Alpha (The Walking Dead)

Alpha is a fictional character in the comic book series The Walking Dead and the television series of the same name, where she is portrayed by Samantha Morton. In both universes, Alpha is the leader of a group of survivors called the Whisperers, a mysterious group that wears the skins of walkers to mask their presence. In the television series, she first appeared in the ninth mid-season premiere.

Alpha
The Walking Dead character
Alpha, as she appears in the comic book series (left) and as portrayed by Samantha Morton in the television series (right).
First appearance	Comic: "Issue #132" (2014) Television: "Adaptation" (2019)
Last appearance	Comic: "Issue #157" (2016) Television: "Look at the Flowers" (2020)
Created by	Robert Kirkman
Adapted by	Angela Kang (The Walking Dead)
Portrayed by	Samantha Morton
In-universe information
Occupation	Leader of the Whisperers
Spouse	Television: Frank
Significant others	Television: Negan
Children	Lydia (daughter) Comic: Conner (son-in-law)

Appearances

Comic book series

Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers, a mysterious group of survivors who disguise themselves with roamer skin to blend in with them and not get noticed, and Lydia's mother. She and several of her people approach the gates of the Hilltop Colony, and exchange Ken and Dante for Lydia. When Carl chases the Whisperers, he is taken prisoner. Alpha decides to infiltrate the Alexandria Safe-Zone and buys a sword at the fair. After meeting Rick, she allows Carl and Lydia to leave the Whisperers, on the condition that nobody will cross a new border she marked. On their way back, Rick and the group discover that Alpha has decapitated twelve residents of Alexandria, the Hilltop, the Kingdom and the Sanctuary, and that she used their heads placed on pikes to mark the border. After Negan appears to have joined her group, he fatally slashes Alpha across the neck and decapitates her.[1]

Television series

Alpha is the leader of the Whisperers, a mysterious group of hostile survivors who disguise themselves with the skin of the undead in order to blend in with them and not get noticed, and the mother of Lydia. She also served as the primary antagonist of the second half of season nine and whole of season ten. Alpha's dark past is shown in flashbacks; it is revealed that she killed her husband Frank and their group of survivors during the initial stages of the outbreak, believing them to be "weak". In the present, she shows up at the Hilltop Colony with some members of her group, demanding that the community return her daughter Lydia, whom the community is holding as their prisoner; Lydia is eventually returned. It is later revealed that the Whisperers murdered and beheaded several key members from each community to warn the communities not to cross into their territory. The beheaded members' heads were placed on spikes, marking the boundary of the new border. Alpha is eventually murdered and beheaded herself by Negan, who had formed an intimate relationship with her. He subsequently delivers her head to Carol with whom he had been working with the whole time.

Season 9

See also: The Walking Dead (season 9)

In the mid-season premiere, "Adaptation", Alpha leads a group of Whisperers who captured Alden and Luke, luring them into a trap by setting up a trail of arrows for them to follow. She brandishes a sawed-off shotgun at them and proclaims: "Trail ends here." In the episode "Omega", Lydia, who has been captured and held in a cell at the Hilltop Colony, tells her story (shown through flashbacks) to Daryl and Henry, bonding with the latter in the process. At the end of the episode, at the Hilltop's front gate, the Whisperers' leader, Lydia's mother, now known as Alpha, appears unmasked and introduces herself. Alpha announces to the Hilltop residents that she wants only one thing from them: her daughter. In the episode "Bounty", Alpha demands that the Hilltop residents turn over her daughter Lydia. She explains that she has removed her walker mask to show them that she comes in peace and that she is willing to overlook their trespassing on her lands. Daryl decides to walk outside to talk to Alpha face to face; the two meet. He is initially dismissive of Alpha's demands as she and her human allies are few compared to the Hilltop forces. However, there are several more of Alpha's allies in wait beyond the tree line, as well as a horde of walkers. Daryl tells Alpha that she can't have Lydia and informs her that he's ready to fight her people to ensure she doesn't get Lydia back, until he spots one of the Whisperers with a baby. Suddenly, a couple of Whisperers bring forward a tied up Alden and Luke. Alpha then offers to trade both of them for her daughter; Daryl accepts. As the standoff continues, a baby belonging to one of the disguised women starts to cry, drawing the walkers. Alpha shrugs at the mother, indicating that she should leave the baby to die. Fearing for her life and not having any other choice, the baby's mother decides to abandon him as he continues to cry. Alden and Luke beg Alpha to spare the baby, but Alpha refuses; Connie rushes to save the child. Lydia ultimately opts to leave on her own accord and is traded for Alden and Luke. Reunited, Lydia apologizes to her mother, but is smacked by Alpha across the face, ordering her to address her as "Alpha" like everyone else. She then smiles at Daryl as they leave.

