The Walking Dead panelists debate what should happen to Lydia

Alpha has come to Hilltop for her daughter but Daryl is not inclined to give her back. What should the Hilltop do? Our The Walking Dead panel has some opinions.

On The Walking Dead, Lydia is a problem that Daryl, Tara, and the Hilltop will have to deal with carefully. She knows a lot about the community and she knows about the Kingdom as well thanks to Henry. If they turn Lydia over to Alpha she may give Alpha information that will leave them vulnerable to being attacked. Alpha says that if they give her Lydia “there will be no conflict”. But can they really trust Alpha? Probably not.

However, if they keep Lydia and save her from the abuse and trauma she’s suffering living with Alpha and the Whisperers they could be starting a war with the Whisperers and they don’t know anything about the Whisperers. The survivors at Hilltop don’t know how many Whisperers there are or what they are capable of.

It would be a safe bet that people who are willing to wear the skins of dead people and walk about the dead are probably capable of a lot of carnage. Is it worth keeping Lydia when it could bring down the wrath of Alpha on the communities?

There are obvious parallels between Daryl and Lydia and it’s possible that Lydia, like Daryl, could recover from the trauma of her past and become a valuable member of the community. But what would that cost the Hilltop? Our panelists take a deeper look at the thorny question of what the Hilltop should do with Lydia:

We Need To Talk About Lydia

Lydia is clearly a troubled and traumatized kid. Do you think Daryl and the others should give her back to Alpha or keep her and try to save her?

Sonya says:

"This is a tough one but I think that they need to give her back to Alpha. They can try to rescue her later or negotiate for her but right now Lydia doesn’t trust them and she is a loose cannon. She almost killed Henry and she’s confused about a lot of things. Additionally, Alpha is terrifying. They don’t anything about Alpha or what she’s capable of and they don’t know how many Whisperers are out there. I know that Rick’s legacy is to try to save everyone but on this one I think the smartest course is to give her back, for now."

Sara says:

"I don’t want Daryl to trade Lydia over to Alpha simply because I don’t want her to get hurt anymore, but it’s more important that they get their own people back first. If they don’t hand over Lydia now, only more trouble will come to them. I know Daryl will definitely go back to save Lydia, that’s just the kind of guy he is."

Jeffrey says:

"This is tricky. Obviously Lydia is being viewed in a different light now that her past has been revealed. She’s a victim of her mother’s awful parenting, but that doesn’t mean we can totally trust her just yet. Going against Alpha will likely kick start a war. This is a similar situation to the end of Season 3 when The Governor demanded Michonne. Imagine if Rick had actually complied and handed Michonne over. Personally, I think handing Lydia over is the wrong call. If it’s a fight the Whisperers want, a fight is what they’ll get."

Sarabeth says:

"I think that Daryl saw right through Lydia’s walls and knows that if she goes back to her mom she could die. It’s quite possible the only reason Alpha wants her back is to prove she can get anything she wants, so I think Daryl is going to give her a choice to stay or go. Then again, now that Lydia knows so much, it would be a bad idea to let all of that information get back to the Whisperers."

What do you think TWDFamily? Would you give Lydia back to Alpha on The Walking Dead or do you think that the Hilltop should fight to keep her? Tweet us: @SonyaIryna, @WrittenBySara, @TWalkingDWorld, @SarabethPollock, and @UndeadWalkingFS to join the debate.