The Walking Dead: Where Lydia stands after season 10

Where does Lydia stand after The Walking Dead season 10?

Trying to fit in with her new family, Lydia’s struggles for acceptance within a group that may never accept her as well as carrying the burden of her mothers actions, have propelled Lydia’s story all season. Where does Lydia stand at the end of The Walking Dead season 10?

Of the new characters added in the last two seasons of The Walking Dead, Lydia has become one of my top two favorites. As played by the very talented Cassady McClincy, we saw her evolution through season 10. Going from pawn to finding her own way Lydia’s journey is one she shares in part with four other people.  Alpha, Carol, Negan and to a lesser extend Daryl. Each have impacted her in their own way and helped her find a way to stand on her own two feet as her own person.

Alpha

As the person that has most impacted Lydia, Alpha has caused a lot of emotional and mental harm to her daughter. Outside of her abusive nature and not being “the kind of mother she should have been”,  Alpha’s actions left Lydia in the position to be reviled and feared by the members of the various communities. Not fully accepted or trusted, Lydia walks a lonely road to redemption for crimes she never committed.

The mental games Alpha played with her to the point Lydia believed she deserved derision heaped upon her. In the finale we saw instances of women from Oceanside still not accepting her and Lydia’s willingness to lead the herd over the cliff, knowing she would probably not survive the encounter.  Her self imposed atonement was to sacrifice herself for ones Alpha had brought such misery to.

Lydia started her journey to freedom from Alpha when she decided to go to Daryl instead of her mother after the Daryl/Alpha fight in season 10’s “Stalker”. Refusing to take up her mother’s mantle and lead the whisperers was the beginning. Using the lessons Alpha ingrained into her, Lydia was able to lead the hoard away ( more on that later). Tossing Alpha’s mask was the final step towards freedom, but Lydia still has a ways to go to completely overcome everything Alpha has done to her.

Daryl

Outside of Henry, Daryl was the first one to champion Lydia. Back in season 9 he was willing to use her along with Tara and Enid to get whatever information he could about the Whisperers but that quickly changed when he realized she was as much a victim of Alpha as they all were. Daryl stepped into a “big brother/Uncle” role for Lydia and fought to help her gain her acceptance.

I honestly thought he would play more of a role in her season 10 arc but it makes sense in the end that Negan, as another mistrusted outsider would play the bigger role. With Daryl, Lydia learned that not everyone would judge her or condemn her for actions that were not her own. She also learned that there was a better way for her away from the whisperers. Daryl showed her the path forward but it took two unlikely sources to help her go further along on  that journey.

Negan

I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with Negan that moved from a complete ‘I LOATHE him” to finding him compelling as a character in the 10th season. The bulk of what I find interesting with him is his relationship and understanding of Lydia.

Like the young girl, Negan finds himself at a crossroads, caught between actions from the past and a need for redemption. In Negan’s case he does deserve the anger, mistrust and dislike thrown his way. He is trying to make amends and the show is pushing the redemption arc hard for the character but he isn’t there yet. Negan has defended Lydia in the past against those that would abuse her  and understands what it means to be an outsider and outcast in the group. He knows he’ll never find acceptance by the majority of people and doesn’t seem to really care. He encourages Lydia to find the way that works for her and is the one to give her Alpha’s mask in the finale so she has a chance to do what only she can do.

These two characters can be “real” with each other in a way they can’t with others because of that shared standing in the community and because of the link they both have with Alpha.  The final scene between Lydia and Negan and her comment “You’re still here” along with his “for now” leading to a purely paternal hug was another step in Lydia’s acceptance of herself.

Carol

I’ve talked a lot about these two characters and the connection between them in other articles and on social media, but this is one of the building relationships that I find the most intriguing. A motherless child and a childless mother, whose stories  this season have moved around the legacy of Alpha.  There is a caring between them, even as Carol fights it.

As with Negan and Lydia, there is an honesty in the relationship and an understanding. There is a strong desire to connect and a deep fear of the connection between them. Lydia asking Carol if they could still “talk” sometimes and Carol repeating Lydia’s words from earlier in the season about finding her own way ( which really has been Lydia’s theme this season) was bitter sweet in many ways. Lydia is able  to throw off the emotional and mental chains that has had her tethered to Alpha in part because of Carol and her refusal to let Lydia sacrifice herself.

Lydia wants Carol to hate her for Alpha killing Henry and Carol wants Lydia to hate her for Negan killing Alpha. It’s a tragic circle that reaches its end during that cliff scene. The fact it was these two that held each other as they finished the whisperers was a fitting end to the whisperers arc and hopefully a start to both becoming who they are meant to be.

In the end, Lydia is much like Carol, at a point of discovery and growth. Finding out who she is and where she fits in and letting go of the past is the next part of her journey and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it plays out in season 11.