What’s going on with Beta in The Walking Dead season 10’s latest offering? With the true finale of The Walking Dead season 10 delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the entertainment industry, “The Tower” acts as an impromptu ending to the show’s current run. The final scene also acts as somewhat of a cliffhanger. Greeted with empty streets after leading a zombie army into Alexandria, the Whisperers are left to track down the evacuated survivors and somehow manage to locate the group in an abandoned hospital, capturing Aaron and Alden along the way.
This was quite the win for the Whisperers’ new leader, Beta, with Ryan Hurst’s character undergoing a significant transformation since The Walking Dead season 10 returned from its winter break. Ever loyal to his Alpha, Beta was devastated when he discovered Negan had killed the Whisperer leader, and suffered a mini-breakdown as a result. Going back to his roots, Beta flipped on his subordinates, blasted some country music and assembled a new horde of zombies. After saying farewell to Alpha’s reanimated head, Beta seemed to gain a renewed sense of purpose by attaching a piece of Alpha’s face to his own mask.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
In “The Tower“, however, something even creepier occurs. Searching for the missing Alexandrians, the Whisperers are lacking direction and Beta himself is unsure where to lead them. About to take his anger out on the nearest subordinate, Beta hears a voice telling him to wait, have patience and believe in his own strength. Judging by the raspy tones of the voice, this impromptu therapy session seems to be coming from one of the surrounding undead. Pushed forward by this strange voice, Beta eventually stumbles across the Alexandria/Hilltop camp and one zombie turns to face him, as if offering a final word of encouragement.
Although Beta might believe otherwise, what’s happening here isn’t actually a conversation between man and zombie – Beta is just losing his grip on reality. Early in season 10, The Walking Dead revealed Beta’s backstory, and the not-so-gentle giant suffered a period of insanity after losing his best friend. Beta found direction when taken under Alpha’s wing, but now that she too is dead, it’s hardly surprising that Beta’s instability has resurfaced. Since his first breakdown, however, Alpha has relentlessly drummed her beliefs into Beta – subservience to the undead, a primal mentality, and the “survival of the fittest” ethos. It’s only natural that Beta’s mental issues would manifest as a zombie providing life advice. Throw in an identity crisis, the pressure of leadership and some pesky, persistent foes, and Beta has truly been pushed over the edge of sanity.
This development puts a different spin on the Beta character, especially when compared to the original Walking Dead comic books. Beta has never been the most stable member of The Walking Dead‘s cast, but hearing voices from walkers takes his menace to an entirely new level, making the villain more dangerous than ever before. The evolution also helps Beta stand out from Alpha, whose brand of insanity was more the calm and calculating type, compared to Beta’s unhinged rage.
The Walking Dead season 10 is currently on hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak.
