New Threats Emerge

"You are where you do not belong." - Whisperer, "The Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead" began its ninth season on Sunday, October 7. Throughout the season I'll be recapping the episodes each Monday, considering themes and where the series is headed.

The mid-season finale brought a death, some clarity and set the board up for the challenges of the second half of the season. In short, it's everything we've come to expect from "The Walking Dead." And I'll get to thoughts in a minute, but first a bit about my process.

I mused last week about what it would mean if the Walkers were now capable of speech, thought and more. I knew this was part of a new threat, The Whisperers, that are part of the comics. Last night's mid-season finale revealed what they are, but those who are fans of the source material already knew. I'll say up front, and people who know me well already know this, I don't like to read source material first. I enjoy the journey in TV and movies, and if I like the story I will often go back and read the original source material when it's done. But I don't read ahead of time. I have never read "The Walking Dead" comics, and I honest don't know if I ever will. So when I write these recaps and approach this show, it's as someone coming to the material fresh as a TV viewer.

So things like the true nature of the Whisperers was unknown to me until it was revealed in the show. And what seemed at first like, possibly, the evolution of the dead instead turns out to be the evolution of living evil. The Whisperers are men and presumably women who don the faces of the dead and walk with the herds, but they aren't dead themselves yet. That makes them a fascinating, and possibly more daunting threat.

We saw that emergence last night, as Jesus (Tom Payne) saw his time end thanks to a crafty Whisperer who uttered the above phrase as a warning before ending him. It also saw many of our heroes left in peril, though the trailer for the second half quickly assuaged fears that they, too, would be gotten. Still, it's a blow for Hilltop, which is already without Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and now has lost its other leader.

It's likely that Tara (Alanna Masterson) will be asked to step up. And, it's fair to wonder if the rift between Hilltop, The Kingdom and Alexandria can now be healed, especially as new threats emerge. One of the mysteries that wasn't bridged was what happened in those six years to split these groups of friends and survivors up. We know that Michonne (Danai Gurira) played a key role, especially based on her frosty reception, but what caused it? That's something that will likely (hopefully) be explored in 2019.

While that mystery, the Whisperers and the death of a character were the big plot points last night, we'd be remiss to forget the payoff for Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who has toiled in a cell for eight episodes. Well, seven and a half, really. He was able to free himself thanks to some careless guard keeping at the tail end of the mid-season finale, and it's pretty clear that his rehabilitation hasn't quite stuck.

So what does it mean for him to be out in the world again? The previews for the second half showed a return to the Sanctuary, but we've been told that it and the Saviors collapsed. So what does that mean? What will he find? And what does him being free mean to the rest? Well, that's a mystery we'll have to wait until February to explore further, but I'd wager it's not a good sign.

Was Rick wrong to give him mercy? I guess we'll find out soon enough.