The Walking Dead panel: Did Alpha’s punishment make her look weak?

When it came time to punish the survivors for crossing the border on The Walking Dead, Alpha decided not to be violent. Is she going soft on them?

Alpha made the punishment for crossing the established border quite clear to Daryl when she showed him an ocean of walkers the Whisperers had ready to unleash on the survivors. However, when it came time to punish them for multiple crossings in episode 1003 of The Walking Dead, she decided to go a different route.

While she is taking more land and encroaching on their hunting grounds, Alpha’s failure to follow through might have the survivors thinking she isn’t the ruthless, cold-hearted monster she was made out to be in earlier episodes.

So, the question we posed our panel of The Walking Dead experts is this: Did Alpha’s non-violent punishment of the survivors make her look weak? Here is how they responded.

Sara L. says

I don’t believe it makes her look weak. Mostly because I believe they are plotting something huge on the down-low. That aside, I think even “animals” make exceptions for certain things. As a villain, she could see them putting out the fire was useful to her, and the other 2 times she punished with something extremely valuable to our survivors. Land. Lives and land and what they do with it are huge right now. Also, I think decapitating 10 people and putting them on pikes makes you nearly impossible to look weak ever. Even her “weak” Lydia moment was horrifying.

Jeffrey K. says

I think Alpha’s move at the border made her look reasonable, which is a surprising move from her. We think of her as an animalistic figure for the most part, but every once in a while, she acts like an actual rational human being. Alpha didn’t need to kill anyone during the meeting at the border. She made a bold move to punish our people by moving the border and taking away Alexandria’s hunting grounds, which will hinder them greatly. Alpha is smart, cold, and calculated and this move is very much in line with that.

Renee H. says

It makes her look human. When she is hard and cruel with no remorse she doesn’t seem like a human. But, the whole ‘mother to mother’ line shows a different side to her. Letting Gamma’s sister go showed an understanding side. Perhaps it shows weakness but I don’t think it will last long.

Adam C. says

Alpha was very clear to Daryl when she threatened Daryl with the horde of walkers as a punishment for crossing the border. When it was crossed multiple times, her failure to go through with that act does make her seem a little weak. However, what she did was likely smarter.

In moving the border back, she’s taking more land and removing the major source of meat for the survivors. This decision was likely a long-term act, but there is more to it. I believe she didn’t follow through on her threat because she was worried about the safety of Lydia if walkers were unleashed on them, not because she was just trying to be reasonable.

Did you think Alpha not following through on her threat in episode 1003 of The Walking Dead makes her look weak or do you believe her punishment for crossing the border was enough? Let us know your opinion in the comments!