The death of Alpha did not stop the Whisperer War as many of the survivor communities expected.

Instead, they will face the wrath of an insane Beta hellbent on revenge for his fallen leader with the dreaded walker horde at his command.

The Hilltop Colony has fallen, and soon the horde will attack the others.

Negan is not hailed as a hero, and Michonne is out of the equation.

Leaving Daryl, Carol, and the rest of the survivors directly in the crosshairs of the Whisperers.

All this and all Eugene wants to do is to meet the love of his life, Stephanie?

As always, SPOILERS AHEAD.

THE KING MEETS PRINCESS

During the previous episode, Eugene takes up volunteers to go with him to meet up with his long-distance radio girlfriend Stephanie.

The trip presented the potential to seek help from a new community unknown to the Whisperers as well as gain supplies that could help in the war.

Yumiko, and King Ezekiel go with Eugene on his journey, but on their way, they meet a new character named “Princess” Juanita Sanchez (Paola Lazaro).

At first, the three are wary and do not trust Princess (as one should in the apocalypse), but Ezekiel grows fond of her and tries to gain her trust.

Yumiko and Eugene, however, are not open to the idea because she is carrying a semi-automatic rifle. Leaving them in a stalemate.

As a group of walkers closes in on the group, Princess tries to prove she is trustworthy by opening fire on the walkers.

Though she succeeds in stopping the dead, her gunfire also spooks the horses the trio had brought as transportation, which leaves Yumiko and Eugene frustrated.

Eventually, Princess tries her best to make up for her mistake, and lead the group into a garage full of bicycles.

Not before intentionally leading them to the “scenic route” through a minefield, but all’s well that ends well.

In the end, Ezekiel, Yumiko, and Eugene finally trust her as she comes through on her promise, and even said she has candy in her stash, much to the delight of Eugene.

They invite Princess to help travel with them on their journey, and just like that, they have a powerful new ally.

Although she has been alone for over a year, so her mental stability still remains a question, but who doesn’t get a little bit crazy during a zombie apocalypse?

Princess is a different kind of crazy though as she seems to be inertly good-natured.

Lazaro does a great job in her portrayal, and there is a definite sweetness that comes through her performance.

The scenes with Yumiko, Eugene, and Ezekiel, especially, were particularly heart-warming as they argued and then bonded with their new friend.

CAT-ASTROPHE AT THE TOWER

The Alexandrians who expected to be the Whisperer horde’s next target wisely evacuated their home.

Sure enough, Beta charges his horde toward Alexandria, but he finds that the place is empty.

After pondering his next move, he orders his zombie horde to go for Oceanside as he leads in his vengeful delusional state.

At some point, he even tries to kill another one of his Whisperers, but the voice in his delusional mind stops him. Making him truly unpredictable.

Later, it’s revealed that the Alexandrians have escaped into an abandoned hospital tower.

It is filthy, stuffy, and smells like “cat pee” as Judith points out in the episode, but it’s better than staying at Alexandria where they could have suffered a similar fate as the Hilltop Colony.

Here, Father Gabriel acts as the leader and keeps radio contact with Daryl, who’s on perimeter duty, as well as Aaron and Alden who trail the Whisperer horde to monitor their movement.

Their plan seems to be going well, but soon Beta realizes something is off and figures out where they are when a stray cat wanders in the path of the horde and goes into the direction of the tower.

Aaron and Alden are made, and are presumably captured or killed and are not able to warn the rest of the survivors that the horde is coming for them.

Let this be a lesson that cats are actually evil, and want to kill you when they get a chance.

Also, the survivors need more dogs, so they can keep those darn cats away!

NEGAN AND LYDIA

After killing Alpha, Negan seems to have been accepted back by the Alexandrians as they make him the designated cook when they’re stuck in the tower.

He cooks up some yummy possum stew who he offers to Lydia at one point, but she rejects it, and ignores Negan for most of the episode.

Negan realizes that Lydia needs to grieve the death of Alpha, her mother, despite how horrifically evil she might have been.

He coaxes emotions of grief out of Lydia by provoking her to hit him, and at first, she refuses to give in because she thinks Negan is only being selfish, and wants to be perceived as a hero.

However, in an emotionally charged moment, she breaks down and cries in Negan’s arms, and the two share a tender embrace.

Negan seems to be becoming something of a protective father figure to the children in the series, particularly toward Lydia and Judith.

Though his redemption will probably never be complete as his sins against the survivors are probably unforgivable.

The fact that he is trying to redeem himself is great to watch, and is becoming a must-see part of the show.

