Spoilers and Speculation

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

2 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

This is a show where we watched guts spill on the street, children murdered, throats slashed, toture, and worst of all, Negan reciting an ode to his nutsack. I don't think you need to censor "balls". 😂

And then be compared to Negan because of my cussing?  I don't fucking think so.  That shit is just not gonna happen, dammit.  I'll never be like that egotistical twig-n-berries carrying sonofabitch.

[Morrigan2575]

I'm a sucker for good Caryl scenes. Guess I'll watch Sunday night.

[SimoneS]

Daryl and Connie's romance is coming along nicely. Good for Daryl learning ASL so he can woo her directly. Poor Kelly. I hope she survives the season.

I saw positive comments about the episode from people who watched it so that it is good.

Edited October 5, 2019 by SimoneS

[AngelaHunter]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:11 AM, OoohMaggie said:

So after all these years of being victimized, beaten and abused Aaron finally figured out that "nice guys finish last"? Better late than never, I guess.

[OoohMaggie]

2 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

So after all these years of being victimized, beaten and abused Aaron finally figured out that "nice guys finish last"? Better late than never, I guess.

Although I do have to hold out some hope that Aaron 2.0, will lead the group, and the show into a new era that will quickly deal with these skin wearing wasters. The fact that Aaron now appears to have interchangeable fighting accessories for his stump, only increases my anticipation of a quick end to Baldy & Co.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, OoohMaggie said:

Although I do have to hold out some hope that Aaron 2.0, will lead the group, and the show into a new era that will quickly deal with these skin wearing wasters.

They've made him look superficially like Rick (hopefully before Rick's transformation into a Man of Peace preaching the Word of Cworl) so maybe he'll go all Grimes on their grimy asses. I'm still not sure why a bunch of ragged freaks wearing skin masks, who live like subsistance nomads seem to terrorize our group more than did Negan's heavily armed contingent. It's quite possible I missed that part, as I do tend to doze off or get distracted while watching, especially during long scenes filmed in total darkness.

1 hour ago, OoohMaggie said:

The fact that Aaron now appears to have interchangeable fighting accessories for his stump,

Hey, maybe he can find some old Gatling gun to hook on his stump!

[SimoneS]

Lauren Cohan (Maggie) is coming back. They are vague about when exactly, but they are probably going to want her back as soon as Michonne leaves.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, SimoneS said:

Lauren Cohan (Maggie) is coming back.

Paging OoohMaggie! Red Alert!! Yer pistol packin' Momma is comin' back to town! 😁

[tv echo]

NYCC 2019: THE WALKING DEAD BLASTING INTO SPACE, MAGGIE RETURNS IN S11
Josh Weiss   Oct. 5, 2019
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/nycc-2019-walking-dead-season-10-outer-space

Quote

This cosmic setting for Season 10 was revealed today during the show's NYCC panel at Madison Square Garden, where the first few minutes of the season premiere were screened for the audience. It was the same clip that dropped online yesterday with one small addition: The episode debut kicks things off with an old Soviet satellite circling the Earth's orbit before cutting to the present day, where the survivors wreck a bunch of waterlogged zombies on "Training Day." Forming an armed phalanx of shields, spears, archers, and javelins, they look more like ancient Spartan warriors than modern-day humans. The standouts are definitely Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming), who stab zombies in the head and slice their faces off.

"We’re trying to do new things, push in new directions," showrunner/executive producer Angela Kang said of the Space Age introduction. “We were just trying to brainstorm different things [we hadn’t seen in the show before and were like,] 'Oh, that’s fun, we haven’t done space in the show.' It plays into the themes of paranoia and always being watched."
*  *  *
Just as Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) left the show during Season 9, Gurira will be doing the same with Michonne after Season 10. When it came time to talk about her departure, the Black Panther alum got the biggest applause of the morning, and her cast members even stood up to honor her.

“She’s in me. She’s my bone marrow," Gurira said of the katana-wielding character. "The beauty of my journey has been all about this amazing fandom. Right from the jump, I was embraced by the fans ... That sort of embracing invigorated me to give it my all ... It's the fans that have really given me everything ... It made me want to be a part of this forever. I love you guys and I will always love you guys, so thank you."

