The Walking Dead Season 9: 6 Unanswered Questions After Episode 12

Here are the biggest unanswered questions from The Walking Dead season 9 episode 12, "Guardians."After spending several episodes establishing the Whisperers as the new villains in town, The Walking Dead returned to Alexandria this week, catching up on the fallout from Negan's escape and Rosita's pregnancy reveal. Viewers also saw how Henry's quest to rescue Lydia fared, got a major hint regarding what happened to Michonne during the time jump and witnessed the grand arrival of Eugene's groundbreaking "happiness chart" which will surely revolutionize the post-apocalyptic landscape.

The Walking Dead season 9 episode 12, "Guardians", also continued the show's acceleration towards the forthcoming inter-community fair, a joint celebration between Alexandria, the Kingdom and Hilltop that definitely won't end in tragedy. A landmark event in the comics, the fair storyline has been simmering away in the background for some time but, with only four episodes remaining of the current season, now looks to be arriving imminently.

"Guardians" advanced The Walking Dead's season 9 story considerably, introducing the Whisperers' base camp, as well as their second-in-command, Beta, but the episode left several significant points unanswered. These are the six most pressing questions coming out of The Walking Dead season 9 episode 12, "Guardians".

Can Daryl, Henry, Connie, & Lydia Escape The Whisperers?

Ryan Hurst as Beta, Matt Lintz as Henry and Samantha Morton as Alpha in The Walking Dead

Carrying on the momentum from Alpha's reclamation of Lydia in the "Bounty" episode, "Guardians" showed the Whisperers' trek home from Hilltop, closely followed by young Henry, who was determined to wrest Lydia from the clutches of her abusive mother. Naturally, Henry was caught almost straight away by Beta and taken back to the group's camp for questioning. Concerned that Lydia may have developed an attachment to Henry, Alpha orders her daughter to kill the boy but before this potentially deadly second date can begin, the Whisperers' camp is beset by undead invaders.

Indeed, the well-matched duo of Daryl and Connie have arrived to bring Henry home and are forced to take Lydia along with them. Despite causing enough of a ruckus to make a break for it, Daryl's group unfortunately still have plenty of work to do before they truly escape the clutches of the Whisperers. Beta appears to be a skilled tracker and Alpha boasts considerable strength in numbers, and it may not be long until the fleeing quartet are caught.

This story is largely derived from the The Walking Dead comic series, albeit with Henry and Daryl instead of Carl and Rick, and in printed form, Alpha shockingly asks Rick to take her daughter back with him and keep her safe, as the male Whisperers routinely abuse Lydia in the Whisperers' camp. On TV, the only character seen to hurt Lydia is Alpha herself, so it's unlikely that the same scenario will play out on screen. Also in The Walking Dead comics, however, Alpha makes a point of showing Rick her greatest weapon - a huge herd that the Whisperers have collected and contained - and then releases him with that visual warning freshly burned into his mind. The same could also transpire in the TV adaptation, with Alpha re-capturing the group, but freeing them after revealing her impressive zombie collection.

Who Is Beta?

The biggest character addition in this week's The Walking Dead was undoubtedly Beta, Alpha's physically imposing right-hand man and likely the Whisperers' best combatant. Not a man you'd wish to meet in a well-lit alley, let alone a dark one, Beta effortlessly tracks and apprehends Henry as the lovestruck youngster chases after Lydia, but it's when the group reach Whisperer HQ that Beta's true character begins to emerge.

The leadership of the Whisperer group can apparently be contested in a Black Panther-style trial by combat, meaning any skin-wearer can take Alpha's throne - but only if they beat her first. After breaking the Whisperers' rules to rescue Lydia, Alpha's position is unsurprisingly called into question, as two survivors get brave and speak out against their ruler. Surprisingly, it's Beta that seizes control of the situation and prevents Alpha from coming into any serious peril. It's quite apparent that Beta could take full control of the Whisperers if he wished, but the man is fiercely loyal to Alpha and later even removes his leader's mask at her request.

Over time, additional layers to Beta's personality will surely reveal themselves, but, already, his presence represents a new kind of threat for The Walking Dead. Rarely do The Walking Dead villains inspire such blind devotion from their henchmen, and both The Governor and Negan were ultimately defeated after being betrayed by one of their own people. It seems unlikely that Alpha will suffer the same fate, at least from Beta.

Which Side Is Lydia Truly On?

Samantha Morton as Alpha and Cassady McClincy as Lydia in The Walking Dead

A question mark has been hanging over Lydia's loyalty ever since she made her debut on The Walking Dead. Initially uncooperative following her capture, Lydia eventually opened up to Henry and Daryl about her past, her mother and her current forest-dwelling housemates and a romantic connection soon began to blossom between Lydia and Henry. Lydia seemed none too keen to return to Alpha's clutches, but on the long walk home from Hilltop, the young girl told her mother that everything she did and said during her incarceration was to gain the trust of her captors.