DARYL AND JUDITH

As Judith sneaks out of the tower, she finds Daryl patrolling the perimeter to see if anything is off.

She asks him to teach her how to do the things he does “just in case something happens.”

Of course Daryl obliges as long as she stays close and obeys his commands.

In their patrol, they encounter a lone Whisperer who has become too afraid of Beta’s unstable mental state, and claims she was merely looking to go off on her own.

Daryl distrusts her, and shoots her in the head with an arrow.

Judith is shocked by Daryl’s action, and pleads that they take her, or at least bury her.

The emotional turmoil that Judith is struggling with has been a recurring theme of her character, and this is probably because she is a lot like her late brother Carl, and their father Rick.

In a sense, she possesses qualities of both as Carl’s ideology of “there’s gotta be something after”, and Rick’s mantra of “my mercy prevails over my wrath,” resonates within her.

Truly, Judith has become the heart of the show.

VERDICT:

The introduction of Princess comes at a great time for the survivors as they are left short of zombie-killing power with the departure of Michonne.

Ryan Hurst as Beta is incredible and gets scarier the further we go into this season.

Eugene’s quest for love is truly inspiring, and one can’t help but root for the guy.

Plus the adopted father figure to daughter scenes between Negan and Lydia as well as Daryl and Judith continues to develop into something special.

The Walking Dead “The Tower” (10 x 15) scores a resounding

8/10

Michonne has officially exited The Walking Dead.

Our favorite samurai-swinging walker killing machine, was sent off in a spectacularly trippy episode (titled “What We Become”), which included warped callbacks to past episodes, a heartfelt goodbye to her children, and sets her on a path to, presumably, look for Rick Grimes (who’s still probably somewhere with the helicopter people).

[SPOILER WARNING]

Of course, like Rick, fans may not have seen the last of Michonne.

As hinted by producer Scott M. Gimple on Talking Dead, many of the characters who have left the show may return in some way in the shared Walking Dead universe, whether in an original TV movie or as Lennie James’ character Morgan did – become a mainstay of another show (Fear The Walking Dead).

Danai Gurira (who non-TWD fans may recognize as General Okoye from Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War / Endgame) has played Michonne since season 3, and was one of the longest tenured protagonists of the show.

She is beat in seniority only by Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride – the last two original cast members left.

Michonne’s departure leaves a HUGE leadership role in Alexandria, which is currently being led by a council headed by the increasingly unstable Father Gabriel, and puts the rest of the survivor communities at a disadvantage in the Whisperer War.

Not only is Michonne an accomplished fighter and leader, but her connections to the rest of the characters will be sorely missed – especially to her children Judith and Rick Jr. who are basically orphaned now with mostly “Uncle” Daryl left to look after them.

[Quick Sidenote]

Daryl, though rock-solid against walkers and bad guys alike, has not had the best record when it comes to baby-sitting.

Some of his past duties include:

• Sophia – lost in the forest, bitten by and turned into a walker, then shot by Rick.
• Beth – let her get kidnapped after helping her find and drink booze – got himself intoxicated as well, and is shot by Dawn.
• Henry – tracked him down to save him from the Whisperers; died when he was kidnapped and got his head impaled on a pike by Alpha.

So yeah, best of luck to the Grimes siblings.

Michonne’s Last Fight

When we last saw Michonne, she went with the mysterious Virgil who promised weapons and supplies in exchange for helping him get back to his family in a secluded island.

This week, we find out that Virgil has a few screws loose (think Morgan in his “clear” mind set), and is keeping three former colleagues as prisoners in the safe-house where he keeps his supplies.

Michonne is unwittingly tricked into going inside a creepy building and slashing through a sizable walker horde that Virgil was not able to kill because, as it is horrifically revealed, he can not bring himself to do so because his family is already dead and is trapped somewhere in the building.

As Michonne swings her patented samurai at every walker in sight, Virgil is suspiciously looking at every one –checking if any of them are his slain wife and children.

Tragically, the two find Virgil’s family hung by the neck as walkers in a closed-off room. Michonne helps kill the zombie corpses and buries them.

Michonne then demands Virgil’s end of their bargain, but he delays the deal until the next morning.

An impatient Michonne decides to snoop around, and is trapped by Virgil in a room.

She finds out she is not alone in imprisonment when she hears the voices of Virgil’s former colleagues on the other side of the wall.

While imprisoned, Michonne receives and consumes an apple laced with a hallucinogenic drug from Virgil who takes the same drug to go to his “happy place.”

Michonne’s Last Trip

However, the opposite effect seems to happen to Michonne as the drug triggers hallucinations of alternate nightmare scenarios from her past.