At the very end of the panel, a fan dressed as Negan with a Jason Voorhees mask was invited onto the stage to take a selfie with the cast. Said "fan" turned out to be none other than Lauren Cohan, who was finally able to unveil the return of Maggie Greene in Season 11, which Kang confirmed. She couldn't say much about what her character's been up to since the time jump, but the actor is just super happy to return to the zombie-filled world she had been a part of for so many years.

“[It feels] completely surreal. It feels like just like home and it feels so emotional. It feels really, really good. I can’t put it into words—I just feel like this is a very special Comic Con and this is a very special family," said Cohan. "I think we always knew we were gonna try to find this re-entry, the right time for the continuation of [Maggie's] story ... And she never even leaves. You're with the character so long, she's a part of you ... It didn't feel weird [getting back into the character]. I'm just honestly interested in what we're gonna be able to say because we've had such huge passages of time and ... She's gonna be coming back, [but] we don't know what she's gonna be doing."
*  *  *
And since we've broached the subject of Negan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan said that his bat-swinging antihero is finally getting out of jail this season. He described his freedom as "refreshing," but added that we shouldn't expect a redemption story for the character.

"I’m telling you, this year’s gonna rock," Morgan stated. “You get to see another side of Negan ... We’ve got this three-dimensional character ... There’s always an edge to him, and that’s not gonna go away.”

When it comes to new faces for the new season, Paola Lázaro (Lethal Weapon) has been cast as Juanita Sanchez, aka "The Princess."

A character ripped straight out of Robert Kirkman's Skybound comic, "Princess is a sassy spear-wielding, goggle-wearing, fuzzy pink jacket-rocking free spirit (with purple hair) originally encountered in Pittsburgh during our heroes’ trek to Commonwealth in Issue 171." Since she was the only human individual left in the Pennsylvania steel town, Sanchez dubbed herself “'The Princess of Pittsburgh,' because 'Queen' would (to her) make her sound too old. She eventually joins the gang’s convoy to the massive Ohio community, which kicks off one of the final chapters in The Walking Dead comics."
*  *  *
When it comes to antagonists (aside from the Walkers, of course), the Whisperers, led by Samantha Morton’s Alpha and Ryan Hurst’s Beta, are still looming large. Kirkman promised that we’d see some cool stuff from the Whisperer War storyline this season.

Season 10 of The Walking Dead premieres on AMC tomorrow evening, Sunday, Oct. 6, at 9 p.m. EST.

This video is a longer version of the video posted above:

Edited October 6, 2019 by tv echo

[AngelaHunter]

Eh, sorry OoohMaggie. Not this year. 😏

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

“We were just trying to brainstorm different things [we hadn’t seen in the show before and were like,] 'Oh, that’s fun(/cool/neato/wicked sick), we haven’t done (________) in the show.'

So they DO come up with plots the way I've long imagined.

"SEASON 11".

[nodorothyparker]

2 hours ago, tv echo said:

"Princess is a sassy spear-wielding, goggle-wearing, fuzzy pink jacket-rocking free spirit (with purple hair) originally encountered in Pittsburgh during our heroes’ trek to Commonwealth in Issue 171." Since she was the only human individual left in the Pennsylvania steel town, Sanchez dubbed herself “'The Princess of Pittsburgh,' because 'Queen' would (to her) make her sound too old. She eventually joins the gang’s convoy to the massive Ohio community, which kicks off one of the final chapters in The Walking Dead comics."

Okay, so as positively goofy as the "Princess of Pittsburgh" sounds, (Really!?) I'm at least mildly interested that our gang will finally be traveling again since hunkering down in one spot five seasons ago.  Hopefully there will be something a little different to see than just circling the same trees over and over and running from weirdos wearing corpse bits.  I've never read the comics and don't really have any interest in doing so, but just this tidbit would lead me to believe the war against said corpse bits-wearing weirdos doesn't go so well if they're packing up from Virginia to trek all the way into the interior of the country.  Maybe the guys in Herschel's favorite bar all the way back in season 2 were on to something when they told Rick they had heard people were being resettled in Nebraska.  Nebraska, Ohio, yes I'm still enough of a native Midwesterner to know they're not even remotely close to the same thing, but I've also lived on the East Coast long enough to know that they might as well be to a couple of dumb guys from Philly.

Our showrunners are the same people giving press interviews saying they could see the franchise lasting "decades."  Are we honestly surprised that they're spitballing about season 11?

