The Walking Dead’s Gamma Makes a Dangerous Deal in “Stalker” Clip

Whisperer Gamma (Thora Birch), real name Mary, reaches Alexandria to strike a dangerous deal in a [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Whisperer Gamma (Thora Birch), real name Mary, reaches Alexandria to strike a dangerous deal in a sneak peek look at The Walking Dead 1010, "Stalker." Pack leader Alpha (Samantha Morton), suspecting enemy spies have crossed into her territory, ordered Gamma to send a message of failure to their eyes along the border in the midseason premiere, "Squeeze." But when Gamma failed to reach her post, confirming suspicions raised by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) that the spy is one of Alpha's own, she ordered viciously loyal follower Beta (Ryan Hurst) to track down and return Gamma to the Whisperer camp for punishment.

"I'm trying to help," Mary tells an unconvinced Rosita (Christian Serratos) and Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) outside Alexandria's gates. She's just informed the Alexandrians that some of their own — Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Aaron (Ross Marquand), Gamma's counterpart at the border — are trapped in a cave where Alpha has placed her walker horde, not knowing all but two of the seven captured heroes have escaped.

When Rosita asks why the unmasked Whisperer wants to help, she confesses it's because of the baby boy abandoned by her people outside the Hilltop colony. "He's my nephew," Mary says, an admission she previously made to Aaron when she agreed to exchange the location of Alpha's horde for a chance to reunite with her last-surviving family member.

"I would do anything to see him again," Mary says of the child born to sister Frances (Juliet Brett), killed by Mary when defending Alpha from her sister's attack in 1002, "We Are the End of the World." Gabriel asks the whereabouts of the baby's mother, triggering a flashback of Frances being torn apart by walkers. "Dead," Mary admits.

If given a map, Gabriel asks, can she point out the location of the cave? She can, so the guards' weapons trained on the Whisperer are lowered. Stepping foot into Alexandria, Mary is knocked on her ass by a punch thrown by Rosita.

"You're a liar," Rosita says, ordering the Whisperer locked up in the cell vacated by a fugitive Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

"Gamma's decision was mainly split-second, but also in line with Gamma's belief that Alpha is General/President/God [or] what have you. So basically, when push comes to shove and Gamma is pressed against it, she chooses her leader over her sibling," Birch previously told the AMC Blog when explaining Mary's deadly decision in episode 1002. "It's horrifically dark, but in the world of The Walking Dead, it fits. It also highlights where humans on the show are often the largest threat to their fellow humans. Even when zombies are 20 feet away."

Mary will continue to wrestle with the weight of that decision in 1010, "Stalker," where Alexandria is invaded by a killer force. The horror-driven episode premieres Sunday, March 1 at 9/8c on AMC.

For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.

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