Previously on The Walking Dead, the conflict between the survivors and their new foes, the Whisperers, kicked off following the death of Jesus. By the end of the episode, Daryl, Michonne and the gang had managed to get one up on the creepy community by taking a hostage: Lydia, the teenage daughter of Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers.
Now, we have a new promo which teases that they’ve seriously ticked off this murderous mama bear, which might not end well for them. “It’ll never be OK again,” says Lydia from within her cell at Alexandria. “This place is gonna fall like every other place.”
We then cut to a shot of a bald woman, whose face is hidden from the camera, parading through a group of Whisperers clad in zombie masks. “My mom,” the girl warns Daryl. “You don’t mess with her.” When Daryl asks for Alpha’s whereabouts, she replies: “Be glad you don’t know.”
The trailer then shows us things kicking off between the two sides, with various characters such as Tara, Yumiko and Kelly getting involved in the fight. Clearly, episode 9×10 is only going to see the Whisperer war intensify. In fact, battling an enemy that can not only worm their way into a horde of zombies but also manipulate and redirect them from the inside could be the hardest thing our heroes have ever faced.
As fearsome as Alpha is, though, promo images have teased that the upcoming episode will explore the villain’s origins. It seems that the woman was once a regular post-apocalyptic survivor who was part of some sort of relief center for the injured or unwell. Something bad must have caused her to snap though and totally turn away from attempting to rebuild society, to the extent that her fashion tastes now involve wearing rotting skin on her head.
What that may be, we don’t know, but be sure to catch The Walking Dead 9×10 “Omega” this Sunday on AMC to find out.