The Walking Dead: Sydney Park to return as Cyndie in season 10

After being largely absent in season 9, Cyndie is set to make her return in season 10 much to the celebration of fans. A new photo reveals that she will be back in the fight alongside the other survivors. 

When Tara first washed up on the beach of Oceanside, it was Cyndie and Rachel that discovered her unconscious. While Rachel wanted to follow the ways of her people and kill Tara on the spot, Cyndie intervened and spared her life, even providing her with food and water. From her first appearance in episode 706 of The Walking Dead, fans came to really love the caring nature and willingness to fight that Cyndie demonstrated.

Cyndie and the members of Oceanside are not always featured that prominently, appearing in just two episodes of season 7 before popping in a handful of times during the events of All Out War. During their role in the conflict with the Saviors, it was Cyndie that was a vocal proponent of having her community join in the fight. After all, as revealed later on, Simon’s crew of Saviors were responsible for slaughtering the men of Oceanside, including her brother. Cyndie wanted to fight back and help the other communities in their mission, but her grandmother Natania demanded that they stay as far away from it at all as possible.

In the middle of season 8, while once again trying to recruit Oceanside, Enid accidentally shoots and kills Natania, thus creating hostility with Cyndie. In the end, Aaron was able to convince Cyndie and the Oceanside fighters to come help finish the fight, assisting in the defeat of the Saviors. At the beginning of season 9, we see Cyndie and her people assist in the construction of the bridge across the river. That being said, she was working behind the scenes to secretly take down several members of the Saviors that survived All Out War. Following the apparent death of Rick and the six-year time jump, Oceanside really wasn’t heard from and Cyndie was absent for the rest of the season 9.

At the Kingdom fair, Oceanside made their return with a delegation led by a grown-up Rachel. Fans wondered where Cyndie was seeing as how she had assumed leadership of the community following the death of her grandmother. While not explicitly stated, it now seems as though Rachel is a co-leader or a the very least, a diplomat that represents the people of Oceanside. During the signing of the Multi-Community Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it was Rachel that signed alongside King Ezekiel, Queen Carol, Tara, and Father Gabriel.

It has been confirmed that Cyndie will be returning for season 10 with Sydney Park herself posting a newly released photo on Instagram showing the character fighting alongside Daryl, Carol, Dianne, and Michonne. Sydney Park is currently starring in Freeform’s The Perfectionists, a fact that likely helps to explain her infrequent appearances as of late. It may be that the character will sporadically pop up when Sydney is able to film for The Walking Dead. While details of her return and role in the upcoming season are scarce, we can certainly see that she will be involved in the action.

Based on the season 10 trailer, it seems as though the area surrounding Oceanside will feature prominently into the story. There are numerous shots of the characters fighting on the beach, including Cyndie and Rachel behind the battle shields. There is also a brief moment in which Magna worriedly warns to Cyndie that crossing the Whisperer border will trigger a war. Even though Oceanside didn’t lose any people to Alpha’s pikes, they are signing members of the pact and are obligated to defend the other communities.

There are several things to wonder about Cyndie’s role in the upcoming season. Will questions be raised about her role in killing the Saviors prior to the time jump? Also, will we see her reaction to learning that Enid, who shot her grandmother, was killed by the Whisperers? Is she still leading the community or has she abdicated leadership responsibilities to Rachel in lieu of another role? Those questions and more will hopefully be explored when the show returns for season 10.

What do you hope most to see from Cyndie’s story moving forward on The Walking Dead? Share with us in the comments!