‘The Walking Dead’ Delivers On Its PTSD Storyline In A Big Way – UPROXX

After a week spent watching Negan troll Beta and The Whisperers, The Walking Dead turned its focus back to a storyline that has been burbling in the background all season long: Siddiqs PTSD. Every episode this season has taken at least a moment to check in with Siddiq, as he has tried in vain to deal with the trauma of witnessing his friends decapitated at the hands of Alpha and The Whisperers. The storyline has also been the source of a lot of speculation this season, and in this weeks episode, the groundwork the series has been laying finally paid off.

The Siddiq storyline, meanwhile, converged with another C-storyline this over the last few episodes: A stomach illness that has befallen a number of Alexandrians. The source of that bug was also a topic of speculation. As predicted, the bug was the result of water contaminated by walker guts, thanks to Gamma (strangely, though Aaron seemed to witness Gamma contaminating the water, it did not register).

As it turns out, Dante was well aware that the water was contaminated he was helping to contaminate it and he didnt say anything, as a number of Alexandrians got increasingly sick. We now know why: Dante is a mole for Alpha. After Siddiqs struggles with PTSD come to a head this week triggered the most whenever hes around Dante he sat down and had a heart-to-heart with Rosita, who pulled him out of the water in what appears to have been either an attempt on his own life or an effort to quell a panic attack brought on by his PTSD. During his conversation with Rosita, Siddiq finally realizes its the water thats making everyone sick (and led to the death of one Alexandrian).

After, Dante attempts to comfort Siddiq, but during the conversation, it slowly dawns on Siddiq that Dante is one of the voices hes been hearing inside of his head during his PTSD episodes. Dante was there on the night of the Whisperer massacre. Dante was the one holding him, making him watch as his friends, especially Enid, were brutally murdered. Dante clicked his tongue in Siddiqs ear on the night of the massacre, and now, whenever Dante clicks his tongue again, it triggers Siddiqs PTSD. He does so again, and Siddiq finally pieces it all together: Dante was a Whisperer. Before Siddiq can escape and tell the others, however, Dante grabs him and chokes him to death. Cocos father is dead.

Meanwhile, Carol brings the Whisperer hostage back to Alexandria to interrogate him and find out where Alphas camp is set up. The hostage, however, refuses to crack, despite Carol and Daryls best efforts. When the hostage mentions that hed never turn on Alpha, who sacrificed her daughter for The Whisperers, Carol sees a crack. Lydia is obviously still alive, so Carol schemes to present her to the hostage and break his spirit, but Daryl puts up a roadblock, saying that he doesnt want to involve Lydia. Its all for naught, anyway, because Dante slips the hostage some hemlock and kills him, scapegoating Siddiqs absent-mindedness for the death.

Carol doesnt give up so easily, though, because elsewhere, Aaron has been working on Gamma, trying to suss the humanity out of her. Aaron makes some headway, too, by offering her bread and letting her have a picture his daughter drew for him. However, when Gamma goes back to Alpha for a debriefing, Alpha hardens her up again with a few whips to the wrist. When Gamma returns to Aaron this time, she takes him hostage and holds a knife to his throat. Thats when Carol with Lydia tagging along makes a sudden appearance.

Seeing Lydia, Gammas spirit breaks, knowing as she does now that Alpha did not make the sacrifice she claimed to have made. Gamma runs away, and she can later be seen in the forest crying. Lydia, however, also realizes that Carol has used her, and Lydia feels betrayed, too. She runs away, darting into Whisperer territory, telling Carol that she isnt going to take sides; shes only going to choose her own side.

Thats where the episode leaves off, as we head into next weeks midseason finale: Gamma knows about Lydia; Lydia is in the wind; Negan has infiltrated The Whisperers; and Siddiq is dead, but no one else yet knows that Dante is a mole. Dont forget, either, that there is a contingent including Luke and Michonne headed over to Oceanside, as well. The stage has been set, and all the ingredients exist for an explosive midseason finale.

Additional Notes

If there was any doubt about Siddiqs fate, it was extinguished with a touching In Memoriam to his character on The Talking Dead last night.

Moreover, Siddiqs grave is seen in the Next On trailer, and Dante is seen in jail, so at least hell be a suspect in Siddiqs death.

I half thought that a huge comic moment was going to arrive in the midseason finale, but based on these scenes, it looks unlikely. Instead, focus will shift to Michonne and the Oceanside, plus the introduction of a new character, Virgil, played by The Leftovers Kevin Carroll. Honestly, thats okay, because Im not ready for that big moment to arrive, anyway.

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'The Walking Dead' Delivers On Its PTSD Storyline In A Big Way - UPROXX

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Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero
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