Thora Birch’s Walking Dead character Gamma was introduced in season 10, but how did she leave the show? “We Are The End Of The World” is remembered as the Walking Dead episode that revealed how Whisperer leader Alpha (Samantha Morton) and her second-in-command Beta (Ryan Hurst) first met, but it also introduced a brand-new cast member in the form of American Beauty and Hocus Pocus star Thora Birch. She made a notable debut in the season 10 episode as the Whisperer minion who killed her own sister (who abandoned her baby at Hilltop in season 9) to curry favor with Alpha.
Committing sororicide impressed Alpha so much that she bestowed Birch’s Walking Dead character with the title of Gamma and made her third-in-command of the Whisperers – much to the ire of Beta. However, Gamma soon proved she wasn’t quite the cold-hearted killer her first Walking Dead episode made her out to be. After discovering that Alpha had lied about killing her daughter Lydia (Cassady McClincy), Gamma’s loyalty to the Whisperer leader began to waver and she started showing remorse for causing her sister’s death and concern for her nephew.
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During one of Gamma’s meet-ups with Aaron (Ross Marquand) at the Whisperer border, the latter revealed her nephew Adam was alive and well after being adopted by Hilltop residents Earl (John Finn) and Tammy Rose (Brett Butler). In exchange for Aaron facilitating a reunion between Gamma and her nephew, she revealed her real name (Mary) and the whereabouts of Alpha’s zombie herd. Before long, Gamma defected from the TWD’s Whisperers and joined the Coalition where she proved her worth by protecting Judith (Cailey Fleming), R.J. (Antony Azor) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) when Beta attacked Alexandria in the episode “Stalker.” However, joining the good guys would soon spell the end of Thora Birch’s run on The Walking Dead.
When the Whisperers launched their attack on Hilltop and burned the community to the ground in “Walk With Us”, Gamma fought alongside her new allies and later lured away a group of walkers stalking her, Alden (Callan McAuliffe), Kelly (Angel Theory) and baby Adam as they made their escape. Unfortunately, Gamma’s brave act brought her straight into the path of Beta who brutally disemboweled her. Beta intended to have the reanimated former Whisperer join Alpha’s herd but his nefarious plans were scuppered when Alden shot the freshly zombified Gamma in the head with an arrow.
Thora Birch was only on The Walking Dead for a total of nine episodes but her nuanced and tragic portrayal as the conflicted Gamma made that time impactful. According to an interview with EW, Angela Kang knew from the start that Gamma’s time on The Walking Dead would be limited and stated her death was a fated consequence of crossing Beta. At least saving the lives of her nephew, Alden and Kelly allowed Gamma to redeem herself somewhat before she was brutally taken out by Beta.
