The Walking Dead saw some drastic changes during its ninth season, raising countless
questions about season 10.
With the season premiere arriving soon, we've gone ahead and pulled together everything
you need to know heading into the tenth year of dramatic, complex, gruesome zombie madness.
For those wondering what The Walking Dead has in store for its tenth season, an extensive
trailer was released at Comic-Con in July 2019.
One of the primary themes of the trailer was fear — not of the undead, but rather of
the very much alive Alpha and her army of Whisperers, both of which featured prominently
throughout season 9.
The animalistic villains appear to be a central part of the new season and could lead to an
all-out war at some point down the road.
Before we dive into any new additions to the cast, it's worth taking a quick trip down
memory lane to remember the primary characters that the show lost in the catastrophically
violent course of season 9.
Rick Grimes may not be dead, but he disappeared early on, after he successfully blew up the
bridge to stop a horde of zombies from gaining access.
On top of that, there was the mysterious disappearance of Maggie Rhee.
Adding to the list, we also have Jesus, who was killed off in the fading moments of the
mid-season finale.
And finally, there's season 9's penultimate episode, which ended with ten heads on pikes
on Alpha's creepy new border wall, including Tara, Henry, Tammy, and Enid's.
Season 9 of The Walking Dead was highlighted by the departure of major cast members like
Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan, and it turned out that was just the beginning.
Months before season 10's premiere, it was already a well-established fact that Danai
Gurira, who plays the fearless Michonne, would be leaving the show at some point during the
upcoming season.
At this point, reports seem to indicate that Michonne will be present throughout most of
the season, which should give viewers plenty of time to prepare for her exit.
There are only two main characters, not counting Rick, who have made it from the dark days
of season 1 all the way to the decade mark: Daryl and Carol.
Season 9 had a massive six-year time jump that drastically changed the status quo for
both characters.
Post time-jump, Daryl was seen living off on his own, while "Queen Carol" had married
King Ezekiel and adopted Henry as her son.
By the end of the season, Daryl is drawn out of seclusion and back into the unraveling
events with the Whisperers and Carol loses Henry, breaks up with Ezekiel, and abdicates
her crown.
The season 10 trailer seems to promise even more changes for the long-time fan favorite
characters.
Season 9 had plenty of different plotlines to follow, but one that stood out from the
bunch was the interesting parallel between Carol and Alpha.
The two mothers have been to hell and back again ever since the apocalypse hit.
Both are powerful, indomitable characters, but they've developed dramatically different
philosophies about post-apocalyptic life.
This was already interesting to watch as their children met and became infatuated with each
other.
On the one hand, Alpha watched as her daughter was converted from the Whisperer ways and
ultimately taken under Carol's wing.
On the other hand, Carol faced trauma yet again when her adopted son Henry was abducted
by Alpha and then decapitated for her gruesome border wall.
All of these similarities and grievances set the pair up for an epic showdown, and it appears
that season 10 is where that clash of wills is going to take place.
Actress Melissa McBride has already declared that she thinks there should be a confrontation,
telling the Hall H audience at San Diego Comic-Con that:
"I feel like there deserves to be one, Carol wants vengeance."
On top of that, showrunner Angela Kang has also expressed excitement for the two women
to clash, adding that:
"...They’re both two incredibly powerful women, who just happen to be on opposite sides
of this kind of epic struggle that is happening between our people and the Whisperers.
So there’s just some really cool stuff up ahead."
Season 10 looks to promise plenty of problems for the heroes of The Walking Dead.
In fact, there are not one, not two, but three primary villains already in the cards.
First off, there's Negan.
Season 9 revealed a character that was both humbled and even a bit heroic.
Season 10 promises to continue the conflicted character's storyline, with showrunner Kang
confirming that he'll be released from prison.
On The Talking Dead, she said:
"Negan is a guy that likes to be in the middle of things, and being in a jail cell means
he's definitely not in the middle of things."
Negan drama aside, the show also has to deal with the new baddie on the block: Alpha.
The horrifyingly calm leader of the Whisperers showed her villainous chops throughout the
previous year.
On top of Alpha and her musclebound sidekick, Beta, the new season is also set to debut
Gamma, a Whisperer who is ultra loyal to Alpha and her agenda
Along with a host of other changes, season 9 showed that weather can play a serious role
in The Walking Dead storyline.
The season finale revealed a picturesque winter landscape, dotted with rotting bodies and
shuffling corpses, all of which provided some chilling new territory for the serial thriller.
The change in scenery was a fun twist to the show's typically hot, southern setting.
And the good news is, it's not the last we'll see of environmental challenges.
Showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly that:
"We're still exploring other kinds of environmental obstacles that we haven't done and seen before,
so there will be some other new stuff to look out for."
