Alpha is an antagonist in Seasons 9 and 10 of The Walking Dead and also appears in the Tales of the Walking Dead episode "Dee". She is the leader of the Whisperers, a violent group of apocalypse survivors who disguise themselves with the skin of the undead in order to blend in with them and not get noticed. Through the course of the apocalypse, Alpha has come to believe that humanity can never reclaim the civilization it has lost and that survival is all that matters, thus she and her followers adopt a primitive lifestyle in the wilderness, akin to a wolf pack.
Personality[]
Alpha is shown to be a highly intelligent, cold, psychopathic, sadistic, cunning, and egocentric woman who is a hardened, determined survivor and a strong leader to those in her group. She appears to enjoy being in a position of authority and does not take kindly to anyone who opposes her, usually murdering anyone who does so. She is shown to be extremely manipulative, having physically and psychologically abused her daughter Lydia for years while convincing her that she did everything she could to care for and protect her, even fooling Lydia into believing that her father was responsible for abusing her.
Alpha appears to despise anyone she views as being weak and justifies cold-blooded murder as a way to eliminate weakness from her group. She is shown to have no qualms about killing anyone, whether they be adolescents, or the elderly. Having de-evolved into nothing but a hardened and primitive survivor, she has renounced the person she used to be before the apocalypse, not even using her real name any more and encouraging the Whisperers to do the same.
History[]
Early life[]
Before the apocalypse, Alpha's name was Dee and she originally lived in west Maryland. It is revealed in Tales of the Walking Dead that she had killed her own father at the age of nine, claiming that he "deserved it", implying that she was abused as a child. In adulthood, she had a husband named Frank and a daughter named Lydia. She appeared to be an abusive but protective mother to her daughter, once slapping her after she nearly suffocated herself to death after being tangled in a plastic tarp to ensure she would never do it again.
At the onset of the apocalypse, Dee and her family took shelter within a warehouse along with several other refugees as the military struggled to contain the outbreak. The family would remain there for the next three weeks as they waited for rescue, but as they listened to the undead overrun the living, their hope quickly diminished. Dee tried to convince her husband and daughter to leave the shelter, but Frank insisted that they stay. Dee eventually cut her hair off to spite Frank, who liked her hair long, but she decided that she could do whatever she wanted since the world was coming to an end.
Eventually, the undead began to overrun the outside of the building. A fellow survivor, Matias, started to have a panic attack and wanted to leave the basement. Dee, knowing noise could draw them in, smothered Matias to death by crushing his windpipe, believing that he was too weak to survive this world. Later that night, unknown to the group about the virus infecting the living, a reanimated Matias began to attack the group. Dee then attempted to lead her family to safety by escaping, but Frank tried to save their friends, which resulted in Dee murdering him.
At some point after escaping from the shelter in Baltimore, Dee and Lydia ended up spending over a year on a steamboat with another group of survivors. While on the steamboat, Dee, although not remorseful for killing Frank, recognized that she "went mad" while in the shelter and tried to repent for her actions by being a good person and a good mother to Lydia who was afraid of her mother after witnessing Frank's murder. In the years that followed, Dee would tell Lydia the reverse of events in the beginning, that Frank was the abusive one and she was the one trying to protect Lydia, that a reanimated Matias killed her father, and not Dee herself.
After the fall of the steamboat, Dee and Lydia were rescued by the Whisperers who, at the time, were led by a woman named Hera, who Dee took a romantic interest in. Dee would refer to the end of the steamboat and joining the Whisperers as the "death" of her weak former self who, for all of her faults, had been trying to be a good mother and a good person before a threat ended the community. This caused Dee to fully embrace her ruthless side rather than trying to suppress it. Dee and Lydia either were banished, left the group, or went on a supply run and encountered the former country musician known as Half Moon at a hospital. After bonding, Alpha recruited him to join her. Not wanting to be reminded of his celebrity, Dee gave him the face of his dead friend and called him "Beta", while she became known as "Alpha".
Upon returning to the camp, Alpha assumed control after killing Hera. Alpha then let her turn and used her face as her mask. Picking up new survivors along the way, she instructed them to use this practice and all of the group members were forced to shed their previous identities and names, becoming nothing but hardened and primitive survivors. They survived off the land, moving from place to place. The group communicated whilst moving among herds by whispering with gruff voices, hence their name, similar to what a walker may sound like if it could talk. By herding walkers, the group was eventually able to culminate a large horde numbering in the thousands to be used as a potential weapon.
