The Walking Dead: The Truth About Stephanie (Eugene Was Tricked)

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Warning! Spoilers for The Walking Dead ahead.

The Walking Dead season 11 revealed that Commonwealth radio operator Stephanie was Max Mercer, right in time for her and Eugene to reunite before the cliffhanger-filled mid-season finale episode 16, "Acts of Gods". Max, played by Margot Bingham, was confirmed as the real Stephanie back in episode 5 "Out of the Ashes", but Eugene didn't learn her identity until episode 11 "Rogue Element". The Stephanie he'd met and fallen in love with was a decoy, and with Mercer outing herself as the voice from the radio, it turned out there never was a Stephanie at all.

By the mid-season break, things aren't looking good for the human survivors of AMC's zombie wasteland, including Eugene. The Commonwealth turned out too good to be true. A lot was lurking beneath the surface, and before Eugene and his group were admitted into the community, the leaders of the Commonwealth, particularly Max's brother Michael Mercer, devised a plan to use them as a source of information on Alexandria. This plan included Eugene meeting a decoy Stephanie, who he fell in love with over a relationship lasting until episode 11. Eugene was heartbroken to learn Stephanie was actually Shira, a secret service agent working for Lance Hornsby. All wasn't lost for Eugene though, as at the episode's climax Max made herself known, and he finally met the real «Stephanie».

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Unfortunately, by this point, the problems in Alexandria that made Eugene's plan to travel to the Commonwealth and meet Stephanie seem like the best option have come to a head. Alexandria and the Commonwealth look poised to engage in an all-out war with multiple factions