[Gobi]

14 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Okay, so as positively goofy as the "Princess of Pittsburgh" sounds, (Really!?) I'm at least mildly interested that our gang will finally be traveling again since hunkering down in one spot five seasons ago.  Hopefully there will be something a little different to see than just circling the same trees over and over and running from weirdos wearing corpse bits.  I've never read the comics and don't really have any interest in doing so, but just this tidbit would lead me to believe the war against said corpse bits-wearing weirdos doesn't go so well if they're packing up from Virginia to trek all the way into the interior of the country.  Maybe the guys in Herschel's favorite bar all the way back in season 2 were on to something when they told Rick they had heard people were being resettled in Nebraska.  Nebraska, Ohio, yes I'm still enough of a native Midwesterner to know they're not even remotely close to the same thing, but I've also lived on the East Coast long enough to know that they might as well be to a couple of dumb guys from Philly.

Our showrunners are the same people giving press interviews saying they could see the franchise lasting "decades."  Are we honestly surprised that they're spitballing about season 11?

 The "Princess of Pittsburgh" reminds me, once again, that TPTB fail to understand that what works in a comic can look ridiculous filmed. Nice to know that the Princess was able to maintain a steady supply of purple hair dye, an essential ingredient for survival in a Zombie Apocalypse.

[AngelaHunter]

48 minutes ago, Gobi said:

The "Princess of Pittsburgh" reminds me, once again, that TPTB fail to understand that what works in a comic can look ridiculous filmed.

It's getting more and more "Wizard of Oz-ish". Are they going to meet a cowardly lion as well?

3 hours ago, tv echo said:

A character ripped straight out of Robert Kirkman's Skybound comic, "Princess is a sassy spear-wielding, goggle-wearing, fuzzy pink jacket-rocking free spirit (with purple hair)

This sound exactly like a typical fanfic "Mary Sue" self-insert written by a thirteen-year-old girl. Here is the best Walking Dead MS I ever saw - a post-pubescent fantasy run wild -  and it sounds uncomfortably like the sassy, purple-haired Princess because in an apocalypse maintaining your free spirit and distinctive style is everything. Hey, maybe Kirkman wrote this one!
 

Quote

The Emerson sisters walked along the highway - avoiding zombies or taking them out with their swords. The differences between the sisters were easily seen even though they looked a lot alike now.

Raven had knee length raven black blue hair that was tied with a blue ribbon, and was in a high ponytail. She had four piercings in her ears, in sapphire, ruby, diamond, onyx. She wore a tight form fitting blue tank top that hugged her curves to perfection. Tight black skinny jeans that hugged her hips, ass and thighs. Knee high leather boots adorned her feet, a dagger in each boot.

A hand gun strapped to each thigh, a sword on her back along with her shotgun.

Rayne had her hair tied in a french braid that was laced with a red ribbon, and then tied with a gold ribbon at the end. A dagger strapped to each thigh, a sword strapped to her back between her shoulder blades, and a machine gun also strapped to her back. She wore a tight form fitting red t-shirt that said 'Mess With Me, I Kick Your Ass.' In black letters. Tight black skinny jeans that hugged her hips, ass and thighs. Black combat boots on her feet; a belt around her waist that had a couple of hunting knives on it.

[Gobi]

2 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

It's getting more and more "Wizard of Oz-ish". Are they going to meet a cowardly lion as well?

This sound exactly like a typical fanfic "Mary Sue" self-insert written by a thirteen-year-old girl. Here is the best Walking Dead MS I ever saw - a post-pubescent fantasy run wild -  and it sounds uncomfortably like the sassy, purple-haired Princess because in an apocalypse maintaining your free spirit and distinctive style is everything. Hey, maybe Kirkman wrote this one!
 

Sad to say, I could absolutely believe that this was from a script for an upcoming episode.

[AngelaHunter]

^^ I wish I could somehow give a post a 🤣 AND a 😭.

Are TPTB recruiting writers from fanfiction.net now?

[OoohMaggie]

If ever one image represented how I feel about what I've just read, even the possibility of The Beautiful One returning, this is most certainly it!

[OoohMaggie]

For those not in the US / Can and who don't have a VPN,

[OoohMaggie]

I'm late to seeing the 'opening minutes' and I know we've already done the 'Maximus' jokes, but what the hell do they think they're doing? Why does it take a section of the Roman army to eliminate a few Walkers that three people could have easily dealt with in any other situation?

