‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Return: Norman Reedus Reveals A ‘Mutual Respect’ Between Daryl Dixon And Alpha

As Season 9 of AMC’s The Walking Dead gets set to return on Sunday night, Norman Reedus has opened up about his character’s role in the developing storyline involving the Whisperers.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the mid-season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 9. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

The mid-season finale for The Walking Dead saw the communities discover that walkers weren’t actually evolving. With the death of Jesus (Tom Payne), the groups realized that those walkers who appeared to be able to talk were actually humans in the guise of the undead. This new group, known in the comics as the Whisperers, will continue to create havoc when Season 9 returns.

However, according to Norman Reedus, his character, Daryl Dixon, will have a lot to do with the new group after arriving at Hilltop with Henry (Matt Lintz) and discovering the upheaval there.

“When he gets [to Hilltop], all hell’s breaking loose,” Norman Reedus recently told Entertainment Weekly.

“There’s a knock at the door. We’re kind of called out, and no one’s really stepping up. Daryl’s like, ‘Screw it. I’ll go do it.’ He ends up in a situation where he kind of has to man up.”

As Daryl struggles to come to terms with the new threat to the community, Reedus reveals that his character will hang back at first and observe the situation. As a result of this, Daryl will end up playing both sides.

“[Daryl]’s going to try to get into the psychology of that mindset, of what it takes to live a life in a dead man’s face and walk among the dead. He’s trying to figure out a way to keep the people safe, but also try to crack that egg and figure out what’s happening, you know? It’s very complicated, and there’s a lot of moving parts.”

Norman Reedus promises “a lot of Daryl and Alpha stuff coming up” on #TheWalkingDead. https://t.co/Im2QbSz8t4

— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) February 7, 2019

In the previous trailer for the Season 9 return of The Walking Dead, there is a scene involving one of the Whisperers, Lydia (Cassady McClincy), and Daryl Dixon. Lydia is confined to a cell and they are discussing her mother, Alpha (Samantha Morton), who is the leader of the Whisperers.

Norman Reedus reveals that, thanks in part to this conversation, Daryl will aim to discover more about this group and the leader.

And, it is this meeting that leads to mutual respect developing between the pair. Considering Daryl has always been an outsider and more adapted to living apart from the group than many of the others, it seems fitting that these two characters should interact.

“It gets to a point where there’s a mutual respect between them in some weird way,” Reedus said.

“I know you saw from the clips that were put out of future scenes coming up where Lydia’s saying to Daryl, ‘You’re not like these people. You live outside of these walls. You’re a wild animal. You get it more than anyone.’ I think Alpha kind of sees that in Daryl, and Daryl sees that in Alpha.”

As for whether this mutual respect will lead to Daryl Dixon joining with the Whisperers or using it as a way to bring them down remains to be seen, and fans will just have to wait until the return of Season 9 of The Walking Dead to find out more.

Season 9 of AMC’s The Walking Dead will return to AMC on Sunday, February 10, 2019. The show is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. ET. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Episode 9 is titled “Adaptation” and the synopsis is as follows.

“The group unmasks a disturbing and dangerous new threat. An escaped captive revisits his past.”