While The Walking Dead might be stumbling a bit when it comes to ratings, season 9 has been well-received by critics and fans alike. Perhaps batting off accusations that the show has become a bit formulaic, we’ve seen the death of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes, an unexpected time jump and the arrival of the mysterious and frankly quite disgusting Whisperers, who’ve already killed off Jesus.
So, what’s next? Well, there’s some neat clues in this new plot synopsis that AMC released today, and you can check it out for yourself below:
“The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 finds our groups of survivors, both old and new, continuing to deal with the impact of events that took place during the six years that have passed. Since the disappearance of Rick, many of these characters have become strangers to each other, and in some ways, strangers to themselves. What they do know is that they are in undeniable danger. They will soon realize the world just beyond does not operate as they thought. The group’s rules and ways of survival no longer guarantee their safety.
A whole new threat has crossed their paths, and they soon discover it’s unlike any threat they have encountered or endured before. The group will start to question what they think they see. What may appear to be normal in this post-apocalyptic world could actually be more disturbing and terrifying than when the apocalypse first broke out. All that is certain is the stakes are high and numerous.”
This talk of a new threat unlike anything they’ve seen before is undoubtedly a reference to the Whisperers. Readers of the comics will know that they’re some of the fiercest and most vicious enemies in the franchise. For those unfamiliar with them, though, they’re a group of almost feral survivors who’ve clad themselves in the skin of the undead and believe that the apocalypse is a signal for mankind to return to its primal roots.
Following the social organization of wolves, their leader is termed an “Alpha” (Samantha Morton), with a “Beta” as their right hand (Ryan Hurst). Making the group especially dangerous is that due to their use of skins and flesh-masks, they can blend in amongst the walkers and use them as weapons against other survivors.
It’s a neat way to mix things up for The Walking Dead. After all, nine seasons in and the walkers have lost a bit of their bite due to overexposure. So what better way to crank up the tension than to wonder whether any walker could be a secret Whisperer in disguise?
