Samantha Morton may not be finished playing Alpha on The Walking Dead
By Sonya Iryna
Samantha Morton warned fans against assuming that Alpha will meet her comic book fate at the end of the upcoming Whisperer War on The Walking Dead.
Could The Walking Dead’s most evil big bad ever get a redemption arc? Samantha Morton, who plays Alpha, recently hinted that Alpha’s death may not be imminent as fans who read the comics expect. She said in an interview that fans should never assume that the show’s narrative will follow the comic’s story arc because the show often remixes and changes events and characters from the comic. Watch the full interview here:
She also mentioned that she couldn’t reveal her favorite scene or the scene she was most proud of because there’s still so much of Alpha coming in 10B. As the Whisperer War launches into full on conflict the intensity is ramping up and there’s sure to be some very dark and thrilling things ahead.
After it was discovered that Alpha had planted Dante in Alexandria to get information and to deliberately mess with the Alexandrians minds it’s more than a little scary to imagine what else she’s capable of now that things are escalating quickly.
With Negan having joined the Whisperers and Beta knowing that Lydia is alive Alpha is going to be pushed to even more extreme measures to keep control over her horde and her people and there’s really no telling what lengths she will go to in order to keep that control. She’s already proven that her cunning and cruelty run deep and the survivors have never faced a villain who delights in psychological torment and is so good at it. As Samantha Morton says in the interview Alpha beat Negan at his own game.
Redemption for Alpha?
A redemption arc for Alpha could be problematic. Fans love Alpha, but they love her for being the evil figure that she is. If she was given a redemption arc similar to Negan’s redemption arc it would take away from the essence of the character which is her total amorality. A redemption arc would make the character less powerful and less iconic, which would be a real disservice to the mesmerizing character that Alpha has become. But a redemption arc isn’t the only way that Alpha could appear again in The Walking Dead universe.
An Alpha Crossover
There are still so many stories that never been explored in The Walking Dead universe that Alpha could easily appear in some other form. Scott Gimple confirmed recently that The Walking Dead World Beyond timeline is almost exactly in sync with the timeline of the original show. So it’s always possible that Alpha could be not killed at the end of the Whisperer War but could be alone after being overthrown as the Whisperer leader and could make her way onto World Beyond in some capacity. Depending on how the Fear timeline goes after the time jump that is coming up in season 6 she could also appear in some capacity on Fear The Walking Dead as Morgan and Dwight and Sherry have.
Alpha Backstory
In a recent interview with EW Scott Gimple also confirmed that the creative team overseeing TWD universe is playing around with other formats to tell stories of the past. These vignette pieces will probably feature beloved fan favorite characters from The Walking Dead that have been killed. These one offs could be TV movies, or short anthology style limited series, or some other type of limited events that would allow fans to see more of the backstories of their favorite characters.
One popular idea for this format is an Abraham’s Army focused serial showing how Abe met Rosita and how all three of them traveled from Texas to Georgia where they met Glenn. Fans would also love a serial or movie about Negan’s backstory.
Perhaps Alpha’s backstory will be told this way, allowing Samantha Morton to return to this iconic role in the future. This would be the best option for keeping Alpha in the franchise without ruining the impact of Alpha’s amazing narrative arc as the head of the Whisperers.
Even though Samantha Morton has made Alpha one of the best characters in genre TV in order for Alpha to be the legend she’s supposed to be she has to die. What do you think TWDFamily? Do you want Alpha to be redeemed? Would you want to see Alpha remain in The Walking Dead universe in some other way? Tweet us @SonyaIryna and @UndeadWalkingFS to tell us what you think.