‘The Walking Dead’ Communities Lower Flags to Half-Mast to Honor the Dead

The official Twitter account for AMC’s The Walking Dead on Monday shared a video showing the flags belonging to communities Alexandria, the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and Oceanside at half-mast in the wake of a significant turn of events that claimed the lives of ten victims, including Tara (Alanna Masterson), Enid (Katelyn Nacon), and Henry (Matt Lintz). The survivors were caught off guard by Alpha (Samantha Morton) and the Whisperers, who murdered the victims before impaling their heads atop pikes as a gruesome declaration of Whisperer territory.

The brutal act of war leaves the communities devastated but does not drive apart the survivors, who must next pull together to move forward when facing down a blizzard.

“First of all, the deaths are at the hands of a human being instead of walkers, so that immediately makes it different,” Walking Dead director-producer Greg Nicotero told THR in the wake of Season Nine’s penultimate episode.

“In a world where you struggle to survive in this upside-down world of the undead, you figure, ‘OK, that’s how I’m going to go.’ But with the introduction of the Governor (David Morrissey), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and then the Whisperers, you’re constantly reminded that man’s inhumanity toward man is the most horrific thing that can occur. There’s a real brutality to it. I loved in the script how Siddiq (Avi Nash) talks about how the [victims] all fought until the end. There was no fear. They were willing to band together and fight for each other in unsurmountable, unbeatable odds. There’s a randomness to it. That’s part of what makes it so tragic. It has that Glenn (Steven Yeun) feel, where it’s random and uncontrollable. You don’t expect it. You don’t see it coming. And then you get this one-two punch.”

Nicotero directs the Season Nine finale, “The Storm,” penned by showrunner Angela Kang, which explores the aftermath of the pike deaths and introduces a major game-changer ahead of Season Ten. The season closer premieres Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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