A New Challenge

"I'm not gonna lie. Walking around in dead people's skin is pretty messed up." — Henry, "The Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead" returned for the second half of its ninth season on Feb. 10. Each week I'll be looking at the episode, the deeper themes, and the world.

Peace never lasts long for those in 'The Walking Dead." When one threat is dispatched, it seems another is just around the corner. And such is the case in this second half of the ninth season. First they lost a friend, and now Alpha (Samantha Morton) and her gang are at their doorsteps. And next week promises to be something of a clash, but more on that when we arrive.

Most of last night's episode was about learning the new foe through her daughter, Lydia (Cassady McClincy). She was captured in the mid-season premier and it was left up to Daryl (Norman Reedus) and by extension Henry (Matt Lintz) to try and get information out of her. And, to some extent, to determine if she's a friend or foe.

It turned out by hour's end that she's really just as much a victim of her mother as others. In fact, her entire view of the world has been poisoned by a woman who has gone somewhat mad. And that makes her a difficult enemy to tackle. Also difficult, when she arrives at the end and asks for just one thing — her daughter.

Knowing who Daryl is and what he and Henry know, he's not going to be inclined to return a young girl to her abuser. Nor should he. But that will only further the conflict here with a group that appear to act as though they have nothing to lose.

One of the long recurring themes for "The Walking Dead" is how people respond to a world gone mad. That was particularly true of Alpha, who we see beginning 23 days after the outbreak. We get varying views of her from her daughter, who originally perceived her one way then saw the truth. Alpha snapped, seeing brutality as the only way to ensure survival for her and her daughter. She lost faith in groups and institutions, and instead decided it was better to walk with the dead and create a shadow society embracing a lost world.

That is a dark view, but not a wholly unexpected one. And one that's not likely to be changed or reached. But, then again, we've seen Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) come back to life, at least in some way, so you never know.

But for now, the threat is at their gates, and it's going to have to be dealt with. And that likely means more will be lost before it ends, it's just a matter of who and what.