The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 2 Review: We Are the End of the World
Paul Dailly
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This is Alpha and Beta's world and everyone is just living in it.
The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 2 took viewers on a trip to the past to reveal the origins of Alpha and Beta, and while these flashback-heavy installments are generally not that great, "We Are the End of the World" was a valiant effort.
It was almost by chance that Alpha and Lydia stumbled across Beta's lair, and it certainly makes you wonder how everything in the present narrative could have changed had they never met.
Alpha and Beta are two of the most important character on this Whisperers arc, so it was integral to understand why they are so close to one another fully.
It's hard to believe that Beta threatened Alpha with death when they first met at the hospital.
He seemed poised to introduce us to some other people who were hiding out there with him, but instead, he was one of those people who kept the reanimated version of a loved one.
Beta: Why?
Alpha: Do not question me. If she strays again, I will skin her life for all to see.
Beta: She unsettles the pack.
Alpha: Then we keep a close eye, make sure her moment of weakness doesn't affect the others.
Beta: The others have already spoken of the enemy. The life they saw.
Alpha: It is not a life. It is a fantasy.
Beta: And the pack must learn that again. They must see it... up close.
Alpha: They will.
Beta: When?
Alpha: Soon.
If you watch The Walking Dead online, you know we've encountered many characters that have done this, and it almost always ends in disaster.
The man could have killed Lydia, and Alpha may have betrayed the little bit of trust Beta had in her, but one thing was clear:
Together A and B could come to rule the world.
Beta was understandably fighting grief while he was in the hospital, but Alpha's offer to become her second gave him a stronger sense of purpose in life, and that's partly why they have such a great relationship now.
They make decisions and have people who follow them, but adding a third into the mix may be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Lydia: I'm so sorry, momma.
Alpha: You almost got us killed again.
Lydia: Momma, there's a man.
Mary, played by the wonderful Thora Birch, appeared to be one of the nicer Whisperers, leading me to believe she was not going to last very long.
However, she developed considerably from the start of the episode to the finish. It was nice that Angela Kang and her team thought to check back in with the woman who left her baby outside the Hilltop on The Walking Dead Season 9.
It was having a physical and emotional impact on Frances, to the point that she was questioning the leadership from within the Whisperers.
When the minority wants to go against the majority, that's when issues begin to arise, and that's why Mary realized she had to pick the right side to ensure her safety and survival.
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Frances was a liability, and it was only a matter of time before she went too far and got some of the Whisperers killed while in the herd.
Alpha: We don't mean harm. Can you talk? Go on, and try to kill us, but know two things: One, I do not die easily. Two, you must also kill my daughter because I will not leave this earth without her.
Beta: One night.
Alpha: Thank you.
Beta: Do not leave this hallway.
Lydia: Do you think I could wash up? Sorry momma, but the smell...
Alpha: Is there water?
The attack on Alpha came out of the left-field, but there was no way this villain was going to die this early into The Walking Dead Season 10.
Mary throwing Frances to the walkers was the only way to save Alpha and secure her future as part of the Whisperers.
Now that Gamma has been appointed the third, Beta is starting to get angry. It seems he much preferred being Alpha's second in command. He probably sees this as a betrayal, and he seems poised to cause many problems for Mary.
Alpha likes to be the ruler of this pack, but she also wanted to give credit where credit was due for Mary, but there's no telling what will go down between these three as the season progresses.
We don't fully know what to expect from Gamma because we've only spent one episode with her, so it's possible she could be someone who might want to take the Whisperers down from the inside.
But she will need to bide her time.
Lydia: Is he a monster?
Alpha: We're all monsters now.
Then there's the satellite. Now we know why Alpha appeared at the conclusion of The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 1, looking like she had just awoken from a winter nap.
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She knew from the get-go there was something amiss and now she wants to teach some more lessons. Our heroes should be very afraid, but then again, Alpha hasn't encountered badass Carol when she's in a vengeful mood, so there's that.
One other thing that was surprising about this episode was the way the young version of Lydia was trying to become just like her mother.
She was way different from one we met on The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 10, aka the first deep dive into Alpha and Lydia's history.
It makes me wonder whether the Lydia in the present is as against killing innocent people as we're being led to believe.
It would be quite the surprise for her to turn on the people keeping her safe, but at the same time, she couldn't feel any more like an outsider because of what her mother did to everyone.
It may be the type of storyline to show us how much Negan has changed. Maybe he will make Lydia aware that she's with good people, and that people will change their views down the line.
Only time will tell.
That's all I got, The Walking Dead Fanatics.
What did you think of the episode?
Hit the comments below.
The Walking Dead continues Sundays on AMC.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
