Lydia (TV Series)

"You're more like us than them. You don't belong with these people."

- Lydia to Daryl.

Lydia is an antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is a member of the Whisperers and daughter of the group's leader, "Alpha".

Mid-Atlantic, United States
Nothing is known about Lydia's life prior to or as the outbreak began, except that she had a mother, "Alpha", who previously went by her real name and a father named Frank.

Baltimore, Maryland
Lydia, along with her parents, Alpha and Frank, survived the initial stages of the outbreak together. After 23 days of the initial outbreak, she remained in a moldy basement with a group of survivors. Lydia used to be naive regarding the status of the world and always spent time with her dad, since her mother was cold to her.

After 43 days, the undead began to overrun the outside of the building. A fellow survivor, Matias, started to have a panic attack and wanted to leave the basement. Alpha, knowing noise could draw them in, smothered Matias to death, believing that he was too weak to survive this world and was a threat to her family. In order to spare Lydia of the horror, Frank distracted her with her lullaby. Later that night, unknown to the group about the virus infecting the living, a reanimated Matias began to attack the group. Alpha then attempted to lead her family to safety by escaping, but Frank tried to save their friends, which resulted in Alpha murdering him.

According to Lydia, she and her mother watched many survivor communities thrive and then eventually fall, eventually evolving her mother into a more hardened survivor willing to resort to whatever measures necessary to survive. In the years that followed, Alpha would tell Lydia the reverse of events in the beginning, that Frank was the abusive one and she was the one trying to protect Lydia, that Matias killed her father and not Alpha herself.

Rural Virginia
At some point after the fall of the shelter and the death of her father, her mother "Alpha" formed and became the leader of a large group of survivors that would eventually become known as the Whisperers. The group discovered an ingenious way to be protected from attacks of the dead by killing and skinning them and wearing their skin in order to mask their scents and move freely among herds in order to attack other survivor camps and settlements. The group also shed their previous identities and names, becoming nothing but hardened and primitive survivors. To the point, they disregard the ones they see as 'weak' in their group, not acknowledging those who die or go missing.

"Adaptation"
On a bridge, Lydia and some Whisperers are cornered by Daryl, who uses his crossbow to see who are Whisperers. He hits one in the leg and the man falls down screaming in pain, attracting walkers to him. Lydia and the other try slowly escaping to the other side, where Michonne is waiting for them. They draw their knives and attack, but Michonne and the rest kill them with ease as Lydia gets on her knees to surrender. Daryl rips off her mask, as Lydia begs for her life. Michonne angrily questions her but when more walkers show up Daryl decides to take her with them.

Later, the group arrives at Hilltop with a captive Lydia and Jesus' body, causing the whole community to react in disbelief. In the cellar, Daryl throws her in a cell as Michonne rips off her blindfold and tells her "No more bullshit!"

Daryl, Michonne, and Tara interrogate Lydia, who claims to not have a name and that her group consisted of good people who were just trying to survive. Michonne asks if her people know about Hilltop but she begs to be left alone.

A while later, Daryl rushes back to the jail to demand Lydia to reveal her identity. Henry tries to intervene but Daryl shuts him down. He slams her against the bars and asks if she comes from a place with walls. She tells him that places like Hilltop never last and her mom told her they needed the dead to stay safe. He raises his knife to her and demands why her people killed his and she says they were always going to. She tells him her mother is out there alone but he calls her a liar before dragging her towards the exit. Lydia begs for her life and he lets her cower back in her cell.

Daryl then reminds Henry of his place and warns he'll stay in that cell until he realizes it. After he leaves, Lydia thanks Henry for saving her and introduces herself. Outside, next to a window, Daryl listens in.

"Omega"
In Hilltop, Lydia tells Henry how she survived at the start of the apocalypse with her parents in a shelter. Henry tells Lydia about Carol, who would do anything to protect him. He asks more about her parents and Lydia says her mother is also relentless and is not someone anyone would want to mess with. Outside, Daryl is sitting by the window and listening to their conversation.