Lydia claims that she only co-operated enough to survive but Alpha is suspicious and demands her daughter murder Henry to prove her loyalty. Unfortunately, Daryl and Connie burst in before Lydia makes a decision and, subsequently, there remains an element of doubt over whether or not Lydia genuinely longs for a better life at the Hilltop. Even after the Whisperer camp was set upon by a stream of zombies, Lydia hesitated to run away with Henry and their rescuers.

On balance, there is perhaps more evidence to suggest that Lydia's fondness for Henry and affinity for Hilltop is genuine. She shows an authentic sense of disdain towards Alpha and was deeply concerned to see that Henry had followed her - even if she demonstrated that concern with a stunning right hook. Nevertheless, Lydia still needs a dramatic watershed moment that confirms her loyalty one way or the other and until then, she should be considered a potential threat.

More: Even More Questions From The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode "Guardians"

Lindsley Register as Laura in The Walking Dead

Why Is Laura The Only Savior Still Alive?

When the first post-time jump episode of The Walking Dead season 9 revealed that former Savior Laura was now a member of the Alexandria council, it wasn't a huge surprise. After all, the allied communities had made peace with the Sanctuary years ago, hadn't they? Since then, however, more information has arisen regarding the events during that time jump and the audience has learned that an unknown tragedy befell Alexandria in that period of time and made them a more closed-off, selfish and suspicious community as a result.

The exact nature of this tragedy has remained a mystery, but "Guardians" provided a huge clue when Michonne casually mentioned that Alexandria once voted to open its gates to the residents of the Sanctuary. It can perhaps be inferred that the Sanctuary became unsustainable following Negan's defeat and turned to Alexandria for help, which Michonne's people happily provided, before everything quickly turned sour. This would certainly explain why Carol roasted a bunch of Saviors she found in the wild a few episodes back.

It remains to be seen how this ties into the X-shaped scars and why Michonne is at odds with Maggie, but this latest revelation also begs the question of why Laura is the only one of Negan's ex-followers still alive, and a leading Alexandrian at that. Did Laura obediently serve her time in jail, or did she forsake her own group and help Alexandria to victory? The answer to those questions and more will likely be revealed via flashback in the forthcoming episode, "Scars."

Will Michonne Seek Negan's Help?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in jail cell in The Walking Dead Season 9

Negan's immediate future was unclear after he willingly returned to his Alexandria jail cell, but the former villain's path developed considerably this week after a conversation with Michonne. Negan claimed that he could overhear an Alexandrian council meeting from his prison, as apparently no one realized that holding a leadership gathering right next to the community's sole prisoner was a terrible idea. Negan listened on as the likes of Gabriel and Siddiq openly disagreed with Michonne's isolated approach to leadership and in response, Negan decided to offer Michonne his expertise in people management, arguing that his good behavior made him trustworthy and that a wise leader would use all assets available to them.

Unsurprisingly, Michonne turned the offer down flat, and this stance was proved right, after she came to a diplomatic compromise later in the episode without any input from Negan. But the seed has already been planted, both in the narrative and in Michonne's mind, and while the Alexandrian leader may not require Negan's help in HR, she may soon be calling upon his strategic nous as things heat up with the Whisperers. For all of Negan's faults (and there are many), he's adept at leading others into conflict and if Michonne were pushed into a corner by the Whisperers, the sadistic and violent Negan may be her last resort in keeping Alexandria standing.

Will Michonne Regret Taking Part In The Fair?

To appease her critics, Michonne agrees to a vote to decide whether or not Alexandria takes part in the community fair proposed by Ezekiel, despite still harboring grave concerns about the event in light of the Whisperers' emergence. Somewhat ominously, Michonne and Aaron make the fatal mistake of saying "I hope we don't regret this" out loud, meaning they almost certainly will in the not too distant future. Comic readers will know exactly how the fair pans out and although there's no guarantee that the same will happen on TV, the arc's importance to the overall story means that there's unlikely to be too much deviation between The Walking Dead's two mediums.

However, there's an argument to be made that Alexandria will fall into the Whisperers' cross hairs whether they take part in the fair or not. Despite a promise of "no conflict," Alpha appears keen to strike back at Hilltop and has been probing Lydia to find out whether the community has any trading partners, rightly suspecting that more potential enemies are out there somewhere . As a result, Michonne may well rue her decision to partake in the fun of the fair, but her people will almost certain face bloodshed regardless of her actions.