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"Stalker" is the tenth episode of the tenth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the one-hundred and forty-first episode of the series overall. It premiered on March 1, 2020. It was written by Jim Barnes and directed by Bronwen Hughes.
Plot
Our group must defend Alexandria from a threatening, outside force.
Synopsis
Beta walks through a field in the forest and enters into a moldy RV where two other Whisperers open a latch revealing a deep pathway entrance to a tunnel. He jumps down, lights a lantern and starts to move forward deeper in the cave. Meanwhile in Alexandria, Rosita wakes up after having a nightmare where she freezes and is forced to see as a Whisperer kills Coco. A moment later, she receives a call from the radio and leaves.
Over the gates, Gamma arrives and immediately gets surrounded at spear-point by the guards. She removes her mask and explains that the Coalition group is in a cave surrounded by Alpha's horde and that they may be still alive and needing help. Gabriel questions her intentions, pointing out the horde wasn't where she told Aaron it would be. Gamma argues that Alpha had moved it and insists that she wants to help. Rosita questions her motives and Gamma explains that the baby left at Hilltop is her nephew and she is willing to show them the location of the cave to see him again. Gabriel seems to believe her but Rosita knocks her unconscious and orders for her to be put in a cell.
In the woods, Daryl secretly observes a Whisperer walking around another entrance to the cave. He prepares to attack, but retreats after Alpha walks out and starts to lead the horde. Back in Alexandria, Mary wakes up in the cell. Gabriel and Rosita confront her about Dante's actions, but Mary claims she wasn't involved in that. They say she has to prove she's different from the other Whisperers or she'll get killed. When Gabriel insists she is hiding something and calls for a sincere confession, Mary tearfully reveals she killed her sister for Alpha, which makes Gabriel accept her help.
Meanwhile, Alpha and some Whisperers continue to lead walkers through a river. Suddenly, a Whisperer is hit in the leg by a knife and is devoured after he screams in pain. Alpha orders her group to spread out when Daryl appears from behind and kills the remaining Whisperers before facing Alpha. They engage in a brutal fight where Alpha slices his face under the eyes, worsening his vision. Daryl thrusts a tree branch in her shoulder and yells for Magna and Connie's whereabouts. The fight draws nearby walkers' attention and Daryl is forced to take them out while dealing with his clouded vision. Alpha grabs a knife on the floor and stabs him in the leg as they flee the scene.
In the meeting hall, Mary stands before the map and tells everything she knows about the cave and its entrances. She explains that most of Alpha's forces are situated around the cave, so the borders are defenseless. When Mary's once again taken away, Gabriel proposes to Laura and Scott to send two rescue teams just before Rosita doubts the authenticity of her words. He insists Mary is telling the truth because they broke her and encourages them to capture any Whisperer, and to pull their teeth or take their fingers if necessary to get them to drop the act since they are cowards.
Elsewhere, a weakened Alpha stumbles into an abandoned gas station where Daryl is hiding and is struggling to pull out the knife from his leg. She looks for him in the workshop inside the station for a short time, but after getting exhausted takes a seat and bangs her shotgun on the wall to attract walkers in the vicinity which will protect her and attack Daryl. Back in Alexandria, Rosita and Gabriel prepare for the outing. He suggests she'd better stay at home but she refuses, adding that he is acting erratic and is itching for a fight. Gabriel doesn't understand her point, and Rosita claims she can feel that Coco is wondering where Siddiq is and she doesn't want her daughter to be left an orphan.
On the streets, Judith starts a conversation with Mary by asking her name and wondering about her life before meeting the Whisperers. Mary recalls that she was born in Santa Monica and that her parents' names were John and Alice, but fails to recover more memories, blaming Alpha for brainwashing her. Judith thinks that had Mary stumbled across Rick and Michonne first, she would have turned out better, and claims that she doesn't look like a monster. At the gas station, three walkers are lured inside so Daryl's forced to kick off a fire extinguisher and use it as a weapon. He kills two but has to rip the knife from his leg to kill the third, thus opening his wound and losing a lot of blood.
Meanwhile, Laura is informed by Echo Post about a hundred-walker herd incoming. She wants to double-check the message, but receives no response. Scott wonders why would the Whisperers send forces to the gates and Gabriel explains they try to not let them use the traitor's information. While people are being drafted for the scout team, Gabriel changes the plan at the last minute and orders for Rosita and Laura to stay back with a skeleton crew while he and others will head out on the recon mission. Before leaving, Rosita tells him she has been having nightmares about the Whisperers killing her and worries about Coco's future if they both die. They kiss goodbye.
