‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: ‘Silence the Whisperers’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

We as a people, try quite hard to focus upon the more wonderful things that are present in our world. It’s why we celebrate the majesty of a sunrise or a sunset or relish in the magic of seeing a young couple in love or take a moment to appreciate the serenity of a fresh snowfall or the calming effect of a gentle summer wind. Because all of those things help us to feel alive and they allow for us to live in the moment and soak up the beauty of the world we call home. But you will notice that I said that we work hard to celebrate those things and there’s a reason I put that in print, simply because we tend to take a lot of these things for granted and when the going gets tough, people quickly lose sight of the good and focus squarely on the bad.
 
Which makes sense, because negative emotions are raw and powerful and they consume us quickly, and that’s why we sleep in and miss the beginning of a new day or forget to notice the wonderful little things happening around us as we stress about money, life, or our jobs. But of the many emotions out there that take hold of us in negative fashion, none is more powerful than fear. Because that particular one plays tricks with our minds, allowing for us to believe things that simply aren’t true, and it motivates us to do strange things that we normally wouldn’t do if we were keeping our wits about us, and it just so happens that last night’s episode of The Walking Dead took the time to dive deep into the power of fear and what it can do it us, and that made ‘Silence the Whisperers’, one powerful story that oddly felt relevant to modern times.
 
But before we examine that particular commentary, let’s first take a look at Ezekiel’s journey in this tale. For fear took hold of him and put him in a dark place, thanks to another surprise attack from the Whisperers, one that badly damaged the security wall that surrounds the Hilltop. And seeing this wall take damage from a fallen tree, is what started Ezekiel down a dark and unsettling path. Because he was afraid that he would once again fail good people that relied upon him to keep them safe, and that prompted him to run and hide and ponder upon the nature and the future of his own life, which was a scary place to see him reside within. For it seemed that for a moment there, Ezekiel was ready to stop fighting and living altogether. But thankfully Michonne was there to lift him up and it was quite powerful to see how fear can shatter a man’s soul and bring him to his knees.
 
Yet while Ezekiel’s journey was stunning in its own right, it is what happened in Alexandria that brought forth the commentary I made mention of a moment ago. Because fear was gripping everyone in this tiny little berg, and this part of the story explored how it transforms us to do things we normally would not, all in the name of safety and security. For with the threat of the Whisperers hanging heavy over this community, some believed that Lydia was to blame for their troubles and their woes, and those same people felt that it was best to make her pay for her mother’s actions and that led to one disturbing sequence of events. Wherein a small group of Alexandrians, ones who saw their friend die by way of Alpha’s ‘message’, beat the ever-living hell out of Lydia and the only thing that kept her from joining Henry in the afterlife, was an unexpected hero; Negan.

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​Yes, you read that right. The man who once murdered Glenn and Abraham in cold blood to send a message, stepped in to save a life, with unfortunate results. Because in the midst of the chaos and the shouting, the woman that Negan tossed to the side cracked her skull on the concrete nearby, resulting in her death and allowing for the fear in the community to shift to their former enemy. For now, everyone believed that Negan was dangerous once again, and might go on a new killing spree with impunity and it took some serious work from Daryl and Siddiq to try and calm everyone down and convince them that putting Negan to death, for doing the right thing, was wrong. But alas, this debate was a moot point when all is said and done, since Negan managed to escape in the dead of the night, leaving his future with Alexandria up in the air.
 
However, I made mention of how this particular storyline had a familiar ring to it and that’s simply because this kind of stuff is happening right now in our modern world. For there are people who are attacking others without giving it a second thought because they’re afraid of different cultures and they believe that someone of a different creed or color might harm them thanks to the rhetoric that spreads around our world daily and that’s quite the sobering parallel/commentary to find in this series. Because normally it looks at higher concepts that relate to humanity, not current events. But doing so was brilliant in its own right since we all knew these actions to be wrong, and seeing such acts served as a fine reminder that we need to do what Aaron and others did not in this story, and say or do something to stop it before it begins.
 
But while there were plenty of powerful moments to chew upon in this story, we do need to celebrate the horror elements present here as well. Because everything that happened at Hilltop was a terrifying delight for certain. For the dead were constantly working to get through the compromised section of the wall that the falling tree damaged and hearing them slam upon the steel was chilling for certain and it was nice to see the dead create a sense of dread once again. Plus, there were also some cheer worthy moments present in this story since everything between Judith and Michonne was outright magic, especially when Judith pointed out the Whisperers’ strategy to her mother, and the pride that dear old mom beamed with, when her baby girl took down walkers with minimal effort, was simply wonderful to see on screen.
 
If anything, I suppose the word ‘frustrating’ is the finest word to describe this episode. Because despite the wondrous and classic moments present in this story, it was aggravating to see the people of Alexandria submit to their darker side in this manner. Because they are better than this, and in turn so are we and there was no need to revert to that kind of savagery, not after how far they’ve come and especially not after everything they’ve fought for. In the end however, the negative actions present here just speak to how well Alpha’s plan is working at this point, and sadly, something is going to have to give soon and I have to admit, that I’m quiet nervous that someone is going to make a mistake at a critical moment and give Alpha and her people a crippling victory over our heroes. For they’re buying into the power of fear and letting it control them, and that always leads to disaster. Until next time. 

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