Beta is the real threat in The Walking Dead

Ryan Hurst is doing a bang up job playing Alpha’s right hand man Beta on The Walking Dead. Perhaps he is the real threat?

Beta, portrayed by Ryan Hurst, is a member of the horrific group called the Whisperers on The Walking Dead. As in the greek alphabet, Beta is the number two position. I hear a lot of talk about Alpha, who is brilliantly portrayed by Samantha Morton, as being the absolute worst villain but hear me out, she gave mercy to Gamma’s sister and kept a shrine of sorts for her daughter Lydia.  Beta would not have done that.

When Alpha first meets Beta he is holed up in an abandoned rehab hospital. It is his territory and he allows Alpha and a young Lydia to stay one night. They encounter some walkers and team up to defeat them, finding some common ground. During an altercation between Alpha and Beta, Alpha kills a walker and it was obviously someone special to Beta. He fell on his knees distraught. We saw a picture of two men with their faces scratched out, one of them was the now dead walker and the other is Beta. When Alpha hands him the knife and tells him he doesn’t have to leave him there, that he can take him with him, Beta took it upon himself to cut off and wear his face. That is hard core!

I am not for one minute going to belittle the terror that is Alpha, she is a force and that gal scares me! Obviously she still has that motherly instinct where Lydia is concerned but knows Lydia isn’t one of them. Many mothers can relate to this, you love your child unconditionally but sometimes you have to realize that child isn’t a part of your world for whatever reason. She took mercy on Gamma’s sister, which isn’t an action I expected from her. Did she see a little of Lydia in her? Did she think she could use her as a replacement for Lydia? That she could mold her to be a Whisperer and that would give her someone to fill the void of the lost child? Perhaps.

But, I want to focus on Beta, her right hand who has NO remorse, NO feelings, NO tolerance for bending the rules. When Alpha met him he was on his own and something kept him at the rehab hospital. We find out that ‘something’ was a walker in the “Have a nice day” shirt that we see Beta wearing in the present. It is hard to know if they were both living in the rehab center or if one was visiting the other.  Where they friends, brothers, lovers? But, we do know this person was important enough for him to cut off his face and wear it.

In the present, Beta accepted but didn’t look like he approved of the idea of the anointing of Gamma. Obviously naming is a rare thing in their group and should only be reserved for the best. He doesn’t join in the chanting of her name. He doesn’t want the pack to find any weakness in Alpha. He has promised to hold Alpha’s secret that Lydia is not dead. He is still on her side but if the time comes when Alpha shows some weakness Beta will step in and do what he feels needs to be done.

Hurst posted this tweet regarding the mantra Alpha and Beta chanted:

I am very excited to see what happens next. An Alpha/Carol showdown is certainly in the near future. I have a feeling Gamma will play some sort of part in the downfall of the Whisperers. I don’t want this battle to be rushed but I also don’t want it to drag out like the All out War did. Can’t wait to see what comes next.

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