In the episode "Guardians", as Alpha leads her group back to camp, she questions Lydia about her time at the Hilltop and to reveal any intel she learned while being held captive, but her daughter claims that there was little of interest. Henry eventually catches up with Lydia and the Whisperers, and watches them from a close distance as they rest, but is found and grabbed by Beta, Alpha's second-in-command. Beta tosses Henry in front of Alpha, who questions the boy. Henry reveals that he came alone to get Lydia; Alpha decides that Henry is coming with them. On their way back to camp, Alpha asks Lydia why she didn't mention Henry. Lydia explains that he wasn't worth mentioning, but Alpha reminds her that he just risked his life to save her, so she must be lying. The Whisperers soon arrive back at their camp. There, Alpha taunts a secured Henry and explains to him why they disguise themselves as walkers, as the strong adapt while the weak die. Seconds later, two of her own, Sean and Helen, approach her. The couple questions Alpha about why they went to the Hilltop to give up two strangers up for her daughter. Alpha then reminds them that she did it to get information, but Sean issues a challenge for her leadership role. In response, Alpha confirms that he has the right to challenge her position, but that she also has the right to defend it. Knowing that it was Helen that has been sowing seeds of discontent within the group, Alpha grabs Helen and decapitates her with a piece of wire. She then hands the head over to a sobbing Sean before fatally stabbing him in the stomach, as Henry looks on in horror. Privately, Alpha tells Beta a story about Lydia when she was three-years-old. They both then agree that Henry can be useful and that they need to find out if Lydia truly has feelings for him. At night, Beta brings Henry to Alpha. Unmasked, Alpha drops her knife and makes Lydia pick it up, commanding her to kill Henry with it so that she can prove who's side she's on; Lydia picks up the knife and begins to cry. Her mother warns her not to be weak and that Beta will kill them both if she doesn't kill Henry. Suddenly, a small horde of walkers show up and begin eating the unmasked Whisperers, creating mass confusion. Alpha and the others quickly put on their masks so that they can try to lure the herd away. Moments later, Daryl and Connie arrive disguised as Whisperers to free and rescue Henry, who will not leave without Lydia, and together the four escape.

In the episode "The Calm Before", as the fair at the Kingdom begins, Alpha leads an attack on one caravan from the Hilltop going to the Kingdom. Alpha has snuck into the fair, posing as one of the Alexandria fairgoers from the caravan and gathers intel. That night, as most of the fairgoers gather for the film, Lydia is saving a seat for Henry when Alpha quietly sits next to her and gestures for her to stay quiet. Outside the theater, Alpha tries to convince Lydia to come with her, but Lydia rejects her. Alpha tells her she is not strong and no longer part of her group, and departs. Later, at the Whisperers' new camp, Alpha, now out of disguise, joins her people, and approaches Daryl, Michonne, Carol, and Yumiko, who were captured by Beta and are now tied to a tree. After announcing that her daughter is no longer a concern, Alpha takes out a shotgun and tells Daryl to come with her alone. At dawn, Alpha leads Daryl to the top of a cliff where a gargantuan horde of walkers and Whisperers walk beneath them. She tells him that his friends at the camp are fine and that she has marked off a line which is the extent of their lands, but the next time his people cross into her land she'll release the horde into theirs. Daryl asks if she killed Lydia, and Alpha tells him that she didn't kill her and doubts that Daryl can protect her. He tells her that she's wrong and leaves, and reunites with his friends. Back in her camp, Alpha, in private, begins to tear up over the loss of her daughter. However, a Whisperer accidentally witnesses her crying. In response, Alpha winds up killing the Whisperer by stabbing him in the neck, making sure no one ever sees her being weak. Daryl's group finds a line of ten decapitated heads on pikes made up of Ozzy, Alek, D.J., Frankie, Tammy Rose, Rodney, Addy, Enid, Tara, and Henry, meant to signify Alpha's territory boundary. In the season finale, "The Storm", in their camp, Alpha reminds Beta that she'll need to be strong for what comes next and Beta assures her she will be. Per Alpha's request, Beta flogs her arm with a branch to make her stronger, leaving several lashes on her arm, as she used to do to Lydia.

