The Walking Dead preview: Captives on both sides

The Walking Dead episode “Omega” will propel the Whisperers narrative into even more dangerous territories.

During The Walking Dead midseason premiere, we saw Negan get mournfully nostalgic over his fallen villainous empire. We’d expect nothing less from him, just like we anticipated that he’d get dreadfully lonely in the walker wasteland. Given the tense foreshadowing regarding the Whisperers in the previous episode, Negan might soon wish he spent the apocalypse with those ravenous dogs.

The ending moments of The Walking Dead‘s recent episode showed Alden and Luke lurking too close into Whisperers territory. Obviously, Alden and Luke aren’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Sure, the Whisperers could’ve easily killed Alden and Luke but the teaser for this week’s episode suggests they’ll be captives, likely to be used as leverage against the interconnected communities.

The teaser above shows that once its realized Alden and Luke are missing, Tara, Magna, and others go looking for them. However, we’re skeptical that everyone in the search party will heed Tara’s orders to go back to the community. After all, there’s always a self-imposed hero or two in a group.

Now, the Whisperers could have easily taken Alden and Luke’s horses and covered their tracks to prevent any opposing survivors from following the trail to their home. However, carving up their horses seems like a deliberate taunt. What the Whisperers don’t seem to know quite yet is Alexandria has a captive of its own — Lydia.

Setting up an exchange of hostages similar to the comics, we all know that Alpha likely wants her daughter, Lydia back. However, the series will let us meet Alpha both with and without the mask before any captive exchange process ensues.

As The Walking Dead continues its suspenseful arc through the Whisperers lore, this week’s episode will venture into their community of the walker imposters. According to Digital Spy, we’ll also see the leader of the Whisperers, Alpha, without her zombie disguise.

The Walking Dead‘s upcoming episode, “Omega,” will focus on an overarching theme of leadership both within the group of morbid anarchists and our favorite survivors. As we find out what Alpha’s plans are, we’ll likely see more combat and more death in the upcoming episode.