The Walking Dead Review: Stalker (Season 10 Episode 10)
Every now and then, an episode of The Walking Dead comes along that blows expectations away. The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 10, “Stalker,” is such an episode, where the cold war bursts apart and sets everyone on a course of action that will define both the communities and the Whisperers.
Rosita and Gabriel, outside of Siddiq’s death on The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 7, “Open Your Eyes,” have mostly been sidelined to romantic drama and making decisions for other characters. It’s mostly due to the illness caused by the water and fear gripping the Alexandria community, but here, the episode manages to provide them enough to enter the fray and not feel so distant from what’s happening.
Gabriel’s Old Testament way of dealing with the enemy is a striking way for him to take on any challenge, where his judgment falls onto God and he makes decisions that feel like they could be deadly in a heartbeat.
His comment on how the Whisperers must be tortured for information and they’re cowards is a dark turn for him, but it’s in this questionable territory where the Whisperers have taken so much, it’s almost necessary to take the brutal approach.
It’s what makes that final moment of Gamma under his shotgun barrel so gripping. When Gabriel closes his eyes, you aren’t really sure if he will pull the trigger or not. Kindness is in short supply now that brutality is on the menu, and despite Rosita’s own distrust of Gamma, even she is caught off guard by his words.
The episode gives Thora Birch a larger presence, which is welcome. She’s been hidden behind her Whisperer mask for the majority of her screentime, and so giving her a chance to win back her character’s humanity is an essential piece to the episode. Judith continues to be the best interrogator, that window in the jail cell an infinite resource of finding out about people. It works, and it works well.
There is an impressive heaviness that holds the whole episode together, this gripping tension that darkness is descending.
The battle between Daryl and Alpha is quick and dirty, and far more damaging than expected. They don’t hold back on each other, and there’s almost a respect Alpha has for him once they reach the auto shop. It’s like she doesn’t want to kill him outright, as he sees a part of her in him, and so she just wants to put him through hell.
In the back of our heads, we know neither Daryl or Gamma will perish in that auto shop (they’re too essential to the show still), but there’s this desperation on both their parts, where death feels so close as they wait for each other to basically bleed out first. Daryl’s sharp breathing and massive loss of blood make him the likelier victim, but at least Lydia is there at the last moment.
Lydia’s choice to spare Alpha feels a tiny bit like plot armor, but there is still likely more to delve into there. Their relationship has a lot of layers to it, and so now that Alpha is claiming the last of her humanity has departed, maybe the show will test that a time or two with the remainder of the season.
Alpha claiming she’s now stronger than ever puts worry on what she will possibly do next. She’s shedding the last bit of humanity she is holding onto because Lydia didn’t choose her. The etched message of how there is another way is as big a message for Alpha as anything could be: she’s lost her daughter for good.
What’s to come is likely all-out war, with Hilltop the most at-risk location. With a delegation from Alexandria on the way, perhaps a last stand of sorts is in the offing. Michonne’s storyline with Virgil is in limbo currently, and so a number of pieces have to click in place before the heroes have a fighting chance.
There are small moments of light, though, as kindness can still exist. Judith getting to know Gamma (whose real name is Mary, as it turns out) and Lydia helping Daryl out show that cruelty and brutality haven’t taken over completely yet.
But the star of the episode is Ryan Hurst, whose Beta continues to be an unpredictable threat of the show. The sequence of going house to house and creating walkers out of Alexandria members evokes hints of David Gordon Green’s Halloween when Michael Myers goes house to house on a killing spree. It’s such an effective, terrorizing moment for the episode, especially with how calm he is as he waits for them to rise anew.
But what’s intriguing about Beta is that he still holds principles, despite his chosen way of life. His fierce loyalty to Alpha places him in a rough spot of trying to bring Gamma back alive no matter the personal cost to himself. The amount of damage put upon him and he still can live to fight another day makes him the most formidable villain the show has produced so far.
Daryl and Beta do need a rematch after their battle last season, though, so it’s clear both will live to fight on.
The Walking Dead Season 10 Episode 10, “Stalker,” dials up the tension and doesn’t stop for its duration. Even the calmer moments have the ticking clock of consciousness and life attached to them. It’s the kind of storytelling that the show can do wonders with, and hopefully uses more of down the line.
This is the kind of episode that makes The Walking Dead a powerful series still, all these years later.
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.