, what lengths he’ll go to save people, and what lengths he won’t go to harm someone. Jadis could use this information either to help or hurt him.
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Judging from her changed behavior and new-found power inTheWalking Dead: World Beyond, one can infer that it will be the latter. That said, Jadis has shown in the past that she has a heart and a conscience. But her change to become a ruthless, more dangerous version of herself than when she ruled the group of Scavengers at the junkyard suggests her soft spot for Rick might be long in the rear-view mirror. Only time will tell.
Jadis’ Timeline in the TWD Universe
Jadis was first introduced inSeason 7 ofThe Walking Deadas a primary antagonist. A former art teacher, she found beauty in discarded items, choosing to live in a junkyard. She amassed a group of followers who protected their refuge at all costs. A skilled negotiator, despite speaking in broken sentences and single words, Jadis showed no loyalty. If one side offered her something better than the other, she would turn her back in a heartbeat. She did that to Rick when she got a better offer from Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
It’s later revealed that at some point in time, Jadis started working in human trafficking, offering up people to the CRM in exchange for supplies. She was part of the war against the Saviors, and when Negan’s group lost, she changed her tune and joined the Alexandria Safe-Zone. She even began a romantic relationship with Gabriel (Seth Gilliam). However, she had her trust and integrity questioned and even almost killed Gabriel because of it. Jadis admitted that while she tried to change, and though she thought she had in some ways, she was a creature of old habits. And those die hard. It also appeared she never stopped secretly working with the CRM to feed them people.
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In fact, it’s Jadis who finds Rick at the side of the river and contacts the CRM to save him. The belief is that she is doing this to save his life, but it’s possible she also had selfish reasons. Based onTheWalking Dead: World BeyondandThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, she released Rick to the custody of the CRM, where they helped him heal. He eventually became a worker for the city. Okafor reveals that people designated as B’s are “everyday people just trying to survive.” The A’s are considered strong-willed, intelligent, and dangerous, and they’re sent away to be killed (or, based onWorld Beyond, used for scientific experimentation to find a cure, which effectively condemnsthem to death.)
There’s no denying that Jadis spared Rick’s life. But he was also another notch in her belt, a valuable person she brought to work for the city and further show her loyalty to the CRM. Okafor admits that he knew both Rick and Pearl were A’s when they arrived, but he saw something in them he could use and let it slide.
As told inTheWalking Dead: World Beyond,which alsoexplains how the virus began,Jadis continued her path with the CRM and became a staunch devotee to the cause. She worked her way up to warrant officer and, interestingly, decided to go by the name Jadis Stokes, taking on Gabriel’s surname. It’s presumed that once she arrived with Rick, she never returned to Alexandria. InWorld Beyond, she is more hardened than she ever was. She’s ruthless, mean, and power-hungry. She doesn’t flinch at the idea of killing someone in cold blood and is dedicated to protecting the CRM.
She manipulates and interrogates people like CRM security guard Huck (Annet Mahendru) to test her loyalty and Silas (Hal Crumpston) to test his genuine intentions. But she’s also blinded by her own desire for power and over-confidence, being fooled by both Huck and Silas, despite the latter being an awkward, unintimidating high schooler. There are hints that Jadis still feels remorse, such as when she offers to end Huck’s suffering quickly after mortally wounding her. She tearfully advises the young woman she once considered a friend that it “didn’t have to be this way.”
While Rick is never seen inWorld Beyond,Jadis admits to Elizabeth (Julia Ormond), an officer of the CRM, that she has taken advantage of Rick in his most vulnerable state (presumably the state we see him in onThe Ones Who Live). During herepic fight scenewith Huck, she says, “I had someone special. I had an ‘A,’ but I said he was a ‘B’ so he wouldn’t end up in your mother’s lab. I owed him that much."
Jadis turns on Elizabeth by the end of that series as well, stabbing her in the back and arresting her for treason for all the failures of the CRM, including the fall of the research facility. It’s presumed that Jadis takes Elizabeth’s position, having impressed Major General Beale (only mentioned inWorld Beyondbut shown and played by Terry O’Quinn inThe Ones Who Live) by pre-empting the kids’ plans to blow up test subjects. If not in Elizabeth’s position, it’s evident she’s in a higher position of power. But the kids and Felix (Nico Tortorella), who were fighting back, haven’t given up yet. Jadis is unaware that Silas has only agreed to work with her so he can be a mole on the inside for the others. However, sinceWorld Beyondwas not renewed, this is how the plot with Jadis ended.
Based on the timing of the Nebraska bombing mentioned in the first episode ofThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, it’s suspected that the events ofTheWalking Dead: World Beyondare happening concurrently with that show.Thus, Jadis may still be a warrant officer under the direction of Elizabeth whenRick reunites with Michonnefor the first time. It’s around this time that the kids who escaped the university might have commenced their journey and begun to learn about all the nefarious things the CRM is up to. It remains to be seen if these two storylines will collide and what happens when Rick and Jadis inevitably reunite face-to-face.WatchThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Liveweekly every Sunday from June 27, 2025, through August 22, 2025, on AMC and stream episodes on AMC+.
