The Walking Dead Spoilers: Will The Whisperers Show Up Sooner Than Expected In TV Universe?

Brief descriptions of upcoming episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead have fans wondering whether a new group encountered by some of the show’s characters is one from the comic books that emerges much later in the overall story’s timeline.

Recent speculation began due to a synopsis of Episode 6 entitled “Swear” that states Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Heath (Corey Hawkins), who have yet to appear in any Season 7 episodes, will come upon another group that hasn’t already been introduced in the series. Thus, the rumor began that this encounter may be with a group well-known to Walking Dead comic book readers, called The Whisperers.

The Whisperers, according to Popsugar, are survivors of the zombie apocalypse who successfully adapt to the world around them by covering themselves in the rotting skins of the surrounding undead in order to walk amongst them without being harmed. The Whisperers are able to then move about undetected and use this ability to “sneak up on other survivors or spy on them without getting noticed,” Popsugar reports.

*possible spoilers for twd*

could this be the tara and heath ep??? i'm pretty sure the society is either the whisperers or oceanside(?) pic.twitter.com/Ngx4utVdNS

— ? (@sadieadlrs) November 18, 2016

Interestingly enough, The Whisperers are led by a female called Alpha, who has the nasty habit of impaling the heads of her victims on spikes and displaying the decapitated specimen as a warning to those who may think about challenging the group, according to Popsugar.

Actually, this very act started comics fans talking and speculating over a month ago that The Whisperers would be part of Season 7 of The Walking Dead following a mid-October promotion for the show that featured a severed head on a spike posted on its Instagram page. According to Screen Rant, in the comics, when Rick and his group first encounter The Whisperers, they are met with such a warning.

Comic Book reports that should The Whisperers make an appearance in Season 7 of The Walking Dead, they would be arriving long before they did in the comics. In fact, The Whisperers do not show up until “Negan [Jeffrey Dean Morgan] and Rick [Andrew Lincoln] go to war,” Comic Book notes.

In an exclusive interview with Comic Book, Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple addressed the issue and what viewers can expect to see in upcoming episodes. After being asked if the group encountered by Tara and Heath this season is The Whisperers, Gimple said the following.

“If we’ve gotten this far without saying anything about them, I’d like the audience to discover this group when it’s on screen… I will say… I mean, it’s not the Whisperers. I will also say, though, that it’s not impossible that the Whisperers could come along or aspects of them could come along earlier than the timeline of the book, but certainly not this early.”

So it’s been confirmed that this new, mysterious group that appears in Episode 6 will not be The Whisperers, and it appears no one has any idea who these individuals may be. Comic Book writes that this may mean it will be a faction of people that are not part of the Walking Dead comics at all.

Nevertheless, Gimple did reveal, as noted, that although this group is not The Whisperers, Alpha and her group will show up earlier than the timeline followed in the Walking Dead comic books, which should indeed excite fans.

Two sneak peeks released regarding Sunday night’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Go Getters,” don’t allude to Tara and Heath at all. One features Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) discussing how Rick is handling the group’s association with Negan.

The second clip reveals, among other things, that a pregnant and ailing Maggie (Lauren Cohan) made it to The Hilltop, shows Enid (Katelyn Nacon) climbing over the Alexandria wall, and Sasha (Sonequa Martin) looking as though she is ready for battle.

The Walking Dead airs Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on AMC, followed immediately by its popular aftershow, Talking Dead, hosted by Chris Hardwick.

[Featured Image by Gene Page/AMC]