This week on The Walking Dead, we flashback to the beginnings of the apocalypse, looking at our newest villain.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Staff Writer
The Walking Dead: “Omega”
Season 9, Episode 10
Airdate: 2/17/2019
***SPOILERS INCOMING***
For many of The Walking Dead viewers, your enjoyment of “Omega” will depend on how much you want to know about the Whisperers and its central figure, Alpha. I thought the episode made its mark, and it’s important to understand the origins of the show’s newest villains.
In the comic series, the Whisperers are given little backstory, but here the show elects to give its leader and her daughter one. I thought the show made a great choice, and I thought that Samantha Morton (who plays Alpha) did a fantastic job. She repulsed me.
There is no Michonne in this episode. There is no appearance from Carol, King Ezekiel, or many of the people we’ve become accustomed to watching for all of these years. Only the characters from the Hilltop make appearances in this episode. The other half of the episode takes place in 2010, in an underground bunker in Baltimore with Lydia, her family, and others stuck there while the whole world collapsed around them.
Lydia recounts her time in that bunker to both Henry and Daryl as she sits in the Hilltop jail. Over the course of the hour, she comes to terms with the fact that her mother (who’s real name we never learn) is a psychopath. For the longest time, Lydia had a horrible view of her father for the scary things he did in that bunker… but, as it turns out, he never did those things. Her mother did, and Lydia is suffering from enough PTSD that she misremembered.
There is not a single redeeming thing that we know about Alpha. She’s dirty and a horrible individual. Two of the show other “big bads” at least had some depth to them. The Governor loved his daughter, and her demise drove him insane. Even Negan showed some genuine compassion at points during his reign of terror. Alpha seems repulsive all-around. Sure, she comes to the Hilltop at the end of the episode for Lydia, but does she really have the best intentions for her? I doubt it.
Next week, we’ll link up with the rest of the cast.
SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
– Magna, Yukimo, and the newbies use what I like to call the “Sasha Williams Memorial Tunnel” to sneak out of Hilltop in the dead of night, against Tara’s orders, to search for Luke and Alden. They soon determine that this was a bad idea and decide to head back, but Connie and Kelly get emotional and decide to stay behind. All of these people are stupid.
– Henry’s explanation for Carol’s growing her hair out actually makes a ton of sense. It’s not fun to go back and watch Carol be abused by her husband, Ed, in Season 1, but her character growth continues to be one of the show’s bright shots. She may not appear each week, but Melissa McBride and her now iconic character is still is the Walking Dead’s greatest secret weapon. I hope she survives until the end of the show’s run.
– Samantha Morton is an accomplished actress. Her accent for Alpha may be distracting, but I have faith in her ability to crush this role.
– Norman Reedus continues to put in great work as Daryl. His interactions with Lydia were impactful and really meaningful, and, if Lydia sticks around, I can see them forming a bond with each other.
– Henry is still the worst kid in the zombie apocalypse, and eating worms is gross.
