The Walking Dead: Are the Whisperers behind the Savior disappearances?

The Walking Dead‘s most anticipated development of season 9 is the introduction of the Whisperers.  Do the Savior disappearances mean they’ve arrived?

They’re not dead. They just walk amongst the undead. They are the Whisperers.

In a chilling trailer ahead of The Walking Dead‘s season 9 premiere, we got our first look at the latest villains to roam into the Walking Dead realm. Now a few episodes in, we have a few clues hinting that the Whisperers are close — but whether they will reveal themselves early or creep in the shadows until the end of the season is still up in the air.

The Whisperers are a group that have survived by wearing the dried skins of walkers like leather to blend in with walkers. While the skins are sanitized in the drying process, preventing contamination, the walker scent is still strong enough for the walkers to mistake them for the undead. They whisper to each other when they’re within a horde to go unnoticed by walkers and humans. Alpha and Beta lead the Whisperer group that consists of an animalistic way of life, blending in with hordes, and protecting their territory from others.

As soon as this season started, we received a clue that the Whisperers may be nearby due to the frequency of hordes. The bridge collapse could have also been a warning shot to the communities. But the latest indicator has been the missing Saviors, which may be signaling the start of The Whisperer War.

During last week’s episode “The Bridge,” Alden explained to Rick that at the very least six Saviors had gone missing. These were people who had no intention of leaving their camps, some who even had families, thus it made no sense to Alden as to why they’d run off.

The most recent Savior abduction at the end of the last episode made it more apparent that something ominous is up. A Savior walking away from camp, having been banished by Rick for causing trouble within the community, seems to recognize a person in the woods. But that person isn’t so friendly, as we get a quick shot of them attacking him. Was the attacker a Savior turned Whisperer? Or… disgustingly enough… a Whisperer wearing the skin of someone else?

Rick, for now, seems to be brushing off these mysterious disappearances as people who are still loyal to Negan and would rather leave the growing communities than contribute to them. Still, their disappearances are going to be investigated, and we hope whoever goes after them keeps an eye out for walkers and Whisperers alike.

The Whisperers could appear as soon as the next episode, aptly titled “Warning Signs.” This could especially be true if the Savior that Rick kicked out is killed, because The Whisperer War is sparked by Whisperers impaling captive’s heads on a stick as a warning to Rick.

Do you think the Whisperers will appear in next week’s episode? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.