The Walking Dead is closer to revealing more about the trauma afflicting the PTSD-ridden Siddiq (Avi Nash), who may be harboring a dark secret about his encounter with Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the Whisperers. The sole survivor of a slaughter that left ten dead, including former protégé Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Kingdom prince Henry (Matt Lintz), Siddiq was left alive to spread a message of fear among the communities. Siddiq is struggling with survivor’s guilt and is prone to panic attacks and flashbacks that return him to the barn where he was forced to watch the Whisperers murder and then decapitate their victims, but as Alexandria’s resident doctor, he’s hiding his own troubles and confiding only in assistant doctor Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas).
Videos by ComicBook.com
In episode 10×06, “Bonds,” Siddiq is resting with baby daughter Coco after helping Dante combat a quickly spreading sickness affecting a growing number of Alexandrians. Siddiq focuses on Coco’s mouth, bringing to mind the exposed mouths of the masked Whisperers and triggering an episode.
Siddiq’s eyes close, and we hear what sounds to be the panicked and labored breathing of Enid. Then, faintly, Alpha can be heard saying, “Open your eyes.”
Next, the unmistakable sound of screams. We then hear what sounds like the growling voice of Beta (Ryan Hurst) ordering a command: “Open your eyes. Open your eyes.” Siddiq opens his eyes and finds himself now suddenly and inexplicably outside, standing and clutching Coco at the Alexandria windmill.
Interestingly, episode 10×07 is titled, “Open Your Eyes.” Per its official synopsis: “Carol pushes boundaries that make Daryl uneasy; Alpha and Beta have reservations about someone.” The episode might shed light on Siddiq’s trauma and could reveal he may have been forced to participate in the Whisperer murders.
Siddiq would want to avoid looking during the gruesome deed, likely explaining the “open your eyes” command. In past episodes, we saw Siddiq flash back to the barn, where we saw Alpha admiring a glimmering and bloodied blade. A flashback told through Siddiq’s eyes presented Alpha uncomfortably up close, where she whispered, “Good.”
We could soon see a revelatory flashback to the events of 915, “The Calm Before,” which ended with a reveal of Alpha’s border and the Whisperer victims’ heads on pikes.
“I will say that there’s some flashbacks this season,” showrunner Angela Kang previously told EW ahead of Season 10. “One of the things we were kind of dealing with in the season has to do with illusion and people’s fears and what’s real, what’s not, the weight of the past on people. So, we’ll definitely see some windows into the past that kind of shed light on the present. It should be interesting.”
The Walking Dead 10×07, “Open Your Eyes,” premieres Sunday, Nov. 17 at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.