The Walker that staggered out of the surf, with God knows how much weight of 'tree', both through it, and surrounding it, reminded me of one of those creatures with arms and legs protruding in all directions from the classic film The Thing, if only this pathetic bunch could give me half the suspense, tension and horror I experienced watching that, i'd be so happy.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, OoohMaggie said:

I know we've already done the 'Maximus' jokes, but what the hell do they think they're doing?

Seems they've studied up on the phalanx formation.

1 hour ago, OoohMaggie said:

reminded me of one of those creatures with arms and legs protruding in all directions from the classic film The Thing, if only this pathetic bunch could give me half the suspense, tension and horror I experienced watching that, i'd be so happy.

"The Thing" was a masterpiece of terror, tension, suspense and paranoia. The last time I remember feeling  suspense - like, edge of my seat suspense -  was Rick hiding under the bed to avoid the Claimers. Alas, those days are long gone.

I guess we'll have to make do with the Mary Sue of Kirkman's dreams Philly Princess with her pink goggles, fuzzy jacket, spear and purple hair. So, yeah. Can't wait.

[nodorothyparker]

I don't know.  I get what they're trying to convey: How do you train to fight walkers that may not be walkers but you won't know for sure that they're not armed maniacs in zombie suits until they're right on you?  That's what killed Jesus, after all.  For as goofy as the Whisperers are as a concept, I thought their introduction in the foggy grave yard fight where Jesus was killed was about as tense and scary as the show had been in a long time.

And it's Pittsburgh Princess, which may not seem like much difference but trust me that it is in at least what they'll put on a sandwich that really doesn't belong there.

[seacliffsal]

I know I'm late to the discussion about the movie, but I figured out the perfect plot: it starts with Rick waking up from a nightmare and he goes to Carl's room and tells him he had a nightmare about Carl dying before the big battle against Negan which ended when Carl killed Negan.  Rick then laughs and says "can you imagine the mess we would have been in had you actually died?"  Then they laugh together and go to start the day.....

If it worked for Dallas and was the amazing season finale for the Newhart Show, why wouldn't it work as a reset for TWD?  And where better to see it than in a movie that self-corrects the whole show?

[AngelaHunter]

24 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

I thought their introduction in the foggy grave yard fight where Jesus was killed was about as tense and scary as the show had been in a long time.

The Jesus killing scene was the very best 8 seconds I've seen on this show in years. Truly wonderfully done and

14 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

If it worked for Dallas and was the amazing season finale for the Newhart Show, why wouldn't it work as a reset for TWD?  And where better to see it than in a movie that self-corrects the whole show?

a beautiful piece of choreography.

25 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

And it's Pittsburgh Princess, which may not seem like much difference but trust me that it is in at least what they'll put on a sandwich that really doesn't belong there.

Damn. I'm not American and I have a memory like a sieve which results in goofs like that. But I do know about Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, although I've never had one. 😏

14 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

If it worked for Dallas and was the amazing season finale for the Newhart Show, why wouldn't it work as a reset for TWD?  And where better to see it than in a movie that self-corrects the whole show?

On this show, why not, indeed? But the problem lies in the fact that the movie will air concurrently with the show, with both versions totally conflicting.

[Gobi]

32 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

The Jesus killing scene was the very best 8 seconds I've seen on this show in years. Truly wonderfully done and

a beautiful piece of choreography.

Damn. I'm not American and I have a memory like a sieve which results in goofs like that. But I do know about Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, although I've never had one. 😏

On this show, why not, indeed? But the problem lies in the fact that the movie will air concurrently with the show, with both versions totally conflicting.

Parallel universes.

[AngelaHunter]

49 minutes ago, Gobi said:

Parallel universes.

I could go with that but only if there is a Bearded Spock.

[mightysparrow]

In the comics, wasn't it MICHONNE who took off on a boat?  I still don't understand why the writers decided to give Carol Michonne's story line.  It didn't make her any more interesting.  And poor Michonne got stuck fucking Rick.

I don't know what this show is going to do once Danai leaves.  There isn't anybody capable of carrying this show  And with all due respect to @OoohMaggie, Lauren Cohan's return isn't going to do it.  They missed the boat with Maggie as a character.  Lauren clearly needs the work but I don't think returning to this show is going to be a smart career move for her.

