The Walking Dead, Silence The Whisperers: Things To Note
By Liam O'Leary
1) This episode is the first this season without a bump card. Sad, I was kind of hoping they’d find a way to incorporate that (At least) throughout the first half of the season.
2) While there was no bump card, this episode did begin with a tree falling onto Hilltop’s wall and, by the end of the episode, wound up letting a large host of walkers inside. If this seems familiar, it’s because we saw something similar when a tower fell, knocking out part of the wall and letting a massive herd into Alexandria in the Season Six midseason finale, “Start To Finish”.
3) When we return from commercial, Lydia finds herself being harassed by Hilltop’s resident douchebag, Gage. Since he had been training with Aaron, he’s likely learning combat in Alexandria, much in the way Henry had gone to Hilltop to learn blacksmithing from Earl in Season Nine.
4) Gage, Margo, and Alfred harassing Lydia is the second instance we’ve seen of people from the communities showing intolerance towards her, the first being when Alden was giving her an attitude (Before Daryl told him to back off) as the Kingdommers were being escorted to Hilltop in the Season Nine finale “The Storm”.
5) Negan’s affinity for kids is shown once again as he tries to council Lydia about dealing with Gage, Margo, and Alfred. Lydia is the third child/teenager Negan has had a bond with, behind Carl and Judith.
6) This episode gets its name from the graffiti scrawled in various places in Alexandria, most prominently, Daryl’s front door (Obviously intended for Lydia): Silence The Whisperers.