Warning! MAJOR SPOILERS for The Walking Dead season 10 midseason premiere ahead.
The Walking Dead season 10 midseason premiere sees Alpha and Negan get real close, and the new status of their relationship may have big implications going forward. After escaping his prison cell in Alexandria, Negan has been living among the Whisperers and trying to learn their ways. Alpha, meanwhile, has been testing Negan to see if he'll actually prove as useful to her as he claims.
During the first half of The Walking Dead season 10, Alpha has been toying with the survivors. She's been attacking their communities with waves of walkers and stoking their fear that she could soon unleash on them her massive horde. It was also revealed that Alpha had managed to sneak a spy into their ranks, Dante, having him create problems for the survivors and sow discord among them. Negan, on the other hand, actually spent the first part of The Walking Dead season 10 acting like a good guy, but since escaping, Negan has more or less been up to his old tricks. While with the Whisperers, Negan has been trying to earn Alpha's trust, and in the season 10 midseason premiere, he receives that and a whole lot more.
In The Walking Dead season 10 midseason premiere, "Squeeze," Alpha and Negan's relationship takes an unexpected turn when the two characters have sex. It's a moment most viewers won't soon forget, and also one that readers of The Walking Dead comics will recognize as being lifted straight off of one of the series' more provocative covers. But what impact might this scene between Alpha and Negan have on The Walking Dead season 10?
Alpha & Negan Have Sex On The Walking Dead
The shocking sex scene in The Walking Dead's season 10 midseason premiere comes about as Alpha instructs Negan to follow her deeper into the woods, ordering him to walk ahead of her and not turn around. Negan, of course, assumes this is it, that Alpha has decided he's no longer of use to her and she plans on killing him. Things start to get weird, though, when Alpha orders him to stop and strip. Still thinking she means to kill him, Negan obliges, but once she tells him to turn around and he sees that she's now also nude, well, then he begins to catch on. Alpha isn't totally naked, though, because she's left her Whisperer mask on.
As she slowly approaches Negan, she explains how she wants to reward him for bringing Gamma's treachery to her attention. The Walking Dead hasn't yet shown Alpha confronting Gamma for sharing secrets with Aaron, but presumably, it's next on Alpha's list. First, however, she explains to Negan that a crass man likely appreciates a crass reward. For his part, Negan is surprised but also willing, and though the camera (thankfully) cuts away, there's no question of what happens next between the two Walking Dead villains.
What Happened In The Walking Dead Comics Instead
In The Walking Dead comics, the relationship between Alpha and Negan progresses a little differently. In the comics, just as on the AMC show, Negan is taken in by the Whisperers and attempts to live as one of them. He struggles, of course, because his boisterous personality doesn't mesh well with the largely silent Whisperers, but he does begin to develop a strange rapport with Alpha. Upon meeting her, Negan declares that he loves her, and he frequently hits on her, even going so far as to try and kiss her. In response, Alpha punches him in the face, but a mutual respect still begins to form between them.
Everything changes, however, when Negan witnesses two men attempting to rape a woman and he intervenes, which is against the Whisperers' rules. He's punished by Alpha and forced to sleep away from the group without any protection. That evening, though, Alpha comes to Negan and they continue to argue, with Alpha insisting that if the weak are protected they will never learn to be strong, while Negan argues that protecting the weak is what the strong should do. Eventually, the heated argument leads Alpha to cry as she remembers her daughter, Lydia, who she also allowed to be raped while with the Whisperers. Negan calls her weak and a hypocrite, citing her need for Beta's protection as more proof that Alpha isn't as strong as she claims. This leads to Alpha telling Negan that he may actually be just what the Whisperers need and he agrees - only to then immediately slit her throat and kill her.
Negan killing Alpha in The Walking Dead comics is an even bigger shock than them hooking up on the TV show. After seeming to set the stage for the two villains to team up - even going so far as to tease a romance between Alpha and Negan with that comic book cover - Negan instead gambles on making peace with Rick by presenting him with Alpha's severed head.
Why The TV Show Changes Alpha & Negan's Relationship
In contrast, The Walking Dead TV show appears to be following through on the promise of an Alpha and Negan romance - at least for now. Where The Walking Dead comics only ever hinted at there being an attraction between the two, the AMC show is going all in. Then again, there could just as easily be ulterior motives at work here. Alpha and Negan are both master manipulators, after all, and it's possible they see this tryst as an opportunity to use one another. So why is The Walking Dead TV show taking Alpha and Negan's relationship in this direction?
The easiest answer is that the TV show likes to do the unexpected, and because it's an adaptation, the show will often do things differently than the comic in order to keep longtime fans on their toes. The Alpha and Negan characters on The Walking Dead TV show are also different than their comic book counterparts, which can lead them to make different decisions and follow different arcs. And it could also be that the TV show needs to stretch Negan's time with the Whisperers in season 10. Having him explore a sexual and possibly romantic relationship with Alpha is one way of doing that. In The Walking Dead comics, Negan is only with the Whisperers across three issues, so there isn't a large amount of material to pull from, and new ideas will be necessary if this particular story is to run the remainder of the season.
In the case of The Walking Dead season 10's story, it's possible that Alpha and Negan are actually reaching some sort of understanding that may see an unholy union form between them. If that's the case, it would be an even larger departure from the comics as well as a huge threat to whoever opposes them. Yet, while that certainly remains a possibility, it's more likely that the sex scene between Alpha and Negan signals the start of a power struggle between the two - one where Alpha is trying to keep control of Negan as he tries gaining some control over her. Only time will tell who comes out on top and if this sudden detour will still lead to a similar end for Alpha at Negan's hands.
The Walking Dead season 10 continues next Sunday, March 1st with "Stalker" at 9pm/8c on AMC.