The latest teaser trailer for the back half of The Walking Dead Season 9 was full of iconic scenes from Robert Kirkman’s comics. Refresh yourself on the video below and then see how close it came to the comics after that:
Lydia’s Arrival
The trailer opens with Lydia (who’s the daughter of Whisperer leader Alpha and played by Cassady McClincy) getting escorted blindfolded on horse back to the Hilltop. In Issue 135 of the comics, she’s thrown over the horse like Jesus’ body in the show (see below). Also, in the show she’s getting escorted by Michonne, where in the comics Jesus (who’s still alive) brings her to Hilltop to see Maggie (who never left in the comics). Now to how she got there…
Lydia Unmasked
“What we did means Alexandria survives,” Michonne narrates as we see Lydia getting captured on a bridge. This minor flashback parallels Issue 134 of the comics pretty closely albeit the change of characters who find her. As we see in the show, Daryl, Michonne (and presumably Magna, Yumiko, and Eugene) get ambushed by Whisperers on a bridge and nearly kill Lydia until she surrenders. Daryl rips off her mask and, as we saw from the first scene, decides to take her prisoner to Hilltop. As we mentioned, in the comics it’s Jesus (and his injured friend Darius) who also get ambushed on the bridge and decide to save Lydia by taking her prisoner.
Lydia Jailed
Just like the comics, Lydia gets thrown in the Hilltop jail to be interrogated so our heroes can learn more about her people. In the trailer, Daryl throws her in a cell with little remorse. As we mentioned above, it’s Jesus who throws her in jail in the comics while with Maggie looked on.
Also, in the trailer Lydia warns Daryl, “My mom…you don’t mess with her.” In the comics, Alpha’s brutality as Whisperer leader was only matched by her brutality as a mother. She famously abused her daughter and allowed her people to to do the same. We won’t get into how dark it gets in the show, but she’s not kidding when she says not to mess with her mother. By the way, isn’t there someone else also locked up in the Hilltop jail? 🤔
Beta
Alpha’s second-in-command Beta (played by Ryan Hurst) showed up again in this trailer. Obviously he’s from the comics, but he doesn’t show up until MUCH later than the current storyline. So his introduction into the show will already contrast from his one in the source material.
Alpha Lurking
This brief shot of Alpha (brilliantly portrayed by Samantha Morton) lurking in the woods isn’t necessarily from a particular moment in the comics, we just wanted to put it side-by-side.
Luke & Alden
We don’t want to spoil too much here, but know that Luke and Alden’s storyline will mirror the comics pretty well. We emphasize storyline because Alden is a show-exclusive character and Luke is not involved in the scene they’re teasing in this trailer. In Issue 133 of the comics (cover shown above) Dante and Ken (Ken was the kid who died in the Season 9 Premiere after trying to rescue the horses) get followed and eventually captured by Whisperers. Speaking of…
“Don’t Move” Alpha
Finally, the trailer saved the most iconic comic moment for last – Alpha’s shotgun introduction into the series. We won’t spoil when you’ll see this in the show, but we can say this happens on the last page of The Walking Dead Issue 132. Dante and Ken are the sole survivors of a Whisperer ambush similar to the cemetery one in Episode 908. After killing most of them Dante (like Daryl) discovers the “walkers” are just humans wearing skin over their own. With no time to process it, Dante is immediately held at shotgun-point by Alpha, who tells him “Don’t move.” It was one of the most shocking endings to a Walking Dead issue to date and we can’t wait for you to see it play out in the show.
That wraps up all the comic comparisons from the latest Walking Dead Season 9 trailer! Make sure to check in with us when the show returns for in-depth comic comparisons from each episode! Which comic moments are you most excited to see in the back half? Let us know in the comments! The Walking Dead returns on AMC Sunday, February 10th at 9PM and on Monday, February 11th in some international markets.
I don’t read the comics but I can say that I do not like these new people. They are very creepy.
You have no idea what we are “possibly” in for back half of S9!!! But it is going to lead into season 10 which will be when the really messed up stuff happens, if it follows the comics at all.