[OoohMaggie]

9 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

I don't know what this show is going to do once Danai leaves.  There isn't anybody capable of carrying this show  And with all due respect to @OoohMaggie, Lauren Cohan's return isn't going to do it. 

I said the same on the media thread, even said to stay away and do something else, admittedly I wouldn't exactly be crying into my cheerios if I got to see her every week. Just about to watch the show, here goes.....

[OoohMaggie]

[nodorothyparker]

Sigh.  I'm reading elsewhere that it is indeed a Whisperers-only backstory episode next week.  Way to kill the momentum after a fairly decent season premier, show.

[AngelaHunter]

11 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

Sigh.  I'm reading elsewhere that it is indeed a Whisperers-only backstory episode next week.  Way to kill the momentum after a fairly decent season premier, show.

I swear, they kill momentum on this show on purpose. They do it all the time. It has to be deliberate, doesn't it? They can't keep screwing up that badly over and over by accident, can they?

[nodorothyparker]

At this point I have to assume it's deliberate because the show has done it over and over again over seasons.  It puts together a reasonably interesting episode or even strings a couple of decent episodes together that make you feel like you're not sitting through an endurance test and then immediately follows it up with some long drawn out backstory bottle episode sort of thing nobody asked for.  

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

12 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Sigh.  I'm reading elsewhere that it is indeed a Whisperers-only backstory episode next week.  Way to kill the momentum after a fairly decent season premier, show.

12 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

I swear, they kill momentum on this show on purpose. They do it all the time. It has to be deliberate, doesn't it? They can't keep screwing up that badly over and over by accident, can they?

Would you people quit reminding me why I miss this show sooo much.   😏

TWD = IOWE.  [it's own worst enemy]  😒

[AngelaHunter]

17 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Once again, after years of experience we see Aaron struggling, arm in arm with a Walker, honestly, haven't these people learned the most basic of survival techniques by now?

Aaron, now... I'm starting to wonder if perhaps he's not a bit of a dim bulb. It wasn't long ago that he took off to wander the woods aimlessly with no food or water, looking for allies and ended up lying in a puddle, dehydrated, as the Ocean women walked past him snarking that he better find some water.

[peach]

On 10/6/2019 at 7:28 PM, mightysparrow said:

I don't know what this show is going to do once Danai leaves.  There isn't anybody capable of carrying this show  And with all due respect to @OoohMaggie, Lauren Cohan's return isn't going to do it.  

According to a post in the media thread, this season will have Michonne building up to pass the leadership baton to Negan.  So that should be great

[AngelaHunter]

12 minutes ago, peach said:

this season will have Michonne building up to pass the leadership baton to Negan. 

🤣😂😄

Oh, wait! Are you being serious?

[peach]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

🤣😂😄

Oh, wait! Are you being serious?

I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you to put your shittin' pants on for that announcement.  😝

[peach]

Ok, to clarify, this was a PREDICTION from  tvline.com, based on the actual fact that the show is reported to be sticking with the comic version of Negan's redemption.  

"PREDICTION: Season 10 will remain true to the comic books, at least in the way that it redeems Negan — a development that will allow the departing Danai Gurira’s Michonne to feel that she can safely pass the bat(on) of leadership to him as she pulls a Maggie and hits the road."

So take that as you will.

[peach]

I'm eating lunch, working, and reading this forum on my phone all at the same time, so forgive me for overstating the case. Lol.  Seems like a reasonable prediction.  I doubt they will kill off Michonne as I'm sure they want her to appear in RICK GRIMES THE MOVIES.

[AngelaHunter]

2 hours ago, peach said:

Ok, to clarify, this was a PREDICTION from  tvline.com, based on the actual fact that the show is reported to be sticking with the comic version of Negan's redemption. 

O.M.G. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Sickened and disgusted, yes. Surprised? No. After all, Negan is Kirkman's alter ego, so we have to let the sociopathatic rapist and sadist rise triumphant, his sins all washed away. I bet Kirkman has a Negan costume at home, complete with baseball bat, secretly dresses in it in his basement and pretends he has a harem of women in scanty clothing who can't say no. 

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

2 hours ago, peach said:

Ok, to clarify, this was a PREDICTION from  tvline.com, based on the actual fact that the show is reported to be sticking with the comic version of Negan's redemption.  

