Luke (Season 9)

"Do you... Do you know what this is? This is ... This is an original Stradivarius... Circa 1725 [...] It's art [...] Look, for a very long time, historians and archeologists have wondered how did ancient humans survive the Neanderthals? Okay? How did we defeat them when they were bigger and they were smarter and they were stronger, faster? They had better tyools than us. So why are we still here and they're not? And then they found a cave. Okay? And in that cave, they found a 40,000 year old flute [...] Yes. A flute. Yeah. And then they realized that maybe ancient humans didn't defeat Neanderthal. Not in the way that we think of the word "defeat," okay? They came together as an answer to defeat. They sat around a campfire. They shared their stories with each other in the form of music. And paintings. And they created a a common identity. And then they, you know, they built communities, and they grew. And then, as they grew, Neanderthal retreated, and then, after a while, they just died out. So this, yeah. This. This. This is the one thing that separates us from the animals. For better or for worse, it brings us together. And if we're trying to rebuild something, you can't ignore that [...] Yeah. It's survival of the fittest... sharing with each other. That's part of what makes us stronger."

- Luke explaining to Michonne why he believes art differentiates humans from animals.

Luke is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He is a member of Magna's group.

Overview
Luke is a fatigued survivor who understands there is safety in numbers. He values what is beautiful and hopeful and makes people uniquely human. He’s more on the artist’s spectrum of personality, preaching the love of music as a necessity to maintain humanity during chaotic times.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Luke's life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that he was a music teacher and had some culinary experience.

Post-Apocalypse
At some point after the outbreak, Luke met girlfriends Magna and Yumiko, siblings Connie and Kelly, Bernie, among other survivors. The group survived for several years, eventually becoming closer and seeing each other as family. However, as the years went by, several members of the group died.

The group resided in different communities, such as Jones Springs and Coalport, both which eventually fell causing the group's distrust in rejoining any other similar settlements.

"What Comes After"
In the woods, Magna's group take on a herd of walkers. They quickly get overwhelmed but they get saved when the walkers around them get shot from the trees.

Luke and the group escape into the woods to find a 9 year old girl who asks for their names. They introduce themselves and ask what her name is. The girl picks up her hat and introduces herself as Judith Grimes.

"Who Are You Now?"
In the woods, Luke and the group follow Judith as she leads them to Rosita, Eugene, Laura, and Aaron. Luke jokingly comments to Eugene that he can help him cook the rabbit. Wanting to take them in, Judith declares she won’t return to Alexandria until they accept them. The others reluctantly agree.

Later, Luke and the group arrive at Alexandria's gates and Judith assures them they’ll be safe. They get escorted inside, where Gracie runs over to Aaron. Rosita updates Siddiq on Yumiko’s condition and he escorts her to the infirmary. Magna tries to tag along but is stopped by D.J.

Michonne arrives on horseback and doesn’t look pleased to see the new arrivals. She frisks Magna and asks Eugene why they’re here. Aaron claims it was his call but Michonne reminds him it’s not his call to make. “I decided,” Judith tells her. Michonne scolds her but Aaron says they’re here now and they should decide their fate together, while Gabriel suggests they vote tomorrow. Michonne agrees and instructs her people to put them in holding.

The next day, Luke and the group stand before the Alexandria council for questioning. They ask who their leader is and Magna claims they’re a team, while Luke explains their group used to be bigger and that they just lost their friend, Bernie. Gabriel asks about their former professions. Luke was a music teacher, Magna was a truck stop waitress, Connie was a journalist and Kelly was a high school student. Luke says they should trust them, but Michonne isn’t done with questions. She stands up and asks Magna to see her left hand, which has a prison tattoo. Michonne then calls her out for the hidden knife on her belt, which she puts on the table. Michonne storms out, saying she’ll second any of their motions. Magna tries to question her but is shut off.

Later, in the infirmary, Siddiq updates Luke and the rest on Yumiko’s condition. He asks him if he has been there since the start but Siddiq confesses that he was also found in the woods, but things were different in the past.

At night, Luke and the rest scold Magna for ruining their chance to stay. Luke asks Magna to hand over her necklace, which also doubles as a knife, but she’s reluctant. Magna says they should fight their way through Alexandria to take their supplies before heading out, but Connie tells her to leave Michonne and Judith out of it. Luke says they save the fighting for people who deserve it, and Magna finally surrenders the necklace.