In them she witnesses the following events:

• She lets Andrea get eaten by walkers from Herschel’s farm.
• She tries to hitchhike a car that ignores her, which is revealed to be driven by Daryl – presumably riding with Rick and Carl.
• She joins Negan and the Saviors when she is found alone in a desperate state and eventually becomes one of his generals.
• She shoots and kills Glenn and Heath when the group invaded the satellite outpost during the war with the Saviors.
• She bashes Abraham’s head with Negan’s baseball bat, Lucille, during the infamous season 7 premiere.
• She is hunted down and shot with an arrow by Daryl, and is shot in the head by Rick.

When she snaps out of her hellish hallucination trip, Michonne tricks and overpowers Virgil, then rescues and escapes with the three other prisoners.

However, they can not get off the island because Virgil has already burned the boat he and Michonne used.

Michonne’s Last Act of Mercy

With the three others desperate and enraged, they direct their attention toward Virgil, and want to kill him.

But just when Michonne gives in to the urge herself, she remembers and echoes Rick Grimes’ mantra when he spared Negan’s life.

“My mercy prevails over my wrath.”

Michonne, instead of killing Virgil, incapacitates him, and makes him help them get off the island.

By doing so, Virgil is forced to reveal a secret hidden ship he has found ashore, which he and his former colleagues managed to fix.

Inside the vessel, Michonne finds clues regarding Rick:

• Rick’s signature cowboy boots
• A non-functional smartphone with the screen engraved with drawings of Michonne and Judith along with a phrase written in Japanese

The two items, though not confirmation of Rick’s survival, gives Michonne a lead to follow.

As the ship is set to sail, Michonne invites Virgil to get off the island with the rest of them.

He refuses because he promised his dead wife that he would bring her grave flowers every day, so he is left alone in the island to live out the rest of his days.

Michonne’s Last Message

In the most heart-breaking scene during this episode, Michonne hails Judith and Rick Jr. one last time via walkie talkie to tell them that she has found a clue to potentially try and find their father.

As Michonne laments going back to her children to protect them from the dangers from the Whisperers, Judith lies saying that they “took care of them,” and urges her mother to go look for her dad because he might need her more than them.

Michonne promises to hail them through the walkie talkie every day (a similar promise Rick made in season 1 to Morgan), and update them.

Then before Michonne can even say it, Judith says,

“Listen to Uncle Daryl. I know, mom.”

What’s Next For Michonne?

At the end of the episode, we see Michonne travelling with “neutered” walkers in chains that act as wards once more.

There seems to be a small time skip as she is no longer with Virgil’s group, and is alone searching for Rick.

However, she comes across two strangers in red ponchos, one of which is injured, and trying to chase something.

After reluctantly offering her help, Michonne discovers that the two are following a large caravan of people in a tight army-like defensive formation equaling, or maybe exceeding that of the Whisperer’s horde.

Whether this new group plays a factor in the main Walking Dead show remains to be scene, but one thing is clear they are a force to be reckoned with.

VERDICT:

Suffice to say, this episode of The Walking Dead is a landmark installment because it’s one of the show’s most popular character’s exit.

But to top it off with a bombshell revelation about Rick, and potential introduction of another group of survivors is just icing on the cake!

“What We Become” scores a

9 / 10!

When we last left the survivors of The Walking Dead,  the Hilltop Colony was under siege as the Whisperers and Alpha’s horde attacked with the help of Negan.

In this episode, we find out the aftermath of the battle and the fate of several characters on both sides.

But first, there are some HUGE character developments in this episode, so fair warning . . .

[SPOILERS AHEAD, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK]

NEGAN SLITS ALPHA’S THROAT AND BEHEADS HER!

If you’re a fan of  The Walking Dead comic books then the moment you’ve been speculating has FINALLY hit the TV screen.

Below are two panels of the scene that played out in this week’s episode “Walk With Us”:

This iconic betrayal by Negan of Alpha, though not as shocking in the TV series as it was in the comic book series (for obvious reasons), played out on screen beautifully because of how haunting of an experience it was.

Beforehand, it was revealed in the aftermath of the Hilltop battle that an injured Lydia was captured by Negan to seemingly be returned to the Whisperers.

So the scene is set up when the camera cuts off to Lydia tied down in a shed.

Negan then tells Alpha that he found “that thing you’ve been looking for.” Implying that he knew where Lydia was.

After an EXTREMELY TENSE conversation between Negan and Alpha, she confides with him that she plans to kill Lydia because, as she says:

“She will always be my baby. I love her. That’s why I have to kill her.”