"PREDICTION: Season 10 will remain true to the comic books, at least in the way that it redeems Negan — a development that will allow the departing Danai Gurira’s Michonne to feel that she can safely pass the bat(on) of leadership to him as she pulls a Maggie and hits the road."

So take that as you will.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

2 hours ago, peach said:

I'm eating lunch, working, and reading this forum on my phone all at the same time, so forgive me for overstating the case. Lol.  Seems like a reasonable prediction.  I doubt they will kill off Michonne as I'm sure they want her to appear in RICK GRIMES THE MOVIES.

If these RG Movies are little more than vehicles to push the 'Richonne' "epic love affair", I will change my mind about watching them when they come out on home media formats.  Fast.
 

7 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

O.M.G. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Sickened and disgusted, yes. Surprised? No. After all, Negan is Kirkman's alter ego, so we have to let the sociopathatic rapist and sadist rise triumphant, his sins all washed away. I bet Kirkman has a Negan costume at home, complete with baseball bat, secretly dresses in it in his basement and pretends he has a harem of women in scanty clothing who can't say no. 

I "lol'd" at your post because there's not a vomiting reaction emoticon choice.  Not because of what you said, but because its probably quite true.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

I "lol'd" at your post because there's not a vomiting reaction emoticon choice.

So it seems we need a Pukey here!

Feel free to borrow this one.

[nodorothyparker]

From TSDF Army, spoilers from S10.E02: We Are the End of the World.

Quote

1. Can you tell us about Alpha and Lydia’s first encounter with Beta?

While they are outside walking among the walkers, Lydia's ear muffs come off and she hears the screams of a woman being eaten alive by walkers, in turn starts screaming, causing the walkers to start turning on them. Alpha leads her to what seems to be a psychiatric hospital, and that's where they encounter Beta. While Alpha has her back turned, facing Lydia, Lydia tells her "Mama, there's a man." He's standing at the other end of the hallway.

2. Do we learn more about Beta? In the comics he was a famous basketball player. Do we get any indication it’s the same on the show?

No specific information on his profession. We only learn that he used to have a "camp" and he was driven off it by walkers, forcing him to take shelter in the mental facility. I should note that this could also be a regular hospital with a psychiatric ward, that part is referenced when Alpha directs Lydia to sleep in a room where "the walls are covered with big pillows".

3. Do we see Beta’s face?

No, but Alpha does! She lifts his snowmask and takes a peek towards the end, chuckles and pulls the mask back down.

4. Do we see more with Beta and Alpha’s relationship? Does he whip her in this episode?

No to the whipping. Their flashback storyline ends with her convincing him to go with them, so it's not at whipping level yet.

We see how they got their names. Alpha congratulates Beta on ripping open a walker by saying "good job Big Man". When he's like "what", she says "okay, Mr B. then". He says "what does that make you", she says "A". But that's it. No Alpha and Beta yet, just Mr. B.

I think the most important thing we see is a photograph hung on the wall in Beta's private quarters in the hospital. Beta warns Alpha to never go there, but when Lydia goes missing, she ends up in there and sees the picture on the wall of Beta and some dude wearing a smiley-face shirt, their faces scratched off of the picture. While Beta is busy scolding Alpha for trespassing, the smiley-face-shirt-guy appears behind him as a walker and despite Beta's protests, Alpha kills him. This causes Beta to start throwing a fit until Lydia shows up, yells at him to stop, and Alpha proceeds to convince him to go with them.

5. How does Alpha form the Whisperer Group?

Nothing on this, the flashbacks don't cover that far back.

6. What is Gamma like and what is her role within the Whisperers?

Her name is Mary, she's a Whisperer. She's the -I'm guessing- older sister of the woman who is the mother of the baby Alpha had left for dead in front of Hilltop last season. The mother is messed up over losing her son, and starts crying in the middle of a run and puts the Whisperers pack in danger. Back at HQ, Beta orders her to be killed but Alpha stops him and actually forgives the girl. Later, on another run, this girl, Frances sees a walker with a baby carrier strapped on its body, breaks down again and attacks Alpha from behind. Her sister Mary (Gamma-to-be) separates her sister from Alpha, throws her to the walkers and saves Alpha. So she's "anointed" Gamma "for her bravery, her sacrifice, for putting the pack's needs in front of her own".

