The Walking Dead Showrunner Explains How the Whisperer War Is Different From the Saviors War

The Walking Dead is about to drop its season 10 premiere, and the arc of this new season will see the community of survivors going to war with Alpha and the Whisperers. Of course, any talk of war within the Walking Dead world inevitably conjures memories of the “All-Out War” with Negan and the Saviors, or the long, drawn out battle with the Governor and Woodbury. For a lot of Walking Dead fans, the memories of those arcs aren’t exactly cherished ones, so how will the Whisperer War be any different? Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang has stepped up to offer fans an assurance that the Whisperer War is going to be a very different experience:

“I know it’s going to be about as different from the Saviors war as a sword is from a pistol. Like going to war against a cult in some ways,” Kang told TVLine. “There’s a different feeling to it, a lot of stuff that is just mind games.”

As for how Alpha (Samantha Morton) will be different from Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)? Kang says:

“She doesn’t believe that civilization is something that is a worthwhile concept. She’s all about kind of being one with the world, which in this world means walking with the dead. A person like that doesn’t have a traditional sort of war strategy, whereas the Governor and Negan… they thought in a way that’s more similar to how we understand other governments to be.”

So far, the Whisperers have indeed proven to be a very non-traditional enemy, as far as Walking Dead antagonists go – and Alpha is certainly not a traditional leader. We learned as much in season 9’s tragic twist, which saw Alpha shed her zombie mask and infiltrate the Kingdom’s trade fair, in order to hand-select hostages she would later murder and use as frightening warning to the Alexandria coalition.

More than that, Alpha and the Whisperers are, by definition, a very non-traditional enemy, with their tactic of blending in with the dead to camouflage their movements and strike at foes. Alpha’s survival of the fittest mentality, combined with her cunning sense of clandestine moves, truly does make Alpha a much different threat than Negan or the Governor – and suggests that Walking Dead fans can get a much better experience as a result.

As Kang teases, the Whisperer War will definitely leave fans feeling feels: “It gets very tense and emotional.”

The Walking Dead season 10 premieres this Sunday.