The Walking Dead: So, Who is Beta?

The Walking Dead has yet to fully unmask its villains, with Alpha and Beta being among their leaders. Alpha was treated to an episode which told her early apocalypse backstory but how she become a Whisperer leader and how she met Beta has remained unknown on AMC'z zombie series. While there are sufficient details to understand Alpha, her second in command remains very mysterious as Beta's story is untold until Sunday night's Episode 10x02. While the episode inevitably leaves some of Beta's story on the table to be explored in the future, there are already some interesting thoughts about Ryan Hurst's character on The Walking Dead.

In The Walking Dead comics, Beta is a character who was known prior to the apocalypse as a celebrity. His massive, daunting statue was an indication of his career all along. Robert Kirkman wrote Beta as a professional basketball player. After his basketball career, Beta became an actor who often appeared in television commercials. He first appeared in issue #154 and was killed in issue #173.

On the TV show, the whole basketball player and actor might not be the case for Beta. In fact, a small detail spotted in Fear the Walking Dead might indicate Beta's pre-apocalyptic backstory. While he is not a basketball player or actor, he will still have been famous if this theory ends up being true.

Late in Fear the Walking Dead's fifth season, Daniel Salazar was carrying some vinyl records. After having to leave the records on the street, the covers were spilled out and into sight for the audience. One of the covers featured a musician who has a striking resemblance to Ryan Hurst, the actor under Beta's mask. Sunday night's episode of The Walking Dead furthers this theory, slightly, while maintaining other possibilities, as well.

While the possibility of the musician on that record's cover bearing a resemblance to Hurst being a coincidence but there wouldn't be much fun in that! In the world of shared universes and Easter eggs, it would be fun to see Hurst's character having being teased as a musician on Fear the Walking Dead ahead of the actual reveal coming on The Walking Dead. Of course, shortly after Beta's past is revealed in the books, he is killed off. Classic.

Do you think Beta's backstory was revealed on Fear the Walking Dead? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter!