way, and it failed to work, so now they need to take another direction, and it is time to meet Negan. Development and production The cabin which Maggie and Cyndie clear out of walkers was arranged to be a homage to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The setting around the cabin includes a burnt-out gas pump and a pickup truck, the latter with the charred remains of a passenger, an Easter egg to events from the film. Anne's "A" and "B" were elements that the production team had laid in before in earlier episodes in Season 8, where Rick, having been taken prisoner by Anne (Jadis at the time), kept him locked up in a storage container labeled "A". This episode marks the departure of the recurring characters Arat (Elizabeth Ludlow) and Justin (Zach McGowan), due to their characters being killed by Beatrice (Briana Venskus). Elizabeth Ludlow first appeared in the seventh season episode "The Cell". Reception Critical reception "Warning Signs" received critical acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has an approval rating of 100% with an average score of 8.43 out of 10 based on 17 reviews. The critical consensus reads: '"Warning Signs" balances skillfully built suspense with rare moments of respite to create one of the best installments of The Walking Dead in years.' Ratings "Warning Signs" received a total viewership of 5.04 million with a 1.9 rating in adults aged 18–49. It was the highest-rated cable program of the night, and the episode marked a slight increase in viewership from the previous week, which had 4.95 million viewers. References External links "Warning Signs" at AMC 2018 American television episodes The Walking Dead (season 9) episodes