Who Are The Whisperers In The Walking Dead?

"The Walking Dead" is one of the biggest television franchises of the 21st century, and one of the reasons the zombie epic is so successful is the plethora of villains who populate the universe. In the series, the dead aren't the true threats — they'll tear people apart, for sure, but they're more of a MacGuffin meant to drive the plot. The real threat comes from the plague's survivors, meaning that whenever the good guys come across a new group of people, it's likely they won't get along. In short, the Walking Dead universe is filled with evil, horrible people.

While Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, may be the franchise's most well-known and popular villain, others also ensure that evil still exists in the world. For example, while Negan unleashed his people upon the living, another far more insidious group exists in the Whisperers. These survivors have shed what little humanity they have left, choosing to intermingle with the dead, a decision that makes them ruthless and unrelenting in the face of any people they meet. To the Whisperers, living people are more threatening than anything the dead have to throw at them.

The Whisperers have a relatively long story arc on "The Walking Dead," but it's been a while since they've shambled across our television screens. Arguably the worst the living has to offer, if you've forgotten how deadly the Whisperers and their leader are or are new to the "Walking Dead" franchise, we're here to break down everything you need to know about them.

The Whisperers are a group of survivors, but they're nothing like the heroes of the story. They have adopted a unique method of survival that takes something others have done out of desperation and made it a way of life. Early in "The Walking Dead," Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and others learn that covering themselves in the bodily fluids of the dead functions as camouflage, allowing them to (carefully) maneuver among the zombies, which they call walkers, without being detected.

The Whisperers also discover this fact, but put a grotesque spin on it. The group removes the skin from corpses, then tans it into leather they then use to make masks. When these masks are worn, they can walk among the dead unseen, so long as they match their shambling stride. The Alexandria survivors dub them "The Whisperers" because they whisper among each other while traveling with a herd — the term used for a group of walkers — and their voices carry eerily in the wind. They wield knives and other melee weapons, which they use when they get close to living people who see them as the dead ... and then they strike.

The Whisperers quickly establish themselves as the primary antagonists of the second half of Season 9 and most of Season 10, instilling a new type of fear among the show's protagonists, as it's all but impossible to distinguish them from the dead they travel among. This makes the Walkers far more frightening than previous villains because, by Season 9, our heroes have adapted to the dead and understand them well enough to handle large herds. The Whisperers's way of life, however, entirely upends that worldview.

The Whisperers aren't a loose affiliation of survivors. A woman named Alpha (Samantha Morton) is in charge of the group, and she's easily one of the most ruthless and despicable survivors in the entire franchise. After learning of Alexandria and other survivor communities, she infiltrates the living, abducting several people to send a message. This act culminates in the beheading of several main "Walking Dead" characters.

Alpha is sadistic, willing to let her people die horribly to prove a point. She can't be reasoned with, and she cannot be dissuaded once she makes a decision, regardless of the consequences. This includes relentlessly abusing her daughter, Lydia (Cassady McClincy), whom she taught to survive via brutal means. As a tyrannical leader, Alpha molds her followers into a group of sociopathic and sadistic killers, and they have no problem slaughtering anyone who encroaches upon her territory.

Her people's devotion to Alpha's leadership is a testament to her brutal authority, and her worldview is summarized in the Whisperer's chant: "We walk in darkness; we are free. We bathe in blood; we are free. We love nothing; we are free. We fear nothing; we are free. We need no words; we are free. We embrace all death; we are free. This is the end of the world. Now is the end of the world. We are the end of the world."

The reason anyone would join the Whisperers can be summarized in a single word: survival. They came together out of a desperate need to survive, and Alpha's unrelenting tenacity in ensuring she and her daughter remained safe established the core principle of the group. This is the literal end of the world, and people need the help of others to live, as few are able to do so on their own.

On top of providing the basic ability to continue breathing, Alpha's leadership established the Whisperers as a cult. This cult culture is how the Whisperers survive now that the dead walk among the remaining living. Anyone who wants to live and finds the Whisperers when they are willing to take in new people will do just about anything to remain with the group. Even those disgusted by the practice of skinning the dead to make masks eventually follow along, as this is a proven method of survival. These people were already desperate when they first met the Whisperers, but seeing them not only persist but also thrive means following them all but ensures their survival.

This is also true of other groups in "The Walking Dead," from the Governor's people at Woodbury to Negan's Saviors. Even the people who follow Rick Grimes do so because he offers a way for them to continue to exist. While Rick's methods are far more humane, even he eventually devolves into incredible violence when it's needed for his people's survival — which is also true of Alpha and the Whisperers.

Alpha wasn't the sole leader of the Whisperers; she had a second in command named Beta (Ryan Hurst). Easily one of the most violent and brutal monsters in "The Walking Dead," Beta's unwavering devotion to Alpha is a large part of why he's a nearly unstoppable killing force. While he's an incredibly frightening man, Beta's true identity is barely revealed in "The Walking Dead," with only snippets of his past teased until Negan identifies him as a former musician.

Regardless, his position among the Whisperers is to function as Alpha's enforcer, and he's brutal toward anyone who threatens her. Negan ultimately kills and beheads Alpha after gaining her trust, which sends Beta into a full-on breakdown. He was mad before this, but after his leader's death, he becomes unrelenting in his ferocity and refuses to take Alpha's place, even using her severed head to bite the Whisperer who suggests he take over. Eventually, Daryl (Norman Reedus) mortally wounds Beta, so he accepts his fate and lets the Walkers feast on him.

Beta's death is the apparent end to the Whisperers, as the group, which already featured plenty of infighting, has lost both of its leaders. Many scatter, becoming isolated survivors, though some band together under the leadership of Keith, who turns them into scavengers based out of the ruins of the Hilltop colony. The group avoids all survivors they come across, preferring to avoid conflict rather than engage with others as their past leaders had.