Season 9[]
Alpha becomes aware of the existence of the communities of Alexandria and the Hilltop after members of these communities encounter her scouts in the wilderness. During an encounter in a graveyard, the Whisperers killed Jesus, the leader of Hilltop. Alpha's daughter was among the scouts that pursued the surviving Coalition members, but she was captured. Later on, Alpha and her pack capture Alden and Luke, who were following a trail of arrows left by Yumiko.
With her daughter being held by the enemy and now having two hostages, Alpha led her pack to the Hilltop with Luke and Alden in tow. Upon arriving at the Hilltop, Alpha negotiated with Daryl Dixon, offering to return her prisoners in exchange for Lydia. Daryl went down to talk to Alpha face to face, telling her that he knew how Lydia had been abused and would fight to keep Alpha from taking her back. At this time, Daryl also noticed one of the Whisperers carrying a baby, asking why they had brought it out there. Alpha simply responded that the Whisperers were animals and that animals have babies. As the baby cried, a herd of zombies approached, drawn by the sound. Alpha gestured towards the mother that she leave the baby behind, but Connie suddenly emerged from the nearby cornfield and snatched up the baby before the walkers could take him. With great reluctance, Daryl agreed to return Lydia to her mother. Upon receiving her daughter, Alpha slapped her across the face and chastised her for addressing her as "mama" rather than her chosen monniker. The Whisperers returned Alden and Luke before departing with Lydia.
On their way back to their camp in the woods, Alpha asked Lydia about what she had seen within Hilltop's walls. Lydia explained that she had seen farmland, weapons and supplies, though she said nothing about Hilltop's dealings with the other communities. Later on, Beta arrived having captured Henry, who had followed them in order to save Lydia. Alpha decided to bring Henry with them and asked Lydia why she hadn't mentioned him. Lydia stated that she didn't think he was worth mentioning, but Alpha wasn't convinced, seeing as Henry had just risked his life for Lydia's sake.
At the Whisperers' camp, two Whisperers accuse Alpha of endangering the pack and question her logic in giving up two prisoners for her daughter. When her leadership is challenged, Alpha brutally murders the two. She later confers with Beta, discussing what to do with Henry, knowing that his community will come for him. That night, Alpha tries to force Lydia to kill Henry to prove her loyalty. Before Lydia can go through with the deed, walkers enter the camp and kill several Whisperers. The walkers had been lured to the camp by Daryl who arrived to rescue Henry and Lydia while Alpha and Beta were preoccupied with dealing with the zombies.
Following Lydia and Henry's escape, Alpha would infiltrate the Kingdom by disguising herself as a regular survivor, murdering Hilde and taking her clothes and even her scalp. At the time, the Kingdom was hosting a trade fair as a means of reuniting the communities that made up the Coalition. Alpha observes the trading booths, paints and people celebrating. Ezekiel notices her and introduces himself. She presents herself as Deborah from Alexandria and asks him to show her around. Alpha is then somehow able to kidnap several residents and has them taken away to a barn in the woods. That night, Alpha sits down next to Lydia in the movie theater and quietly tells her not to say anything. Outside, she confronts Lydia about being a traitor but she tells her this is a better way of life. She then threatens to scream if she doesn't leave and Alpha tells her she was never one of them. Lydia breaks down in tears as Alpha leaves.
After leaving Lydia, Alpha met with her followers at the barn who had abducted the missing residents. While the captives had fought back valiantly, they were restrained and Alpha personally murdered each of them one by one. Only Siddiq was spared, kept alive to bear witness to the slaughter of his friends. After decapitating each victim, Alpha had their heads planted on spikes forming a makeshift border between the Whisperers' and Coalition's territories. Later that night, Alpha returned to the Whisperers' camp where Daryl, Carol and Michonne are tied up. Daryl is released and Alpha leads him up a hill overlooking a gorge to see an enormous horde consisting of thousands of walkers. Alpha states that she has established a border between hers and the Coalition's lands and that if the border is at all violated, she will unleash the horde upon them.
