The Walking Dead Recap: The Whisperer War Is Coming

The Walking Dead has always had a knack for introducing colorful characters with interesting backstories and they may not get any more colorful than the purple-haired, pink-fur wearing Princess (Paola Lazaro), who was introduced at the end of last week’s episode.

The Walking Dead Recap: Meet The Princess

This episode, we learned a bit about Juanita Sanchez, a loose, interesting firecracker, who has been living alone for more than a year and may be eccentric or just plain crazy.

Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) surely believes it’s the latter but Ezekiel (Khary Payton) convinces her and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) to trust her—even after she accidentally makes their horses go off running after firing a machine gun into some Walkers.

With their mission to West Virginia in danger, Princess offers to lead the trio to some “wheels.” Only thing is, that journey takes them through a minefield without warning them. Even though she’s made the trip hundreds of times, she gets frazzled by Yumiko and forgets where she is in her counting.

She finally figures it out and leads them to the garage. Only thing is, Eugene recognizes the street name as one they had encountered earlier and questions her as to why she led them on this wild goose chase. Princess apologizes and explains how she’s been alone and was hoping they would be her friends.

The Princess Is In

Eugene responds to her emotional pleas and offers a proverbial pat on the back. They all enter the garage to find the “wheels” are really bicycles but Eugene calculates that going 15 miles per hour is still better than walking. Yumiko then invites Princess to join them and she will – after she goes and gets her supplies.

Meanwhile, Beta (Ryan Hurst), in full-on Alpha mode with his mask made from his dead leader’s skin, is leading a huge horde of Walkers towards Alexandria to make them pay for what they’ve done. Only they’re not there. Well, Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) are watching them all from the base of the windmill, but somehow go unnoticed.

It seems the rest of The Walking Dead “good guys” are holed up in what they’re calling “The Tower” in an abandoned hospital, and for some reason, there are a lot of cats around. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is suddenly accepted as one of them and Lydia (Cassady McClincy) seems the only person not happy he’s there.

After all, he did just behead her mother. Negan apologizes for what he did and tells Lydia that he liked her mom, and wishes he didn’t have to do what he did. He suggests she punch him and lash out, and a Good Will Hunting-like therapy session, she breaks down and goes from hitting him to hugs.

Bonding For Carol

Elsewhere in the episode, Carol (Melissa McBride) and Kelly (Angel Theory) have a heart to heart with the youngster telling Carol she doesn’t need to explain what she’s done; after all, she’s heard the stories of the legend and respects what she has become.

Daryl (Norman Reedus) has his own emotional exchange with Judith (Cailey Fleming), agreeing to teach her how to guard the perimeter and talking about how even though he can’t promise her he’d always be there, she has a whole community of family looking out for her.

Judith tells Daryl that she talked to Michonne and her mom is off helping some people she met, leaving out the part about the search for his B-F-F Rick.

Beta and his band of Whisperers see one of those cats mentioned earlier and somehow he figures out that following the kitty will lead him to the missing Alexandrians. He and his horde wind up outside “The Tower” and the episode ends.

Remember, this was to be the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead season—not the finale—so while it set up some interesting things, it did not deliver in the way that many may have expected. The Whisperer War is here, Maggie is on her way back, and Eugene and company are about to learn what’s on the other side of that radio.

But we sadly need to wait a few months until the “real” finale episode is ready to air. In the words of Princess, “That totally sucks!”