The Walking Dead Season 10 returned for its first episode of 2020 on February 23 and put the "Squeeze" on several characters. While everyone is talking about Negan and Alpha's sexy (but so not sexy) time and the latest edition of Everybody Hates Carol, keep an eye out for a character who has been around since Season 7 to have what's billed as a "surprise ending" this Sunday, March 1.
The March 1, 2020 episode is called "Stalker," and AMC's official synopsis says this: "The group must defend Alexandria from a threatening outside force." The promo showed Gamma (Thora Birch) showing up in Alexandria, and also what looked like Beta (Ryan Hurst) appearing to rise from a grave in Alexandria. That's in addition to Daryl, Carol, and friends wanting to rescue Connie and Magna from that cave collapse. Here's the promo:
On top of that, we should be prepared to say goodbye to someone. TVLine answered a fan's question on when The Walking Dead would kill Alpha, because the fan said he was tired of the Whisperers. Here's the answer, which teases the surprise ending coming this weekend:
Handling a Big Bad is like making a walker-skin mask — it takes a while. In the meantime, you can look forward to the villainess getting into one hell of a knock-down drag-out fight in Sunday’s 'Stalker,' Daryl proving just how far he’ll go to try to save Connie (OK, and Magna), and a surprise ending for a character who’s been around since Season 7.
Daryl and Connie fans may focus on that part, or Alpha's big fight, but who is getting a surprise ending? I have to imagine it isn't a major character or they'd phrase it a bit differently in that tease. Last week, TVLine teased The Walking Dead's 2020 midseason premiere would change Daryl and Carol's relationship forever and, yep, we saw that happen. So now we have this new tease about an ending for someone who has been on the show since Season 7.
You'll recall that The Walking Dead Season 7, which aired from 2016-2017, started with Negan killing Abraham and Glenn. After that, millions of viewers left the show but a bunch of new characters arrived. We went into the Kingdom for the first time and also met more people at Negan's Sanctuary, and Tara went to Oceanside. New people were introduced at all the communities, including Hilltop.
Major characters introduced in Season 7 include Khary Payton as Ezekiel, and Cooper Andrews as Jerry. We were just worried for Jerry in the Walking Dead Season 10 midseason premiere, but he's OK for now. Connie and Magna weren't introduced until Season 9, so I'm thinking they either make it out OK or we don't hear anything about their fates this weekend.
What about Cyndie, though? Sydney Park started as Cyndie in Season 7 and the Oceanside resident returned in Season 10. This particular tease may not be about her, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's about a more minor character. Just someone we've gotten used to seeing. But that may be wrong too. I'm avoiding any spoilers, so the answer may be out there, but I'm not seeking it out.
The Walking Dead has been struggling in the ratings since Season 7, but the Season 10 midseason premiere did tick up a bit. It's pretty common for premieres, midseason premieres, and finales to have the best ratings.
Still, 3.5 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the key 18-49 demo isn't great, especially when compared to The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere, which had 17.03 million viewers and a wild 8.4 rating. Everyone tuned in for the answer to who Negan Lucille-d. But then the show got too hopeless, as AMC admitted, and lost many fans. We also lost many major characters, with Danai Gurira's Michonne leaving this season, as Lauren Cohan's Maggie finally returns.
But some fans are still sticking with The Walking Dead Season 10 -- and beyond? -- and they'll see this surprise ending play out however it plays out on Sunday, March 1 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
