The Walking Dead Season 9: Who will get piked by the Whisperers?
By Paul Zuniga
The recent mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead teased two survivors being captured by the group known as the Whisperers. Are they first in line to be piked?
Warning: Spoilers for the latest episodes of The Walking Dead follow. You’ve been warned.
Fans familiar with The Walking Dead comics know that the Whisperers’ arrival came accompanied by several major character deaths. So when their introduction was announced for the television adaptation, everyone’s focus turned to who they’d kill first.
In the comics, the Whisperers captured multiple survivors from Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom before executing them. Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers, then placed their heads atop of pikes for everyone to see. She displayed them across a field as a border between her community and that of Rick’s. (Rick Grimes is still alive during this point in the comics).
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The reason this particular event from the comics holds significance is that two residents of Hilltop were just captured by the Whisperers. Luke (Dan Fogler) and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) wound up following a trail of Yumiko’s arrows directly to the opposing group’s area, only to be ambushed.
Alpha (Samantha Morton) herself was the one leading the charge, raising her signature double barrel shotgun, identically to her comic counterpart. The scene was practically a shot-for-shot of the iconic panel from The Walking Dead comics. This leads us to believe that Luke and Alden are the first of her victims. It also doesn’t hurt that Luke’s comic counterpart was executed by the Whisperers.
Whether that’s set to happen on the show is up for debate, but seeing as how season nine has been taking quite a few cues from the comics, Luke and Alden’s heads are likely on the chopping block.
All things considered, they are somewhat expendable. Luke just arrived and hasn’t really made much of an impact—and Alden—he’s a former Savior whose been living on borrowed time. Alden’s death could also serve as a driving factor in Enid’s mission to stop the Whisperers.
As far as who else might be piked alongside Alden and Luke—assuming there is a piking—Ezekiel (Khary Payton) is a popular pick since he’s one of the heads in the comics. Rosita (Christian Seratos) could also be nearing the end of her journey due to the source material.
There is, however, a possibility that The Walking Dead television series will deviate away from the source material altogether. In that scenario, the lineup of possible casualties could be completely different than what we expect to see.
Which character do you think could fall prey to the Whisperers? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC. Season 9, Episode 9 “Adaptation” premieres on February 10, 2019.