Alpha

"Alpha" (real name unknown) is a main character and an antagonist as well as a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is the leader of the Whisperers. She serves as the primary antagonist of the second half of Season 9 and the whole of Season 10.

Overview
Alpha is shown to be a highly intelligent, psychopathic, cunning, cruel, and vain woman who is a hardened, determined survivor and a strong leader to those in her group.

She appears to enjoy being in a position of authority and does not take kindly to anyone who opposes her, as she brutally murdered her own husband in front of her young daughter after he refused to abandon their fellow survivors during a walker attack, Matias after he refused to listen to her by attracting unwanted attention, and Helen after she voiced disdain for her decisions as leader. Alpha appears to despise anyone she views as being weak and justifies cold-blooded murder as a way to eliminate weakness from her group. This was displayed when she slaughtered Seandue to him crying after Helen's decapitation at her hands shortly before. She is shown to have no qualms about killing anyone, whether they be adolescents or the elderly as shown by her brutal slaughter of members of the Coalition in order to send a message to her enemies.

Alpha is shown to have completely devolved into nothing but a hardened and primitive survivor. She doesn't even use her real name anymore, showing that she has completely shed the identity and life she once had and has adapted fully to the post-apocalyptic hell. She sees no hope for mankind returning to its original state and views survivor communities as destined to fail, believing that devolving into wild animals is the only true way to survive. Despite her extreme methods of survival, Alpha is a strong survivor and her effective leadership has kept many people alive, fully believing her savage ways make her people stronger. However she does not appear to care for her fellow Whisperers on a personal level and Lydia herself reveals that those who are lost, taken captive, or killed are left behind and no attempts are made to rescue or avenge them. She nearly allowed a helpless infant from her group get eaten alive by approaching walkers simply due to it crying, seeing it as a part of "natural selection".

Alpha is a terrible mother and is nothing but cruel to her young daughter and only remaining family, having psychologically abused her into thinking her father was the abusive parent and that she was kind and protective towards her, even allowing Lydia to be physically abused by their fellow group members as well as herself. Despite this, Alpha may not be completely heartless and may only want her child to survive, subjecting her to cruel treatments in order to make her strong and ensure her survival, regardless of the psychological torment Lydia has endured. She even actively kidnaps Alden and Luke and goes to the Hilltop in order for Lydia to be freed and returned to her, something she apparently has never done for any other Whisperer. Despite her cruelty towards Lydia, is is evident that Alpha sincerely loves her child as shown by her shedding tears in "The Calm Before" after Lydia refuses to leave the Kingdom with her and she murders a fellow Whisperer in order to prevent her group from learning her one true weakness is her love for her daughter.

Mid-Atlantic, United States
Nothing is known about Alpha's life prior to or as the outbreak began other than that she had a husband named Frank and a daughter named Lydia and that, based on her accent, she grew up or lived somewhere in or near the American south, possibly somewhere in Maryland. She appeared to be an abusive but protective mother to her daughter, once slapping her after she nearly suffocated herself to death after being tangled in plastic tarp to ensure she would never do it again.

Baltimore, Maryland
Alpha, along with Frank and Lydia, survived the initial stages of the outbreak. After 23 days, she and her family remained in a moldy basement with a group of survivors. Alpha was eager to leave, but her husband insisted that they stay. Alpha eventually cut her hair off to spite Frank, who liked her hair long, explaining that she could do whatever she wanted since it was the end of the world.

After 43 days, the undead began to overrun the outside of the building. A fellow survivor, Matias, started to have a panic attack and wanted to leave the basement. Alpha, knowing noise could draw them in, smothered Matias to death by crushing his windpipe, believing that he was too weak to survive this world. Later that night, unknown to the group about the virus infecting the living, a reanimated Matias began to attack the group. Alpha then attempted to lead her family to safety by escaping, but Frank tried to save their friends, which resulted in Alpha murdering him.

According to Lydia, her mother watched many survivor communities thrive and then eventually fall and she thus evolved into a more hardened survivor willing to resort to whatever measures necessary to survive. In the years that followed, Alpha would tell Lydia the reverse of events in the beginning, that Frank was the abusive one and she was the one trying to protect Lydia, that Matias killed her father and not Alpha herself.

Rural Virginia
At some point, Alpha formed and became the leader of a large group of survivors that would eventually become known as the "Whisperers". The group discovered an ingenious way to be protected from attacks of the dead by killing and skinning them, wearing their skin in order to mask their scents and move freely among herds in order to attack other survivor camps and settlements. The group also shed their previous identities and names, becoming nothing but hardened and primitive survivors and survived off the land, moving from place to place. Despite her extreme methods of survival, Alpha was extremely successful at keeping her people safe and kept nearly 100 people alive.

