The latest episode of The Walking Dead found the group suffering another major loss. Will it make Rick change his mind about their direction?

Before Rick, Michonne, and Glenn learned that Tyreese was attacked on The Walking Dead season 5, episode 9, they were debating a move to Washington D.C.

Michonne argued that Eugene had a legitimate reason for going to the nation’s capital: he calculated that D.C. was the safest place for them to go.

They’re only 100 miles away from D.C., Michonne points out, and there may be a group there to team up with. “It’s a possibility. It’s a chance. Instead of just being out here. Instead of just making it,” Michonne says in an emotionally-charged moment. “Don’t you want one more day with a chance?”

Tyreese has already lost his chance, as the three humans discovered a few minutes later.

So how will all of this play into the group’s plans going forward? It seems like Tyreese’s death may support Michonne’s argument that they need to go somewhere that is potentially secure.

The Walking Dead mid-season 5 poster depicts Rick and his map from Abraham pointing towards Washington D.C. – a strong hint that the show will be moving that direction. By going there, the group will have a big new destination which viewers can look forward to seeing everyone arrive at. What lies in D.C. is anyone’s guess. Perhaps a version of Scandal’s Olivia Pope will be there running things, but even if they do find safety, they’ll inevitably find new trouble afoot.

But how does the Alexandria Safe Zone from the comic series play in to all of this? A recent casting by The Walking Dead suggested that the gang will be meeting an important character from that destination, but in a new interview, showrunner and comic creator Robert Kirkman danced around the topic:

“Aaron’s a character that’s still around in the comic book series and has certainly been on a lot of adventures and has had a lot of memorable story line stuff, and as characters to be adapted from the comic book series go, certainly a big one,” he told EW. “You know, the [comic and television series] timelines do seem to be aligning, but you never know. We could be throwing you a curve ball. We could be bringing in a character from much later and bringing that up earlier. You never know with us. We could have changed things up. Or you could be exactly right.”

If you read between the lines, Kirkman is suggesting we’ll meet Aaron either in Washington D.C. or the Alexandria Safe Zone. The “curve ball” would be meeting him in D.C. – a decision that would be fun for comic readers to watch play out.

Will Tyreese’s death cause Rick to change course? It seems very likely that Rick will be heading up to Washington D.C. in search of a place where they can remain safe. At least for a little while.

The Walking Dead season 5 continues this Sunday, February 15 at 9 p.m. eastern/pacific on AMC.

Related: Hypable’s Walking Dead season 5 character death odds