Alpha (TV Series)

"I am Alpha! And we only want one thing from you... my daughter!"

- Alpha to the Hilltop Colony.

"Alpha" (real name unknown) is a main character and an antagonist as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is the leader of the Whisperers. She serves as the primary antagonist of the second half of Season 9.

Overview
Alpha is shown to be a psychopathic, cunning, cruel and savage woman who is a hardened, determined survivor and a strong leader to those in her group.

She appears to enjoy being in a position of authority and does not take kindly to anyone who opposes her as she brutally murdered her own husband in front of her young daughter after he refused to abandon their fellow survivors during a Walker attack and also Matias after he refused to listen to her and stop attracting unwanted attention. She appears to despise anyone she views as being weak and justifies cold blooded murder simply for the reason that people are weak in her eyes and thus unfit to live.

Alpha is shown to have completely devolved into nothing but a hardened and primitive survivor, not even using her real name anymore, showing that she has completely shed the life she once had before the apocalypse and has adapted fully to the post-apocalyptic hell. She sees no hope for mankind returning to its original state and views survivor communities as destined to fail and thus believes devolving into wild animals is the only true way to survive. Despite her extreme methods of survival, Alpha is a strong survivor and effective leader, having kept many people alive. Despite this she does not appear to care for her fellow Whisperers on a personal level and Lydia herself reveals that those who are lost, taken captive or killed are left behind and no attempts are made to rescue or avenge them.

Alpha is a terrible mother and is nothing but cruel to her young daughter and only remaining family, having psychologically abused her into thinking her father was the abusive parent and that she was kind and protective towards her and has even allowed her to be physically abused by their fellow group members. Despite this, Alpha may not be completely heartless and may only want her child to survive and thus subjects her to cruel treatments to make her strong to ensure her survival, regardless of the psychological torment she has caused her. She even actively kidnaps Alden and Luke and goes to the Hilltop in order for Lydia to be freed and returned to her, something she apparently has never done for any other Whisperer.

Mid-Atlantic, United States
Nothing is known about Alpha's life prior to or as the outbreak began other than that she had a husband named Frank and a daughter named Lydia and that, based on her accent, she grew up or lived somewhere in or near the American south possibly some where in Maryland. She appeared to be an abusive but protective mother to her daughter.

Baltimore, Maryland
Alpha, along with Frank and Lydia, survived the initial stages of the outbreak. After 23 days of surviving the initial outbreak, she and her family remained in a moldy basement with a group of survivors. Alpha was eager to leave, but her husband insisted that they stay. Alpha eventually cut her hair off to spite Frank, who liked her hair long, explaining that she could do whatever she wanted since it was the end of the world.

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 by crushing his windpipe, believing that he was too weak to survive this world. 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, her mother watched many survivor communities thrive and then eventually fall and she thus evolved 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, 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, 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. Despite her extreme methods of survival, Alpha was extremely successful at keeping her people safe.

"Adaptation"
In the woods, Alpha pretends to be a walker before staring motionless at Alden and Luke. Suddenly, they find themselves surrounded by several Whisperers. Alpha approaches the two and throws them one of the arrows belonging to Yumiko that they have been following, having successfully led the two into a trap. She draws a shotgun and points it at them, saying, "Trail ends here."

"Omega"
Alpha leads a small group of Whisperers to Hilltop and makes her group stop at the gates. She introduces herself and claims that she only wants her daughter, Lydia, back.

"Bounty"
Alpha will appear in this episode.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Alpha has killed:
 * Matias (Alive)
 * Frank
 * Rose (Indirectly Caused)
 * A few unnamed Shelter refugees (Indirectly Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

Lydia
Lydia is Alpha's daughter. Despite this, Alpha is abusive, manipulative, and cruel towards her. She 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 wanted her to escape from the shelter with her rather than stay behind or escape with Frank and her arrival to the Hilltop to save her daughter- something she has apparently never done for any other member of her group.

Frank
Frank was a victim of Alpha's sociopathic nature. Controlling him while making herself out to be the victim, it's also shown she had little love for Frank going as far as stabbing him in the throat and leaving him so she and Lydia can escape.

"Beta"
TBA

Daryl Dixon
TBA

Season 9

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

Trivia

 * "Alpha" is the fifth major recurring antagonist in the TV Series, the first being Shane Walsh, the second being The Governor, the third being Gareth and the fourth being Negan.
 * "Alpha" is the first major recurring antagonist in the TV Series to be female.
 * "Alpha" is also the second female character to be classified as a primary antagonist, with the first being Dawn Lerner.
 * "Alpha" is one of two major recurring antagonists confirmed to have a living relative (her daughter Lydia), the other being Shane Walsh who also has a living relative.
 * "Alpha" is currently the only major recurring antagonist whose real name is not known.
 * The term "Alpha" denotes the dominant role or position in a particular sphere or group.
 * She most likely started using the name "Alpha" when she became the leader of the Whisperers.