The Walking Dead Hints at a Second Whisperer Spy

The Walking Dead could be hinting at a second Whisperer spy following the revelation that Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) was sent by Alpha (Samantha Morton) to infiltrate Alexandria. That bombshell dropped in 10x07, "Open Your Eyes," when Dante murdered jefe Siddiq (Avi Nash), and it made another newcomer this season instantly suspicious: we suspect something fishy about Jules (Alex Sgambati), an Oceanside resident who has so far appeared in just 10x01, "Lines We Cross," and 10x08, "The World Before." In the premiere episode, Jules was seen flirting with Luke (Dan Fogler), and in the midseason finale, she helped apprehend a snooping Virgil (Kevin Carroll).

When Michonne first reaches Oceanside, having just learned of Siddiq's death over walkie talkie, she grills community leaders Cyndie (Sydney Park) and Rachel (Avianna Mynhier): "When was the last time you had new people in here?"

Michonne is told it was "way before the fire," meaning the fire caused by a crashed Soviet satellite that ignited a forest blaze in the season opener. The fire threatened to burn down Oceanside and forced the survivors to cross into Whisperer territory to extinguish it, and that instance was one of three trespassing strikes cited by Alpha during a meeting with Michonne at the Whisperer border in 10x03, "Ghosts."

"Dante showed up in Alexandria way before the fire. We can't use that as a marker of Alpha's return anymore," Michonne says. "Whatever process you were using to vet your newest people here, you have to put them through a different one."

Michonne is right to be suspicious of other Whisperers hiding in plain sight, but the inclusion of this exchange could be set up for another Whisperer spy reveal in a future episode.

But the Whisperers aren't the only ones with people on the inside: in the second half of the season, we'll see former Alpha loyalist Gamma (Thora Birch) continue to cooperate with the Alexandrians, and there's still wild card Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) currently cozying up to Alpha despite the misgivings of Beta (Ryan Hurst).

"Obviously, we have Negan embedded with the Whisperers, so we'll continue to kind of tell the story that's involved there," showrunner Angela Kang told EW when previewing the remainder of the season. "And then, not necessarily specific to the episode back, but just as a whole, at this point now some lines have been crossed, right? The border has been crossed by both sides. There have been these acts of war and so things are now escalating very, very fast. And we kind of get to the big conflict between the Whisperers and our people."

She continued, "It's going to come to a head in the back half and we'll see how that plays out. And hopefully, there are some interesting twists and turns and surprises along the way."

The Walking Dead Season 10 returns with new episodes Feb. 23, 2020 on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.