The Walking Dead Season 9 Finale featured a blizzard, a break-up, and Alpha’s arm getting the sh*t whipped out of it. So what was up with that scene? Does that really make her stronger? Or did she get inspired by watching the Albino in The DaVinci Code? Showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly, “The strange thing is, though, in (Alpha’s) mind, the switching, all of that, that actually is a thing that’s okay, you’ve got to toughen up. So it tells you a little bit of something if she feels like she needs to toughen up even further in order to face whatever is next.”
In the comics, the pikes are eventually followed up by a war between Rick’s people and the Whisperers (appropriately titled, “The Whisperer War”). We won’t spoil too much here, but it’s clear a similar conflict is brewing in the show. Another question fans had after the finale was why Alpha and Beta were in a seemingly warmer climate than the rest of our heroes. “They’re nomadic,” Kang said. “When we start talking about, what’s the reality, what do these guys do during winter? They don’t live in standing structures. They probably migrate South for the winter like birds.”
So how are they able to pull of such a giant migration? Kang explained, “That’s actually something that plays into the story going forward. The thing with the Whisperers that really is interesting for us is — because their entire philosophy of life, the way that they go about the world and navigate the world, would be herds — it changes the way that a conflict with them versus any other group they come across, has to play out. We definitely wanted to introduce that idea in the winter episode, which is: We’re afraid they’re gonna catch us, turns out they’re not even there.” Although the Whisperers may have migrated south for the winter, expect them to be back in a big way for Season 10.
What do you think is next for the Whisperers in Season 10? Will a war break out like it did in the comics? Catch the rest of the interview over at Entertainment Weekly and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
I cried throughout the entire episode mostly out of relief that more people didn’t die in it although Judith almost died in the storm. It was an emotionally charged episode and a fitting end to a sad season. Rick’s death was sad enough but not as bad as Henry’s.