7. Do we see any of the other communities besides the Whisperers? What is their storyline?

No to this as well.

8. How do the Whisperers create their mega herd?

I think they have tried to allude to this but I gotta be honest, I couldn't really follow what was happening there. Alpha sent Beta on some sort of run and said he should take the sisters (above) with him because they have "a special gift, a scent for the dead". Then they went to some area and freed some walkers that were stuck in a parking garage or something, and attempted to herd them back I guess. That's also apparently what they were doing when the grieving mother had her second fit; they were rounding up more walkers.

9. Alpha attempts to toughen up Lydia as they prepare to walk with the dead. What measures does Alpha take to accomplish this?

She seemed surprisingly doting. The only thing she did was to tell Lydia that she would have to leave her behind if she doesn't become stronger. This is after Lydia tells her mom that she doesn't want her toy rabbit anymore. She doesn't want to be scared anymore and she wants to be more like her mother. "I've waited so long to hear that! And I hope you will, because if not, I'll have no choice but to leave you behind."

10. We’ve seen Alpha demonstrate her harsh leadership tactics in previous episodes. Especially by killing her own people. Do we see more of that in this episode?

On the contrary! The dominating theme is how much Alpha misses Lydia! Which is why she forgives the other grieving mother, angering Beta. We also see that she has kept Lydia's toy bunny and has some sort of a shrine for her at their old campsite, which Beta discovers, prompting a confession from Alpha that she didn't kill her daughter and she has been lying about having done so.

11. Does Alpha abuse Lydia or allow others to abuse her?

Lydia is only with Alpha and Beta in this episode, no one else. Alpha helps her take a little bath, kisses her on the head while washing her hair, frantically goes to look for her when she goes missing in an effort to prove her newfound courage, and also confesses in the end to Beta "She's my daughter! She's my baby! I couldn't kill her!" The only negative thing during the flashbacks was when Alpha asked her "not to call her that" (mama).

12. Who dies and how?

Beta's walker dad or brother or whatever, I'm not sure, the guy with the smiley-shirt. Alpha kills him. Frances, the mother of the baby that was left for dead. Mary (Gamma) throws her to the walkers. Also, by Beta's account, three Whisperers.

13. How does the episode end?

It ends with Beta telling Alpha that he's seen smoke near the border, Alpha replying that they need to teach the enemy a lesson because they have trespassed, and the both of them reciting some weird mantra on how they don't to certain things, which makes them FREE: walk in darkness, bathe in blood, love nothing, fear nothing, need no words, embrace all death.

14. Is there anything else interesting that happens in this episode that hasn’t been touched on by your responses?

Yes, I think one of the important details was a scene where a Whisperer tells Frances that some of them have been thinking and talking about "that place where there's livestock" and how they could all go back there. This is interrupted by Alpha's arrival. And later, Beta tells Alpha that the group has been talking about the life they saw there, to which Alpha replies with "It is not a life. It is a fantasy."

So, yeah.  It indeed is a standalone bottle episode a whopping two episodes into the new season that even the source seems confused on a number of the character details.  I sat through every single episode of the interminable Savior story and I may sit this one out. 

[raven]

3 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Is there anything else interesting that happens in this episode

A whole episode on Whisperer backstory.  Yuk.

[peach]

4 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

2. Do we learn more about Beta? In the comics he was a famous basketball player. Do we get any indication it’s the same on the show?

Hey, that's kind of interesting!.......oh..never mind.

4 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

 No specific information on his profession.

4 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

[AngelaHunter]

5 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Beta's walker dad or brother or whatever, I'm not sure, the guy with the smiley-shirt.

I see I'm not the only one who doesn't know who the hell most of the cast is anymore.

After reading that, not much reason to watch. Guess I'll go with "The Affair" which at least doesn't have dozens of new characters whose names I forget two minutes after hearing them.

[peach]

Wait, are y'all saying you aren't riveted by this content??

6 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

We see how they got their names. Alpha congratulates Beta on ripping open a walker by saying "good job Big Man". When he's like "what", she says "okay, Mr B. then". He says "what does that make you", she says "A". But that's it. No Alpha and Beta yet, just Mr. B.

[Anela]

I totally forgot about TWD. I was at the movies on Sunday, and also missed something I actually wanted to watch (Mr. Robot). 

[OoohMaggie]

[OoohMaggie]

[OoohMaggie]