We’re thrilled to confirm that actor Cassady McClincy (Love, Simon) will be playing major comic character Lydia in The Walking Dead Season 9. Here’s a cheat sheet into both of these women and how her casting will affect the show.
About Lydia
Lydia is the 16 year-old daughter of Alpha, the tough-as-nails leader of The Whisperers. We’re first introduced to Lydia in Issue 133 when she and her walker skin-wearing comrades lose a battle to Jesus and his soldiers. As the lone survivor, Lydia is taken back to Hilltop to get locked up and interrogated. It’s there she meets Carl, who’s sitting in the adjacent cell for nearly beating two teens to death for attacking Sophia (Yes, that Sophia).
Timid at first, Lydia eventually warms up to Carl and the two form a romantic bond (see the *ahem* intimate details below). She tells him her mother Alpha allowed and encouraged an abusive environment among The Whisperers and wouldn’t bat and eye at her own daughter getting raped. It’s this sort of toxic atmosphere that has understandably turned Lydia completely off from the Whisperer way of life.
Eventually, Alpha gets her daughter back from Hilltop and warns Rick not to cross into their territory again. Carl follows them anyway, Rick’s forced to retrieve Carl, and Alpha lets Rick and Carl leave with Lydia because she can no longer keep her daughter safe. Despite this deal, Alpha’s upset that they trespassed into her territory, so she retaliates by beheading a dozen of Rick’s people (including Rosita, Luke and Ezekiel). This Red Wedding-esque massacre eventually leads to a full-on war between Rick’s communities and The Whisperers.
Lydia is vital to Rick’s victory over The Whisperers during this war. 49 issues later Lydia is still alive in the comics and living at Hilltop. She remains close friends with Carl and is a valuable member of the community.
About Cassady
Cassady McClincy is a 17-year-old American actress who has been acting in TV and movies since she was 10. She is best known for her work at Simon’s first girlfriend Jackie in “Love, Simon,” the younger version of Molly Strand in “Castle Rock,” and Anna in “Ozark.”
(Cassady McClincy in “Love, Simon”)
(Cassady McClincy in “Castle Rock”)
(Cassady McClincy in “Ozark”)
So how will McClincy’s Lydia factor into The Walking Dead Season 9? New showrunner Angela Kang opened up about the upcoming Whisperer arc during the Season 9 Talking Dead Special. “…we’ll go into a really great storyline that people are anticipating called The Whisperers, which if you’re a fan of the comic you know exactly what that means,” Kang said. “Although the way we do it may not be exactly the way it goes in the comic. We always remix things. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you know, it’s better to learn as you go along.”
Lydia’s relationship with Carl in the comics is vital to her character’s identity and story arc. Without it, she could be a completely separate character. Unless of course the remixing Kang mentioned could mean Carl’s story is given to someone else. Time will tell!
What do you think of the Lydia casting? How do you think the show will remix her story with Carl out of the picture? Will someone have to lose an eye? Let us know in the comments!
Why should we care? They’re either going to introduce some random kid that will replace Carl or Enid is going to be bisexual and get with Lydia. Please just cancel the show. Keep Morgan on FEAR and just continue driving the show into the ground and send Daryl there since he is AMC’s golden-boy. The Walking Dead was such a great show, don’t let it die with whimper.
I was looking forward to the TV version of Carl getting his eyehole licked……now….meh….Im trying to go into this season with a open mind but its hard after the giant turd that was season 8 ….
Meh. Why should anyone care. You got rid of Carl. So now her storyline is pointless. Of course they’ll substitute Carl with some random character nobody gives a crap about and just like every other major comic character who joins the show, she’ll fade into the background and float about without a purpose.
Just stop. Her character is pointless without the anchor Carl gives her to the main cast. Just let this show fucking die already.
Nothing matters if Rick (especially) & Maggie are no longer in the show & we already know about it, right down to the number of eps they’ll be in.
Glad to see we still get Lydia whisperers are my favorite villains, I hope their masks look creepy especially Alpha
I’m trying… I already have issues with having no Carl. Now no Rick? To me TWD is Rick Grimes. I’ll give it a shot but I’m not feeling it anymore. I’ll just stick to the comics. So yeah I think her character will be pointless. Especially without the eye lick!!!