The promotional material has already hinted at a couple of new natural phenomena, with
one scene showing what appears to be some characters in front of a forest fire.
Oceanside and its waterfront location also seem likely to factor into the new season,
opening up the doors to some aquatic adventures — something that The Walking Dead's sister
show Fear the Walking Dead already explored in its second season.
The massive six-year leap in season 9 had far-reaching repercussions.
It introduced the mysterious issue of Michonne and Daryl's scars, aged Judith Grimes into
a force to be reckoned with, surprised everyone with her little brother, and saw a growing
divide among the communities.
With all of the shifting around, one would think the show would settle down to a regularly
paced timeline at some point, but that's not happening yet, and AMC isn't even trying to
make it a surprise this time.
Season 9 ended with a jump forward into the winter.
Now, season 10 is poised to start with yet another jump months ahead into the following
spring.
While the constant shifts are a bit jarring, it does accelerate the age of the younger
generation.
This could serve as a perfect catalyst to eventually tie in with the second spin-off
series, which will be set far in the future and will follow the lives of the first generation
of humans to grow up in the post-apocalyptic world.
As you probably recall, season 9 saw Rick Grimes removed from the flagship Walking Dead
series, but not killed off.
Instead, the intrepid hero found himself washed downstream along with a host of walkers, only
to be picked up by a mysterious helicopter and flown off.
Since then, the question of what happened to Rick has come up over and over again.
Michonne was still struggling with the loss six years later, and Daryl seemed ready to
head off into the sunset looking for his friend at any moment.
The hints are likely to continue coming in season 10, as the world gears up for the planned
Rick Grimes trio of films.
This is especially likely since the hero's storyline has even been spilling over into
the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead, where what looked to be the same helicopter
was spotted in one episode.
Whatever the time and place, it's certain that the Rick Grimes saga will continue at
some point.
Whether it ever crosses back into the flagship series or not, though, that isn't stopping
the hint-happy production team from penciling in more clues about the hero's whereabouts.
While the situation remains steeped in mystery, there is one meeting we can hope to see once
again.
We're talking about a reunion between Rick and Daryl.
The two brothers in arms shared a very emotional last few episodes together, spent tussling,
trapped in a pit, and finally making up.
"Brother, take my hand."
The connection between the two characters is tried and true, and the possibility of
their finally finding their way back to one another again is certainly in the cards at
this point.
In an interview at San Diego Comic-Con, former The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple was
asked if Daryl would ever see Rick again.
He responded by saying:
"…I can't rule that out.
Have you seen a little film When Harry Met Sally?
That's how they're going to rejoin again."
In related news, there's also the juicy potential for season 10 to feature the return of absentee
hilltop commander Maggie.
Actress Lauren Cohan's brief excursion to her own show on ABC looks like it may end
with a quick round trip right back into the arms of the undead.
While the failure of Cohan's new show to get off the ground isn't necessarily enough of
a reason to assume that the fan-favorite actress will return, there's reason to hope.
Angela Kang went right ahead and poured fuel on the fire by making it clear that they're
doing their best to make her return a reality.
She told EW that:
"I’m not sure if I can say much about it right now actually.
I’ll just say that we’re working on it.”
Clearly, they haven't given up on re-integrating Maggie back into the story.
Like Rick, she was never killed off.
In fact, she was referenced multiple times throughout season 9 and appeared to be off
on other business in an undisclosed location.
If that's not enough, promotional material for season 10 seems to be hinting to a return
appearance.
One sneak peek shown on The Talking Dead directly references "letters from Maggie."
"Find what you were looking for?"
"Oh, sailed down southward Oceanside's been picking up letters from Maggie?
Wasn't anything there."
Whatever the show has in store for Cohan's character, it hardly seems like she's going
to shuffle off this mortal coil anytime soon.
Another factor to keep in mind going into the tenth season is the soon-to-be lack of
source material for the show to follow.
There's no doubt that the onscreen version of The Walking Dead has already charted a
course all its own.
The comics have always served as a grounding point from which the show could draw inspiration,
characters, and storylines.
But the truth is, the showrunners have never shied away from altering things as they go
along.
Carl's death, Michonne and Rick's relationship, Shane's extended lifespan, the very existence
of Daryl were all cinematic alterations that don't have their origins in print.
That said, one question worth asking is how things would look if there was no source material
at all.
The answer may be forthcoming sooner than expected.
Just months before the season 10 release date, The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman
shocked fans with a one-two punch that no one saw coming in the comic series.
Spoilers incoming.
First, he suddenly and unexpectedly killed off Rick Grimes.
Then, he followed it up with a final installment and the announcement that the comic book series
was officially over.
With this sudden imposition of a hard ending to the source material, it will be interesting
to see how AMC handles their ten-year TWD universe plans.
We'll just have to see what that looks like when the new season arrives on October 6th.
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