The Walking Dead: Everything You Need To Know About The Whisperers

1. The Show Arc Will Have To Be Very Different

While there are a few beats the show will almost certainly hit, including the heads on pikes and Negan's redemption, other things are going to have to play out very differently, because two key characters are missing: Rick and Carl Grimes.

Rick, as the leader of Alexandria and being seen as the head of all the communities, is essentially the main rival to Alexandria, with the pair have completely different views and a genuine hatred of each other, which leads to so much carnage. The obvious contender to fill that role would've been Maggie, but since Lauren Cohan has gone too, it'll presumably fall to Michonne, with a little help from Daryl and Carol.

An even bigger change will be what happens with Lydia. The daughter of Alpha, she's crucial to understanding the Whisperers and developing the character of Alpha too, and a big reason for that is she defects to the Hilltop, where she begins a relationship with Carl that's at times sweet, at others simply gross (she licks his eye socket).

A large part of the build to The Whisperer War is spent on Carl and Lydia's relationship, and how their star-crossed lovers romance affects their warring parents too, and there's no obvious replacement for Carl here, which means it's going to be difficult to transition this to the screen, and that in turn causes bigger problems for the success of the entire story arc.

Are you excited for the arrival of The Whisperers? Let us know down in the comments.