During that night, Cheryl's grave starts to open up and Beta's arm pops up. He stands up, pulling his blades out. Shortly after, Beta starts a massacre in the homes. He kneels before corpses and waits. Outside, both Rosita and Gabriel's teams find no walkers at all. The latter assumes they made Post Echo give them the false information to weaken the inner defense. Both squads head back behind the walls, where all victims killed by Beta start to turn into walkers. While Alexandrians are busy with the undead, Beta finds the basement where Gamma's being held and walks in. As he opens the cell, Mary claims Alexandria's not as foolish as Alpha told. He doesn't heed her words and tells her to go with him without hesitations, so her death will be painless. Mary moves forward, stating she's not afraid of him, as Laura appears from behind and threatens Beta with an ax. Gamma leaves to get help. Her attempts remain futile until Judith's voice is heard from Rick's house. In the basement, Beta and Laura engage in a short fight, after which Laura is overpowered and slammed dead against the cell. Beta comes out on the street and enters the Grimes' residence. After a long investigation, he reaches out to the children's room, only to get shot in the chest by Judith. Mary tells R.J. and Judith to run, checks on Beta and walks away. However, Beta grabs her foot and topples her over. It is revealed he had a bulletproof vest on. As he wants to take Gamma and leave, Rosita draws his attention. After a short battle, Beta gets her on the ground and raises his weapon to finish her, but Gamma stops him by threatening to kill herself. The two are seen outside heading back to the camp. Beta says that after death she'll walk with her sister again. Alexandrians appear and start shooting, but miss. After Beta is lost in the woods, Gamma tries to convince Gabriel she hasn't betrayed them. After hesitating a bit, he decides to believe her.
During a night at the station, both Alpha and Daryl lie injured and bleeding out. Alpha starts a speech about light and darkness, stating that she's grateful for everyone who's made her strong. She tears up and claims that they, along with Lydia, are made of and thanks to pain. Daryl tells she's lost her daughter since she didn't love her. Alpha gets mad and tries to approach Daryl, but fails due to the exhaustion. She blacks out, wakes up and sees Lydia's silhouette blurred due to sunlight. Alpha wonders whether Lydia is real and starts to sing a lullaby while placing her daughter's hands on the knife above her heart. She says Lydia is ready to lead the Whisperers after her death, but Lydia, with tears on her cheeks, refuses to put her out, saying she's come not for the Whisperers. She blames her mother for not letting her live a life of full value even though Alpha continues to claim that she needs her. After fainting again, Alpha wakes up and sees the words "Your way is not the only way" carved into a workbench with her knife. She stares at the inscription in frustration, laughing evilly.
Scott is seen next to Cheryl's grave reporting to Gabriel about the tunnel when Aaron arrives. Aaron informs that not all of them made it back and asks what happened to the community. Shortly after, Gabriel sends Rosita off to Hilltop's doctor. Mary also hops in the carriage to see her nephew, and she and Rosita shake hands.
In the forest, Lydia is seen tending Daryl's wounds. She tells he stayed with him all day long while deciding what to do. When he asks about Alpha, Lydia responds she couldn't kill her mother. At the gas station, Alpha is seen surrounded by her tribesmen who help her to get up. While standing up, she promises to get revenge and pronounces the Whisperers' anthem.
Other Cast
Co-Stars
- David Shae as Alfred
- Anabelle Holloway as Gracie
- Antony Azor as R.J. Grimes
- Nick DeKay as Guard
- Pamela Gold as Panicked Woman
Uncredited
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Deaths
- Alfred (Alive and Zombified)
- Guard (Alive and Zombified)
- Panicked Woman (Alive and Zombified)
- Laura
- At least 8 unnamed Alexandria residents (6 Alive and Zombified, 2 Off-Screen)
- 3 unnamed Whisperers
Trivia
- Last appearance of Laura.
- With Laura's death:
- Negan is the only former antagonistic Savior confirmed to be alive.
- There are no more former Savior lieutenants left alive (excluding Eugene).
- With Laura's death:
- Last appearance of Alfred.
- With Alfred's death:
- There are no named members of the Highwaymen left alive.
- Gage is the only one of Lydia's attackers that remains alive.
- With Alfred's death:
- Last appearance of Frances. (Flashback)
- This episode marks Kenric Green's 25th appearance on the TV Series.
- The title of the episode, "Stalker", refers to Beta infiltrating Alexandria and "stalking" through it while searching for Mary, and the "cat and mouse" game between Daryl and Alpha after their bloody fight.
- This episode was made available for streaming to subscribers of AMC Premiere on February 28, 2020.
- It is revealed that the Whisperers have dug a tunnel underneath Alexandria's walls that leads to Cheryl's grave. Since Dante was the one that buried Cheryl, it is unclear if Cheryl's body is really there, or if he buried her somewhere else and simply used the grave as a cover for the tunnel.
- Mary is revealed to be from Santa Monica, California.
- Beta is revealed to be wearing makeshift body armor underneath his clothes.
- One of the walkers that Alpha attracts into the gas station to kill Daryl could have possibly been a "smart walker" given the fact that it confronted Alpha to determine if she really was a walker or not.
- The walker whose arm was cut off by Jerry while trying to save Kelly during "Squeeze" is seen at the start of this episode as part of the horde.
- Following the events of this episode, Mary fully defects to the Coalition.
- One of the Alexandrians killed at Echo Point is recurring extra Rebecca Hardy, who has been working on the show as an Alexandrian since Season 7.
Comic Parallels
- Beta fighting and slashing Rosita's arms before trying to kill her is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 154, where Beta fights and stabs Aaron instead.
- Beta getting ambushed by the Coalition while escorting Gamma and escaping is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 155, where Beta is ambushed before he can kill Michonne instead.
- Alpha trying to get her daughter to kill her to take leadership of the Whisperers and Lydia rejecting her for the communities is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 160, where a Whisperer makes a similar offer to Lydia during the Hilltop battle and she kills him instead.