Season 10[]
In the months following a terrible blizzard, Alpha sent one of her recent recruits - Dante - into Alexandria under the guise of a lonely survivor in order to spy on the Coalition. Since Lydia didn't know him, he would be able to gather information and disrupt Alexandria without fear of being recognized.
While Beta was leading a party in gathering walkers, Frances - the Whisperer who had abandoned her baby outside of Hilltop - began lamenting over the loss of her child, attracting the attention of the zombies around her and forcing Beta to kill them. When they returned to camp, Beta was prepared to kill Frances, but Alpha stepped in and took her aside, speaking to her in private and allowing her to release her emotions as one mother to another. However, this proved to be ineffective at quashing any weakness in her as the next day she once again became emotional while she and her fellow Whisperers were gathering more walkers for the horde. This time, however, Frances attacked Alpha in a rage, only for her sister Mary to step in and protect Alpha by throwing Frances to the walkers. Alpha would reward Mary for her loyalty by anointing her as the "Gamma" of the pack.
Alpha later sent Gamma to inform Daryl and Michonne to meet her at the northern border to talk. That night, Alpha arrived with some Whisperers and reminded the group to stay off her land. Michonne explained that a falling satellite had started a forest fire which would have wiped out Oceanside and they only crossed one time, but Alpha reminded her of two other times they trespassed. Alpha declared that there would be no bloodshed, and instead announced that she would be moving the border up as punishment. Carol objected to this, but Daryl tried to calm her down and make her leave. Alpha told Carol to lower her eyes to her feet, explaining that she should fear her and reminding Carol how Henry feared her before she beheaded him, causing Carol to pull out her gun and shoot. Daryl managed to hit Carol's arm and make her miss, as the Whisperers drew their weapons. Michonne apologized to Alpha for Carol's behaviour and Alpha said she forgave her "mother to mother." She then smiled evilly and ordered the group to leave since they were on her land.
The next day, as part of her ongoing plan to slowly wear down Alexandria, Alpha had Gamma go into the forest with a walker and spill its blood and guts into the river, thereby contaminating Alexandria's water supply and starting an outbreak of cholera in the community. Alpha's strategy raises questions among some of the Whisperers, with one demanding that she sic the entire horde upon the Coalition rather than use them to wear the enemy down slowly. Alpha gave the other Whisperers the chance to express their views, but they remained silent, not agreeing with the nay-sayer, who Beta later killed and added his reanimated body to the horde.
Some days later, the Whisperers would capture Negan Smith, who had escaped from his cell at Alexandria and had trespassed into their territory. Alpha considered testing Negan to see if he would make a worthy addition to the Whisperers, but Beta objected, suggesting that they kill him. Alpha noted how Beta had been questioning her decisions with increasing frequency, asking if he had finally decided to challenge her for leadership of the pack, but Beta assured her that he would never challenge her authority. For the rest of the day, Beta would test Negan to see if he had what it took to join the Whisperers, and much to his annoyance, Negan seemed to overcome whatever challenge was put before him. Beta even attempted to have Negan killed by making him walk amongst a herd of walkers, but to both his and Alpha's surprise, he made it back to the Whisperers' camp unharmed, though covered in the blood of several zombies he had killed. Convinced of Negan's abilities, Alpha welcomed him into the pack.
Over time, Alpha became wary of Gamma's continued loyalty, believing that her meetings with Aaron to gain information might make her susceptible to the temptation of a life different from that of their pack. This concern motivated her into relocating her zombie horde into a cave and intentionally drawing the attention of Carol and a Coalition group, luring them into the cave where she expected they would be killed. After luring the group into the cave and trapping them with the horde, Alpha left behind several Whisperers to ensure that they didn't escape.
The following day, Alpha was using the camp's latrine when Negan approached her, warning her that there may be a traitor among their ranks and suggesting that it could be Gamma. Alpha proceeded to hold a knife to Negan's crotch, warning him against sowing paranoia in the camp and threatening to castrate him. She then tossed him into her latrine ditch and left. However, she considered Negan's words and realized he could be right. Sometime later that day, Alpha asked Beta about Gamma's whereabouts and was informed that she didn't make it to the border. She implied that Gamma was the traitor and wanted Beta to track her down and bring her to the camp alive so that Alpha could kill her in front of the whole pack.