Season 10

See also: The Walking Dead (season 10)

In the episode "We Are the End of the World", flashbacks reveal Alpha's first encounter with Beta. In the present, Alpha orders Beta to collect more walkers from a nearby parking garage, having him take two sisters with him. At the garage, Beta successfully lures the walkers to follow, but one of the sisters, Frances, who Alpha had forced to leave her baby behind at the Hilltop Colony (shown in "Bounty"), believes she hears a baby crying nearby and panics, causing the walkers to turn on them. Beta rescues Frances and they return to their camp without the walkers. There, Beta is ready to kill Frances, but Alpha takes Frances for a talk, and Frances cries and repents. Beta becomes concerned that Alpha did not punish Frances for showing weakness, and wonders why they have not attacked the other groups. He follows her to their old camp and discovers Alpha has set up a small shrine to Lydia, including her old bunny doll. Alpha admits Lydia is still alive and has shown weakness in not attacking the communities. Beta assures her that she was made for this world. Alpha destroys the shrine, and together with Beta, repeat the Whisperers' code: "We Are the End of the World". Alpha asserts they will soon attack the communities. Just then, they see the fire trail of the fallen satellite overhead and crash nearby, drawing walkers to them. Amidst the chaos, Frances sees one walker with a baby carrier and again panics and Alpha rushes in to try to save her but is overwhelmed. Frances' sister rushes in, dragging Alpha to safety after pushing Frances away from her and into the mob of walkers, who then kill Frances. As the Whisperers find shelter, Alpha is impressed with Frances' sister's sacrifice and dubs her Gamma. The Whisperers go to investigate the fallen satellite, and Alpha, pulling her mask off, eyes Carol from across a ravine. In the episode "Ghosts", Alpha sends Gamma to Alexandria to inform Michonne, Daryl and Carol to meet with Alpha at the border. There, Alpha threatens them to not cross her borders again, but proceeds to take more of their land after Carol failed to shoot her. In the episode "What It Always Is", Alpha devises a plan to attack her enemies slowly. She ordered Gamma to use guardians to pollute the river that the communities used to supply themselves with water, and when her apprentice returned to the camp to ask for another walker, Alpha ended up with one of her subjects who had challenged her attack strategies and handed it to him for use in his mission once he converted. When Gamma showed Alpha her injured hand covered by bandages that one of her enemies had given her, the deranged woman confessed that she understood her actions assuming that it was a necessary sacrifice and commented that the man who had helped her could be useful to them. In the episode "Bonds", when Negan was discovered prowling within her territory, Alpha decided to perform some tests to determine if he was strong enough to speak to her and put him in charge of his right hand. Although Beta expressed her discontent at having the newcomer within the group, Alpha asked him if he had finally decided to challenge her to take command of the Whisperers but he flatly refused and knelt before her promising that he would never again question her decisions. However, Alpha was completely disappointed when Beta informed her that Negan had died in her final test, but it was more her surprise when Negan appeared in the camp and knelt before her swearing his full loyalty; Alpha accepted him as a member of the group. In the episode "Open Your Eyes", after finding Gamma in the middle of the forest, Alpha quickly asked her about the information she had gotten from Aaron about his community, but was disappointed when Gamma only managed to find out his name and that he has a daughter. Noticing signs of weakness in her apprentice, Alpha ordered Gamma to remove her mask and eventually proceeded to strike her arm so that she could stay strong; Alpha reminds Gamma that the enemy was using her and that she should not allow herself to fall into Aaron's charms. In the mid-season finale, "The World Before", after questioning Gamma's loyalty to the group, Alpha decided to move her gigantic horde of walkers away from their former hideout to lock them inside a nearby cave. After witnessing how her enemies once again entered her territory in search of her horde, Alpha came into view of Carol to attract her attention and proceeded to run towards the forest to enter the cave. Thus, the group followed her to the place and eventually they fell into their trap of being locked in the depths of the site at the mercy of hundreds of walkers.