Negan was seemingly content with Alpha’s choice, so he hugs and kisses her, and begins to lead her to an abandoned shed.

The music intensifies and thickens the already tension-filled moment.

The camera cuts back and forth between Lydia, and the outside of the supposed shed she was being kept in as Alpha slowly walks closer.

Negan following closely behind her as she creeps.

Lydia, in panic, begins to loosen the ropes she was bound to, and just as she opens the door of the shed to escape – she sees an empty field with no trace of Alpha, Negan, or any other person alive or dead in sight. She’s safe.

As the screen cuts back to Alpha opening the door to the empty shed, she is bewildered.

She looks inside and finds no one, and as soon as she turns around back to Negan. SLASH!

Negan, in a swift swing of his blade, cuts Alpha’s throat.

Finally, as her blood gushes from her neck unto her shirt, Negan bids her farewell and gives her a parting kiss before she dies.

Next time we see Alpha, she is a zombified head thrown to the ground from Negan’s sack in front none other than Carol!

She then says to him, “Took you long enough,” which is met with a snarky grin from Negan.

This revelation implies that Carol was the one WHO LET NEGAN OUT OF THE PRISON at Alexandria (So Father Gabriel is off the hook!) and that she and Negan have been planning this the whole time!

It’s a crazy twist that makes Negan look almost heroic, albeit a bit twisted because he did seem to show genuine affection and respect toward Alpha at certain points in his double agent mission, yet he still kills her.

Was it all an act? Or will Negan’s time with Alpha and the Whisperers have a lasting impression on his psyche?

As for Carol, it’s INSANE to see how dark and manipulative she’s gotten. To be fair, she’s basically had to deal with the loss of a child (adopted or otherwise) at least 4 or 5 times throughout the show now, so her taking revenge for her most recent loss, Henry, seemed like the final straw that unhinged her.

How will Daryl feel about this secret unholy alliance?

BETA and GAMMA

After the Hilltop battle, Mary / Gamma is shown trailing Kelly and Alden, who is still keeping Mary’s nephew Adam away and refuses to let her touch him.

However, when Alden could not stop Adam from crying as the walkers were being drawn to the noise, he finally lets Mary hold him and the baby immediately calms down, the two share a tender aunt-nephew moment.

Kelly then breaks the silence asking “What was his mom’s name?”

Mary replies, “Frances. She was my world, and he (baby Adam) was hers.”

Unfortunately, they are soon faced with a tough decision as Beta has tracked them down, and is using a smaller horde of walkers to corner them successfully.

Mary makes the ultimate sacrifice and tries to lure Beta and the walkers away from his nephew and the two survivors, but Beta stabs and kills her and waits for her to turn, so he can take her back as part of the Whisperer horde.

In a small act of mercy and respect, Alden shoots the zombified Mary in the head, which sends Beta running.

During his scuffle with Mary, a part of Beta’s mask was torn off, and another Whisperer seemed to recognize him as he saw part of his face and said:

“It’s you! I knew your voice sounded familiar, but I…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Beta lashes out and kills him on the spot.

The fact that a random Whisperer recognized Beta is a mystery on its own, but if the series stays true to the comic books, then Beta would most likely be a famous celebrity in the TV series.

In the comics, he is revealed to be a former NBA player, but there have been no hints shown for that to be the case.

So who could he have been in the past? How did the slain Whisperer know him?

Whatever he was in the past, in the world of  The Walking Dead, he is a merciless killing machine who will most likely not be happy to find out that Alpha was killed by Negan.

VERDICT:

This episode pays homage to one of the most shocking and iconic twists that The Walking Dead comics had, and they do so with flair and dramatic fashion.

Season 10, Episode 12: “Walk With Us” scores a

9.0/10!

Walking Points (aka other Walking Dead “talking points”):

• Eugene tries to re-assemble the pieces of his radio, so he can contact Stephanie after most of it was burned when the Hilltop fell to the attack from the Whisperers.
• Earl, the adoptive father of Adam (Mary’s nephew) dies in the episode as it’s revealed he was bitten during the Hilltop battle, but not before heroically saving all the children from their burning homes, and getting them away to safety.
• Earl was put down by a distraught Judith Grimes, who has only had to kill walkers before. Daryl finds her upset next to Earl’s corpse, and comforts her.
• Magna and Yumiko re-unite and then proceed to break-up as a couple.
• Magna reveals that after the cave-in explosion, she and Connie blended in with Alpha’s horde by putting walker grime on themselves. However, when the horde was moving too fast she and Connie’s hands slipped, and she has not seen her since (She’s probably filming her scenes with Marvel’s The Eternals). So who knows what could happen to her?