Following this discovery, Alpha took Negan into the forest. When they stopped, she ordered him to undress. Negan, thinking Alpha was about to kill him, admitted that the power he once had over the Saviors turned him into a monster. Surprisingly, he turned around to find Alpha fully naked. Calling Negan a "crass man", she said he deserved a crass reward for detecting the spy. Negan appeared amused since Alpha kept her mask on and wondered if she would decapitate him like a female praying mantis afterwards, but she didn't answer him and simply smirked before the two embraced and kissed.
Alpha and some of her Whisperers escorted part of their herd of walkers from the cave towards an unknown point. While they were passing through a river, Daryl ambushed the group and managed to kill the escorts. Alpha and Daryl then fought each other with blades, with Alpha slicing Daryl's face under the eyes, worsening his vision with blood. She was then thrown to the ground and impaled in the shoulder with a tree branch as Daryl yelled for Magna and Connie's whereabouts. The fight drew the attention of nearby walkers and Alpha stabbed Daryl in the leg as they fled the scene separately.
Weakened and losing blood, Alpha followed Daryl into an abandoned gas station where she slumped against a wall, banging her shotgun on the wall to attract walkers in the vicinity which would protect her and attack Daryl. When three walkers were lured inside, she growled at one of them to hide her identity and watched as Daryl killed them before they both passed out. That night, Alpha remained bleeding out on the floor and began monologuing about light and darkness, stating that she was grateful for everyone who made her strong. When Daryl told her she drove Lydia away because she didn't love her, she became offended and tried to approach him, but passed out from exhaustion.
Alpha briefly awoke and saw Lydia standing over her. She wondered if Lydia was real or a hallucination, starting to sing a lullaby while placing her daughter's hands on the knife above her heart, saying she was ready to lead the Whisperers after her death. Lydia tearfully declined to kill her mother and said she blamed her for not letting her live a normal life like she always wanted. The following morning, Alpha woke up alone and sees the words "Your way is not the only way" carved into a workbench with her knife. She stares at the inscription in frustration, before starting to laugh evilly. Sometime later, Alpha was found by her followers who tended to her wounds. She stood up and declared that she would take her revenge on the communities with their horde while pronouncing the Whisperers' anthem, officially declaring war.
The following day, after having gathered the necessary tools and amassing her horde, Alpha led the march towards the Hilltop. By nightfall, the horde arrived and overwhelmed the Hilltop's defences with their sheer numbers. While the Coalition forces appeared to be doing well at holding the horde back, the Whisperers had other weapons at their disposal. They began launching sacks of sap via makeshift catapults at the Hilltop before setting the sap-drenched walls ablaze with flaming arrows. Behind the Whisperer lines, Negan - now wearing his own skin mask - was puzzled, since he thought Alpha wanted the survivors to join them. Alpha assured Negan that they would, as part of her horde, much to his bemusement.
In the aftermath of the Hilltop attack, Alpha and the Whisperers killed the wounded survivors, though she had her followers aim for the heart so that the casualties would reanimate and become a part of the horde. Alpha chided Negan when he bashed a survivor's head in and wasn't pleased with their victory as she still didn't have Lydia. Beta informed Alpha that Lydia was not among the dead and promised to look for her.
Death[]
In the episode "Walk With Us", Negan approached Alpha and told her that he had captured Lydia. Negan led Alpha to a shed where Lydia was supposedly located, though he tried to talk Alpha out of her plan to kill Lydia so that her daughter would always be with Alpha as part of the horde. Recognizing that Alpha still loved Lydia, Negan related the story of his love for his wife Lucille, but Alpha refused to be dissuaded. Alpha opened the door, only to find that Lydia wasn't inside the shed. As a confused Alpha turned to Negan, he suddenly slit her throat. Catching the falling Alpha, Negan gave her a kiss before gently lowering Alpha to the ground where she quickly bled to death.
After Alpha's death, Negan delivered her severed zombified head to Carol. Upon seeing Alpha's severed head growling at her, Carol commented that it took Negan long enough, revealing that Negan and Carol had been working together to kill Alpha. Alpha's head was later planted on a spike, just as she had once done to those she had killed during the Kingdom's fair. Her head would later be found by Beta, who kept a hold of the head for some time. He eventually stabbed Alpha's brain and put her down after vowing to take revenge on her killers.