The Walking Dead Season 10 Synopsis Warns of an Infectious Fear and an Unavoidable Fight

An official synopsis for The Walking Dead Season 10 warns Daryl (Norman Reedus) and the survivors are headed for an unavoidable battle in their seemingly unwinnable strife against Alpha (Samantha Morton) and her Whisperers.

“The Walking Dead is a story that started 10 years ago with one man trying to find his family. That family grew and gradually communities took shape. They fought and survived, thrived and gave birth to a new generation. It is a tale of humankind and there are more stories to tell,” reads an updated synopsis published Thursday on the AMC website.

“It is now Spring, a few months after the end of Season 9, when our group of survivors dared to cross into Whisperer territory during the harsh winter. The collected communities are still dealing with the effects of Alpha’s horrific display of power, reluctantly respecting the new borderlines being imposed on them, all while organizing themselves into a militia-style fighting force, preparing for a battle that may be unavoidable.

“But the Whisperers are a threat unlike any they have ever faced. Backed by a massive horde of the dead, the Whisperers are seemingly a fight the survivors cannot win. The question of what to do and the fear it breeds will infect the communities and give rise to paranoia, propaganda, secret agendas, and infighting that will test them as individuals and as a society.

“The very idea of whether civilization can survive in a world filled with the dead hangs in the balance.”

Showrunner Angela Kang was the first to reveal the coming season will explore trauma, paranoia and PTSD caused in part by the lingering effects of the Whisperers’ gruesome attack on the communities that left the decapitated heads of ten victims — including Henry (Matt Lintz), Enid (Katelyn Nacon) and Tara (Alanna Masterson) — displayed on pikes now marking Whisperer territory.

“We’re dealing with a lot of things also to do with people’s trauma, and the idea of what is real or not real. Things having to do with illusion, or just memory breaking, PTSD. So there’s a lot of stuff that we’re doing that’s pretty unique to the feel of this season,” Kang told EW.

“We’re also having a lot of fun with the fact that the last time our people were in a war, it was automatic weapons and gunfire, but we’re just not really in that period of time anymore. So we’re working on some battle stuff that is unlike anything we’ve done on the show, which I’m super-excited about.”

The Walking Dead Season 10 opener, penned by Kang and directed by franchise veteran Greg Nicotero, premieres Sunday, October 6 on AMC.