‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Dee’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
These days, villain origin stories, follow a fairly specific formula. One that involves a grand and sweeping tragedy. The kind that introduces us to the villain in question, shortly before they fall. Giving us insight into their lives and their personality before the darkness arrives and the world begins to corrupt them and of course… the story ends with the darkness winning, and the whole point of this formula, is to help us to understand evil through and through. Because we don’t. We don’t get how people can choose to impart cruelty on other people and coming to understand how the world corrupts good and decent people, fills in that gap as best it can and of course, gives us hope that perhaps we can prevent the origin of evil in our world through kindness and understanding.

But what is fascinating about the villain origin story, is that while it does indeed give us some understanding of how the modern world corrupts and how people are susceptible to its machinations when the circumstances are right… it doesn’t cover every possible way that a person turns to darkness. Because in reality, there are traumas that people suffer at an early age that turns them to darkness. Or there are years of abuse that no one knows about that sharpens the proverbial knife they wish to use to strike back because no one was there to help. If anything, the harsh realities of what drives mankind to evil… will likely never be fully understood. But that won’t stop us from trying, and perhaps the best way to really approach our desire to learn about it… is to begin to explore it in storytelling in an honest manner.

Which is why the next episode of Tales of the Walking Dead is of note. For ‘Dee’ offers up a supremely honest origin story for a villain. One that outright teaches us that sometimes, all a person needs to really cross that line and do horrible things, is reinforcement of their beliefs and an outright opportunity to become something else. A feat that this story accomplishes by re-introducing us to a familiar woman named Dee. Who we best remember as Alpha, leader of the Whisperers and a true bringer of pain and evil and suffering and well… when we catch up with Dee here, it is shortly after she felt the need to sacrifice Lydia’s father to escape that basement bunker to try to survive in a world where living death ruled the day on her own terms, and when we catch up with Dee and Lydia here… they’ve found shelter at last in the most unique way possible.

For they eventually found their way to a riverboat that was crewed with a small community of people that wisely figured out how to use this boat as the perfect sanctuary. Since being on the water meant less chance of running into the walking dead, and if by chance there was an encounter it could be easily dealt with. And thankfully, these folks had ample supplies aboard and knew the best places to restock when the time arrived and they also… were working to enjoy life at a critically unsettling time. By hosting parties often to give everyone a sense of wonder and joy and well… this was a place that Dee wasn’t happy with in the slightest. Because regardless of how much joy it brought Lydia and the safety and food it provided them with, she was convinced this place was vulnerable and would bring them great harm.

---

All because Dee firmly believed that people were inherently incompetent and foolish, and evil, and that no place was truly safe from death and despair, and eventually… those concerns were realized. For there were people nearby that wanted this boat because of the safety it represented and well… when they were exposed and the opportunity arose, they went after this boat with impunity. Which of course, brought forth the bloodshed that Dee was waiting for and that of course, provided her and Lydia with a chance to escape and step back into the world. Which in turn led to more trauma and harrowing experiences. Since they were left to deal with the fallout of the boat collapse in the goriest way imaginable and of course… they were fending for themselves once again.

Which brought forth trouble via Lydia and rightfully so. After all, she was finally enjoying life again and was comfortable and happy aboard that boat. But now she was surrounded by fear and terror and relentless walking death and despite Dee’s best efforts to try and teach her how to return to her more primal roots, Lydia refused… putting Dee at a dark crossroads. One where she considered ending everything. That is until she ran into some new friends, the kind that would change her life forever. For they walked amongst the dead and spoke in whispers and these ‘kind’ new strangers would provide Dee with everything she ever needed to shun the ways of the old world and human decency and rise to the title of Alpha, and the rest as they say… is history.

Which is a plot, that truly hammers home the central unique theme of this tale. In that, there are people in this world, who have kept darkness at bay and have little faith in the system or humanity, and all they need to really embrace the darkness and do awful things unto others, is the right reason or the right moment and that’s precisely what Dee/Alpha received here. Since her worries and concerns about the boat and its future came to fruition, giving her perchance to escape and lose all faith in humanity as it stands and of course, meeting the Whisperers gave her the freedom she needed to be Alpha and initiate or perform all the horrible actions we saw when she ran into the Alexandria Alliance, and that made for a sobering episode, one that also… may give rise to some controversy.

Since some will cite how Alpha and Beta’s first real meeting in ‘We Are the End of the World’ in The Walking Dead should have served as the origin of these monsters, making this a ret-con of sorts, but this writer disagrees with that. Because Alpha is recounting this story… and is quite engrossed in her own special brand of evil when doing so. Giving rise to the chance for embellishment, to create sympathy and paint her as the hero of the story. Which means, we may have only seen a sampling of what made Alpha, Alpha, and there’s an uncomfortable reality that accompanies that possibility, one that further hammers home evil’s nature and desire to handle things its own way. Making this a brilliant episode for certain, one where Samantha Morton once again shined as Dee/Alpha, and one has to wonder if more origin stories of classic TWD Universe characters await us as season one of this wonderful show continues along. Until next time.

---

Powered by JustWatch