In the mid-season premiere, "Squeeze", seeking that her enemies did not escape from the cave, Alpha watched them from a satisfied distance and ordered her men to make sure they don't escape. After returning to the camp, Alpha revealed to Beta and Gamma what had happened, assuming that their enemies were spying on them at all times, and entrusted the latter to go to the border to leave a message for their Alexandria spy. While relieving herself in an impromptu latrine, Alpha received a visit from Negan who suggested that the traitor she was looking for might be inside the camp and listed Gamma as solely responsible for playing for two sides due to the trust that Gamma had in her. Despite distrusting the theory of the man claiming that he only wanted to cause paranoia among his followers, Alpha began to consider that Negan's words made sense and corroborated this when Beta informed him that the guards had not seen Gamma reach the border. Knowing that she had to pay for everything she had done, Alpha ordered her right hand to track down the girl and bring her before her so that he could punish her in front of the entire pack. As a way of compensating for his great contribution, Alpha escorted Negan to the far reaches of his camp and, aware of vulgar behavior that the man transmitted during his stay in the group, decided to pay him in the same way. Ordering Negan to undress, Alpha approached him also without clothes and only keeping her walker mask; they proceed to kiss. In the episode "Stalker", Alpha together with her men prepare a walker horde to attack the Hilltop, when suddenly Daryl appears and ambushes them, killing her henchmen. Alpha and Daryl then begin a hand-to-hand fight where the two both end up being seriously injured. However, her attempt to get rid of Daryl was in vain and unable to do it on her own. Alpha remained lying on the ground while bleeding to death and thanked the badly injured Daryl for helping her to become stronger, but was offended when he accused her of getting away from her daughter for the simple fact that she did not love her. When Lydia appeared at the scene, Alpha was more than happy to see that she was safe and urged her to finish her off in order to take the leadership of the Whisperers, but she felt nothing but disappointment when her daughter assured that the only reason for the one who had approached her was so that she could save Daryl. Later, after being found by her retinues, Alpha promised them that they would take revenge on the communities with her horde and recited the group's motto thus declaring the imminent war that was coming. In the episode "Morning Star", as she led her horde of walkers straight to the Hilltop, her plan to finish off her enemies was corrected by Negan, who proposed to Alpha that instead of destroying all of them she should force them to surrender so that they could join her troops. However, the deranged woman once arriving at the Hilltop allowed her people to attack the community as planned. When Negan expressed confusion regarding the way he understood her proposal, Alpha assured him that her enemies would soon join her as part of her horde. In the episode "Walk with Us", Alpha is not satisfied with the aftermath of the Hilltop fire as she still does not have everything she wants—Lydia. Negan later captures Lydia and brings Alpha to her supposed location where Alpha intends to kill her daughter so that Lydia will always be with her as part of Alpha's horde. However, this proves to be a trap and Negan slits Alpha's throat, killing her. Negan then delivers Alpha's severed zombified head to Carol with whom he had been working with the whole time. In the episode "Look at the Flowers", Carol places Alpha's zombified head onto a pike at the border in the same manner Alpha did with the fair victims. She is subsequently haunted by hallucinations of Alpha, representing Carol's wish to die. Beta and two other Whisperers later discover Alpha's severed head. Enraged, Beta forces one of the men to allow Alpha to bite him after he mistakenly identifies Beta as the "new Alpha". He then carries Alpha's head to a hotel connected to Beta's past as a famous musician known as "Half Moon" and spends the night using his old music to draw in a massive herd. In the morning, Beta thanks Alpha before putting her down with a knife to the head. He then removes part of Alpha's face and uses it to repair his ripped walker mask.