The next day, Luke and the group prepares to leave by thanking everyone for their hospitality. Michonne rides up and says she’s going to instead escort them to Hilltop with Siddiq.

"Stradivarius"
On the road to Hilltop, Siddiq tells Michonne she should have let Magna’s group stay in Alexandria, but she says she still doesn’t trust them and is only doing this for her daughter. In the cart, Magna complains to her group that Michonne has her knives and she wants them back. Yumiko tells Michonne she’s just upset about their lost friend, Bernie.

A while later, Michonne and the others arrive at Magna’s giant crate of supplies, which have been displaced and destroyed by walkers. Magna’s upset at the sight of Bernie’s things while Michonne instructs D.J. to gather more of their weapons. This angers them, and Michonne also announces she’s returning to Alexandria in the morning while Siddiq and D.J. help them finish the journey. Magna and Luke start to get riled up, but Yumiko calms them down and reluctantly agrees to her terms. They decide to find shelter for the night.

At night, inside a factory, Michonne hears a noise and finds Luke holding something. She thinks it's a weapon and tells him to drop it and turn around. Luke turns only for Michonne to slice his Stradivarius in half, waking up the rest of the group.

Luke gawks at his broken Stradivarius in disbelief and explains to Michonne how old and rare it was. Yumiko lays her head on Magna’s leg and playfully recalls the mansion they found it in. Luke says the Stradivarius is the one thing that separates them from the animals and how it brought humans together in the past, leaving Michonne in thought.

In the morning, Siddiq tries again to convince Michonne to come with them but she says she can’t take the risk with Maggie. Siddiq reveals to her that Maggie and Hershel left last fall, shocking her. Before he can explain, D.J. arrives to let them know that there are walkers outside. The group gets out to find several walkers blocking the path to their horses.

Michonne kills several walkers as Magna demands they get back their weapons. Michonne finally relents and orders D.J. to return them their weapons. As Magna’s group splits up and take out several walkers, an undead Bernie appears, deeply upsetting them. A heartbroken Magna can't put him down, so Michonne does it for her. The group opens a clear path and leave.

On the road, Michonne empathizes with Yumiko and Magna, saying that she understands their pain of losing a friend considered family. Suddenly, two Hilltop soldiers ride up to them to inform that Rosita’s injured and being cared for at Hilltop. Michonne instructs them to tell Hilltop they’re on their way. Connie notices something nearby, confusing the group, but tells them it's nothing. As they leave, someone watches them from the bushes.

"Evolution"
At Hilltop, everyone runs inside as Michonne and Siddiq arrive with Magna and her group. From the guard post, Dianne makes them all surrender their weapons before entering.

Inside, Tara coldly greets Michonne and updates her on Eugene, Aaron, Daryl, and Rosita’s situations. She then informs Luke and the rest of the group that they’ll have to wait for Jesus to return before deciding on their future, but they can stay until he gets back. Connie thanks her for everyone.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Luke has killed.
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Magna
Having survived together for a while they have developed a good relationship, however once they get to Alexandria Magna is very hesitant to hand over all her weapons which Luke doesn't like.

Yumiko
Luke and Yumiko have survived together for a while they have developed a good relationship. When Yumiko hit her head on a rock while fighting a walker he helped her up and supported her as Judith saved them. He later visits Yumiko in the Alexandria hospital.

Connie
TBA

Kelly
TBA

Bernie
Even though they did not interact on screen. Luke talks about him in "Who Are You Now?" And gets emotional talking about him and being dead suggesting they had a good relationship and Luke cared about him.

Judith Grimes
Luke was really grateful that Judith saved him and his friends and thanked her before leaving Alexandria. When Michonne told them that she would take them to Hilltop, Luke was once again grateful for Judith saving him.

Eugene Porter
TBA

Aaron
TBA

Michonne
TBA

Gabriel Stokes
TBA

Siddiq
TBA

D.J.
TBA

Dianne
Luke is shown to follow Dianne's rules about weapons at the Hilltop getting rid of them fast.

Tara Chambler
TBA

Season 9

 * "What Comes After"
 * "Who Are You Now?"
 * "Stradivarius"
 * "Evolution"

Trivia

 * Luke is the only male member of Magna's group seen alive on-screen because Kelly, unlike her comic counterpart, is a female and Bernie died off-screen and was only seen as zombie.
 * Luke is one of six characters who know ASL, the others being his fellow group members Magna, Yumiko, Kelly, and Connie, as well as Carol Peletier.