The Whisperer War Part 5: The Walking Dead issue 161 recap
By Adam Carlson
What happened in issue 161 of The Walking Dead comic titled ‘The Whisperer War Part 5 of 6’? Find out in this comprehensive recap of events from the issue.
Issue 161 of The Walking Dead was released on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Titled ‘The Whisperer War Part 5 of 6’, this installment continued the evolving story of Beta and The Whisperers attack on The Hilltop and other survivors.
Just a warning: If you aren’t all caught up on the events in the comics until now, you should definitely do so before reading this, as this recap will explain everything that happened in issue 161.
The issue opens with Lydia fighting off members of The Whisperers as well as the undead. She is taking them out using brute force with kicks and her pistol until she runs out of bullets. Looking to the ground, she picks up a sword and begins chopping at her enemies.
Inside Maggie’s house, Sophia is tending to baby Hershel, wrapping him up to get him out of there. Maggie and Carl frantically enter the room. Maggie wants to lead everyone out of the house, but Carl doesn’t agree with that plan and stays behind to try to get any more survivors out of the house before it is too late.
Maggie tries to fight Carl on the topic, but he disappears into the house to look for more people. Finding several survivors, Carl urges them to get outside as quickly as possible, telling them to hug the wall to find their way through the smoke.
In the last room, Carl finds a woman down, not breathing and someone tending to her. They quickly wrap her arms around their shoulders and carry her out. On the way, the roof begins to fall, but Carl pushes them to safety, taking the hit and falling to the ground. The two survivors get to safety, but Carl crawls as much as he can before eventually succumbing to the smoke.
Outside the house, people are scrambling to get to safety or pick up weapons and fight. Maggie attempts to console baby Hershel, but the war is going on all around them. They make the decision to keep moving.
A member of The Whisperers questions why Lydia is fighting against them. He calls her a traitor, but Lydia responds by saying that she is better than living like an animal. Then, she executes him with a sword through the head.
Backed up in The Hilltop, the group is trying to come up with another plan. Sophia asks where Carl is, and the people from the house explain that he didn’t make it out.
Aaron is inside the house. Still wounded and stitched up from his last fight with The Whisperers, he throws a chair through the window and tosses Carl outside before leaping out as well. Doctor Carson this and runs to help, telling Aaron to protect them while he tends to Carl.
In a fury, Aaron slashes through the undead while the rest of The Hilltop is exhausted from the fight, but realize that the archers as scattered and the crowd is entirely walkers by now. Lydia says they likely ran or are regrouping for another attack.
Sophia urges everyone to keep fighting since the herd is getting thinner. Just then, Carl begins breathing thanks to the doctor.
Finally, Maggie is seen with baby Hershel hugging her leg and realizing that the group had won the battle.
Meanwhile, Beta is still wounded. With several members of The Whisperers with him, he tells them that he is strong enough to walk on his own.
Vincent is seen in Alexandria explaining to Rick what happened with The Sanctuary. Rick is surprised to hear that they denied assistance and took his horse.
At The Kingdom, William is told by Taylor about Martin seeing an attack on The Hilltop by the undead, but he’s unsure whether it is The Whisperers or not. William says to round up everyone they can.
In Dwight’s group, Connie is dealing with a zombie bite to the hand. They all know they need to cut it off, but are struggling to do it. Finally, the group steps up and do what is needed to be done, cutting it off and stopping the bleeding.
Dwight approaches Negan, who is crying over the loss of Lucille. He says that Negan is pathetic for crying over a broken piece of wood when a woman is losing her hand right next to him. Negan tries to explain that it is more than just a bat to him, but Dwight doesn’t want to hear it and walks away saying that they are going home.
Beta and The Whisperers are seen watching The Hilltop burn from a distance. They talk about how they are celebrating a win, but the war isn’t over. They will return to their camp, with Beta wanting to end it all.
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Eugene has a load of ammunition to take to Alexandria and wants to do so immediately. An individual there tries to talk him into waiting until morning, but he explains how important these supplies are and that getting these supplies to them is their group’s role during the fight.
Rick is talking to Andrea in Alexandria about The Saviors. He says that they should be watched for when on guard duty. Andrea is shocked to hear things are that bad between the two communities, with Rick explaining that he’s unsure of their position.
Tara arrives back at The Sanctuary and John takes care of her horse. She goes inside and talks to Sherry. Tara explains that they refused the horse and that she is worried about the situation. Sherry tells her that even though things are rough for Alexandria and the others, she still believes in Rick Grimes. However, they will be there to clean up the pieces after the war is over and “take over what is left”.
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The final installment of The Whisperer War will be released on January 4, 2017. Considering the damage done to The Hilltop, the new threat of The Saviors, and everything else going on, issue 162 of The Walking Dead should be hotly anticipated.