Death
Killed By
 * Carol Peletier (Caused)

Carol lets Negan out of his cell, intending for him to find and infiltrate the Whisperers, where he eventually lands in a position close to Alpha.


 * Negan (Alive)

After capturing Lydia, Negan leads Alpha to her supposed location. However, this proves to be a trap and Negan slits Alpha's throat, killing her. Rather than putting Alpha down, Negan cuts her head off which reanimates before he brings it to Carol.


 * Beta (Zombified)

After taking Alpha's zombified head to a bar and drawing in a herd with his old music, Beta thanks Alpha and stabs her in the head.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Alpha has killed:
 * Matias (Alive)
 * Frank
 * Rose (Indirectly Caused)
 * Helen
 * Sean
 * Hilde (Caused or Direct)
 * Miles (Caused or Direct)
 * Martin (Caused or Direct, Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Casper (Caused or Direct, Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Ozzy (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * D.J. (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Kelly (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Frankie (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Tammy Rose Sutton (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Scott (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Rodney (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Abigail (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Jerry (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Enid (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Tara Chambler (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * Niall Ross (Alive, Off-Screen)
 * 6 horses (Caused or Direct)
 * A few unnamed Shelter refugees (Indirectly Caused)
 * 1 unnamed Whisperer
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people

Relationships
{|

Lydia
Lydia is Alpha's daughter. Despite this, Alpha is abusive, manipulative, and cruel towards her. She brainwashed Lydia into believing that her father was an abusive man and that she was the kind one. It's also implied that Alpha would disregard her daughter if she is killed or captured. However, Alpha has been shown to still care for Lydia in a way, notably when she wanted her to escape from the shelter with her rather than stay behind or escape with Frank and also her arrival to the Hilltop to save her daughter- something she has apparently never done for any other member of her group. However, she slaps Lydia upon her return when she calls her "mama" and insists she refer to her as "Alpha". She later appears suspicious of Lydia when she shows feelings for Carl and nearly has her kill him to prove her loyalty to her and threatens her that she will have Beta kill them both if she disobeys, possibly implying Alpha is willing to kill her own child and no longer views her as her daughter but a Whisperer like any other.

Frank
Frank was a victim of Alpha's sociopathic nature. Controlling him while making herself out to be the victim, it's also shown she had little love for Frank, going as far as stabbing him in the throat and leaving him so she and Lydia can escape.

"Beta"
Beta is fiercely loyal to Alpha and follows her orders without question. He is also very protective of her, demonstrated when he immediately seized Sean when the latter challenged her leadership. He often advises Alpha on critical matters, and she, in turn, often confides in him.

Matias
TBA

Daryl Dixon
TBA

Carl Grimes
TBA


 * }
 * }

Season 9

 * "Adaptation"
 * "Omega"
 * "Bounty"
 * "Guardians"
 * "The Calm Before"
 * "The Storm"

Season 10

 * "Lines We Cross" (No Lines)
 * "We Are the End of the World"
 * "Ghosts"
 * "What It Always Is"
 * "Bonds"
 * "Open Your Eyes"
 * "The World Before"
 * "Squeeze"
 * "Stalker"
 * "Morning Star"
 * "Walk With Us"

Trivia

 * "Alpha" is the fifth major recurring antagonist in the TV Series, the first being Shane Walsh, the second being The Governor, the third being Gareth and the fourth being Negan.
 * "Alpha" is the first major recurring antagonist in the TV Series to be female.
 * "Alpha" is also the second female character to be classified as a primary antagonist, with the first being Dawn Lerner.
 * "Alpha" is one of two major recurring antagonists confirmed to have a living relative (her daughter Lydia), the other being Shane Walsh who also has a living relative.
 * "Alpha" is currently the only major recurring antagonist whose real name is not known.
 * "Alpha" currently holds the highest kill count of any female antagonist on The Walking Dead.
 * Alpha is the second main antagonist to kill more than one main character in one episode (Enid, Tara Chambler, and Niall Ross), with the first being Negan.
 * It's possible that her name is Deborah as that is the name she used while she infiltrated the Kingdom, although she could have also just randomly chosen the name in order to stay undercover.
 * The term "Alpha" denotes the dominant role or position in a particular sphere or group.
 * She most likely started using the name "Alpha" when she became the leader of the Whisperers.