Later, Henry offers Lydia an egg. She tells him to keep it and that hunger is a gift. She asks why he's being nice to her and he says that he, his brother, and his dad were messed up when they were first found out there and it took a lot of someone being nice to make things okay again. Lydia says her dad said that things will never be okay again and tells him how her mom used to distract her with board games. Henry tells Lydia her mom seems nice and reveals he and his adoptive parents are from another community called The Kingdom, which is a day's ride from Hilltop. Suddenly, Daryl storms downstairs and takes Henry out of his cell.

Later, Daryl goes to Lydia's cell and offers her medicine to help with her ear, but she refuses. He tells her that Luke and Alden are missing, but she says she knows nothing about it. He then asks her if her mom would kill their people if she crossed them. Lydia says that she would if she had to and tells him how her mother had to kill a man who was panicking and scared. Daryl says to Lydia that her mom did what she had to keep her alive. Lydia again pulls at her ear and Daryl tosses her the medicine, reminding her the people at Hilltop will help her if she helps them. She asks him for water and when he gets close she tries grabbing him. He grabs her arm and pulls up her sleeve, revealing a series of cut marks, causing her to retreat in the corner. Daryl looks at her for a moment and then leaves.

At night, Daryl visits Lydia again to find out more about her bruises. She says she got them from her mom, so Daryl asks why she won’t tell her where she is. He says she’s safer here than out there but she disagrees and says her mother’s abuse makes her hard. Daryl calls it bullshit, but Lydia says staying soft makes you die and tells him that her father was weak and died saving her. Lydia then tells him that he is strong and doesn't belong in Hilltop. Daryl says she doesn't know shit about him and leaves.

A while later, Henry frees Lydia from the cell so they can hang out outside. Lydia immediately grabs a worm from the ground and eats it. She gives one to Henry, who does the same. Henry shows her around as she sneaks a hammer behind her back. She nearly bashes him with it until she hears a baby crying, which triggers more memories from the shelter. She then asks Henry to take her back to her cell. He agrees as Daryl watches them from nearby. In the cell, Lydia asks Henry to stay with her. They hold hands through the bars and fall asleep.

In the morning, Daryl finds them holding hands. Lydia asks for the pills, promising not to attack this time. She confesses she was trying to get intel from them and that if her mom did find Luke and Alden then they’re probably dead. She then explains her people are always on the move and that her memories were mixed up because her mother lied to her. Lydia confesses her father was caring and her mother was the monster. She then finishes her story by claiming her mother killed her father. Lydia cries and apologizes to Daryl for wasting his time, but he says she didn’t and goes outside.

"Bounty"
Lydia will appear in this episode.

"Guardians"
Lydia will appear in this episode.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Lydia has killed:
 * At least 1 unnamed refugee survivors (Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

"Alpha"
Lydia is Alpha's daughter. Despite this, Alpha is an abusive, manipulative, and sociopathic mother towards her. To the point Alpha brainwashed Lydia into believing that her father was an abusive man and that she was the kind one. It's also implied that Alpha would disregard her daughter if she is killed or captured. However, Alpha still cares for Lydia as she hopes to escape from the shelter with her rather than stay behind or escape with Frank and the fact that Alpha came to Hilltop demanding her daughter's return.

Lydia seems to fear Alpha. After realizing that she was brainwashed by her, she came to her senses and decided to remain at the Hilltop due to the PTSD caused by the years of her mother's abuse.

Frank
Frank loved Lydia, as she was his daughter. He would take it upon himself to protect her from his abusive wife and the hardship of the early outbreak. He would sing to her to comfort her. Lydia would later forget this due to the lies of her mother.

Henry
Henry and Lydia became quick friends. Lydia opens up to Henry about her past.

Daryl Dixon
Daryl first sees Lydia as a threat and tries to get information out of her. Daryl later feels sympathetic for her after learning of her abusive mother and upbringing.

Season 9

 * "Adaptation"
 * "Omega"
 * "Bounty"
 * "Guardians"

Trivia

 * Lydia is the first named Whisperer to appear in the show.
 * It's hinted that she may suffer from some sort of PTSD.

Lydia