Development and reception

Samantha Morton was chosen for the role to portray the leader of the Whisperers.

Alpha is portrayed by Samantha Morton on The Walking Dead television series, beginning with the ninth season.[2] The episode "Adaptation" marks the first appearance of Morton as the leader of the Whisperers. Her casting was first announced in July 2018.[2]

Morton joined the main cast as of the episode "Omega", as her name appears in the opening credits.[3] For her role as Alpha, Morton cut and shaved her real hair for this episode. Morton said regarding doing it on camera, "Oh, I loved it. It just feels very real, and what the audience is seeing is real, you know? And there's emotions about that, but the practicalities for pre-Alpha is that the hair, she's turning herself into something. She's metamorphosing from a caterpillar to a butterfly, but not the nicest butterfly, you know? She's completely changing who she is, and whether that's trauma and something to do with the brain, or that she just found her true self that she's able to be because of what's happening to the world."[4] On Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus for "Omega" reads: "'Omega' utilizes an unreliable narrator to flesh out the zombie skin-clad fanatic Alpha and succeeds at making her all the more unnerving, but some viewers may find the episode's flashback structure and side plots to be more laborious than revelatory."[5] The critical consensus for the following episode "Guardians" reads: "'Guardians' presents dual stories of tested leadership with thematic resonance and provides the malevolent Alpha a plump opportunity to demonstrate her villainy -- although The Walking Dead is still withholding crucial context from viewers longing to understand the motivations of their heroes."[6]

In his review for "The Calm Before", Erik Kain of Forbes wrote: "Alpha uses the woman's scalp and its long golden locks as a disguise. She enters the Kingdom and walks about Ezekiel's fair. She even has a (very creepy) conversation with the King, who doesn't seem to notice how weird this woman is."[7] Writing for Den of Geek, Ron Hogan in his review wrote: "The creative team is able to dial it back, sprinkling moments of hopefulness in front of Alpha. Unlike Lydia, who was taken in by it, she's repulsed, and while it doesn't show on her face, it shows in her actions, and her talk with Daryl at shotgun-point. The very same incidents strike two related people totally differently, and in the denouement of the episode, the very things that lend sweetness and happiness end up causing the greatest in bittersweet pain."[8] Commenting on the decapitation border, Jeff Stone of IndieWire wrote: "It is kind of funny how Alpha seemed to know how important each character was and ordered them accordingly."[9] Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club wrote: "Alpha showing the walker horde to Daryl is a strong narrative conceit, the equivalent of warning your enemy by holding up an ICBM and saying you're not afraid to use it."[10]

References

1. The Walking Dead #156
2. Wigler, Josh (July 20, 2018). "'Walking Dead' Taps Samantha Morton as Iconic Villain". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
3. Davis, Brandon (February 18, 2019). "'The Walking Dead' Fans Are Loving Alpha and the Whisperers". Comic Book. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
4. Ross, Dalton (February 17, 2019). "Samantha Morton breaks down The Walking Dead Alpha origin story". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
5. "Omega". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
6. "Guardians". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
7. Kain, Erik (March 24, 2019). "'The Walking Dead' Season 9, Episode 15 Review: 'The Calm Before' Is Shockingly Brutal". Forbes. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
8. Hogan, Ron (March 24, 2019). "The Walking Dead season 9 episode 15 review: The Calm Before". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
9. Stone, Jeff (March 24, 2019). "'The Walking Dead' Review: 'The Calm Before' Brings Together the Communities for Tragedy". IndieWire. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
10. McLevy, Alex (March 24, 2019). "In facing a huge reckoning, The Walking Dead gets back to what it does best". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 24, 2019.