Q&A Episode 10.4 "Silence the Whisperers"



Woohoo! Our source was able to squeeze in the Q&A this week. Thank you so much, source!! Here we gooooo:



1. The Hilltop is infiltrated with Walkers. Can you tell us how everything goes down and how it’s resolved? Is Alpha believed to be responsible?



There is a huge tree that appears to have fallen over the Hilltop fence, causing the roof of a barn to collapse on apparently nine people, and attracting walkers that start attacking and eventually breaching the walls. But the infiltration itself isn't shown to be a very prominent issue; it's the main two things that it causes: One, are the Whisperes responsible? And two, Magna is very unhappy with Yumiko making decisions on her own and barking out orders left and right.



2. What is going on with Ezekiel? Is he having nightmares? Is he ill?



He is shown to be unable to sleep, all sweaty. The biggest situation with Ezekiel in this episode is his heart-to-heart with Michonne, but Michonne does most of the talking. Ezekiel laments the loss of his kingdom and basically just name drops Benjamin, Shiva and Henry, and then Carol, saying he doesn't even know how to talk to her anymore. That's about it with him.



3. Carol doesn't join Michonne and Daryl for dinner. Is she ok? Is she still popping pills? Does anyone comfort her?



Carol isn't featured heavily in this episode. She is shown not opening the door for Daryl who brings her food, only opening it after Daryl leaves and taking the tray inside. She also has a conversation with Daryl on how they should be focusing on the enemy outside, but Daryl tells her that if they don't solve their internal issues, there will be nothing left for the enemy outside to destroy. Since she's not really featured in any meaningful way, there is no possibility to show any pills or a need for comfort.



4. Is Siddiq still struggling with PTSD? Have there been any developments on what is going on with him?



Yes. He keeps seeing things and hearing whispers, and he ends up filling a bowl with ice, dunking his head in and screaming in it. But that's it.



5. What’s happening with Lydia in this episode?



Lydia is verbally harassed by Gage, Margo and Alfred. She complains about it to Negan who encourages her to not give them what they want and just ignore them. Later on, Lydia harasses them in return by sitting at their table and butchering a squirrel in front of them, getting blood all over Gage's face. She also does the quiet sign, saying "shh" and smiling. This is probably what pushes the trio to ambush her in the middle of the night with Negan coming in for the save.



6. Do we see more of father figure Daryl with Lydia?



Definitely. He is great with her, consoling her every step of the way and also believing her on what happened on the fateful night. (See previous spoilery bits). That's important because Gage and Alfred later claimed that Lydia was the one who lured them there and Negan and her were in it together. They also have a long conversation after Lydia locks herself in the jail cell, saying that's where people want her and that's where she feels safe. She also makes a comment on how her mother was right about the "masks" that they wear, kind of saying the same thing as Negan on how they pretend to be polite until things get bad and they get scared, and that's when they "pick a target, aim and shoot". Daryl tries to explain to her that Negan is different, but she says he stood up for her when he didn't have to.



7. It looks like Negan has interactions with both Lydia and Daryl. What are they discussing?



Regarding her harassers, he tells Lydia to "kill them with kindness". Afterwards, when he is imprisoned once again for killing Margo, him and Daryl also have a long conversation. Negan once again touches a few subjects that he's been talking about in the previous episodes. He talks about how their moral code is phony because of how they gave him a taste of freedom only to yank it away when he actually did the right thing. He also tells Daryl, despite all that time he spent fantasizing about his death, all that time he actually tried to kill him, now he's not so sure.



8. Who is responsible for the “Silence the Whisperers” graffiti?



I believe it to be Gage, Margo and Alfred because no one else is shown to have this strong of a hatred towards the Whisperers, but there's nothing specific in the episode itself on this.



9. Are there any characters having conflicts with each other?



The most important conflict for me is between Yumiko and Magna. As I've mentioned in Q1, Yumiko seems to be ignoring Magna's (and everyone else's, according to Magna) opinion and just doing whatever she wants to do. There are two occasions when this happens; one where Magna says that they can put the wounded in some of the trailers and Yumiko interrupts LET'S USE MAGGIE'S OLD OFFICE and another where outside the wall, Magna says that they can take all the walkers but Yumiko insists they go back inside. Afterwards, Magna actually gives Magna a piece of her mind, saying "You're not my lawyer anymore."



Another conflict we see is on whether Negan should live or die. They have a council meeting on this in the middle of the night, and Michonne, being in Hilltop, asks Daryl to be her proxy for the vote. Aaron states his opinion on Negan's personality, he says that he may have changed but having done the things he has done, something inside him is broken. Siddiq counters this by saying that killing him undermines the civilization that they have built and the Whisperers are a more important issue anyway. Daryl says no to killing Negan, and Aaron comments that they are tied. Apparently, Gabriel has the deciding vote and he says that he's going to take the night to clear his head and consider his vote.



10. We see Carol with a compass and a map. What is she planning?



I think that this is maybe a one second shot that really doesn't mean anything in the overall arc of the episode. As I've said, there is no specific Carol storyline on this one.



11. Why do Michonne, Judith, Eugene and others go to the Hilltop?



This isn't stated specifically, but I assume it's because they are notified of the falling tree and the possible connection to the Whisperers. I came to this conclusion because later on, while at Hilltop, Michonne gets a call from Oceanside this time, alerting her on the presence of walkers over there as well and she decides to go. Luke wants to join, he asks to follow her to Oceanside and Yumiko teases him about wanting to see Jules there. Eugene decides to hang back to help fix the wall, and Judith is going to Oceanside with Michonne.



12. Do we see the infamous Michonne & Ezekiel kiss? Where does that come from?



We do see the kiss. Michonne sees Ezekiel outside of Hilltop, riding by himself. She goes after him, and he's at the edge of some scaffolding. He's seemingly considering throwing himself off of it, Michonne talks him out, they share a hug, and Ezekiel kisses her, apologizes immediately after. Then they sit down and have a heart to heart on losing their partners and how hard it is to pick yourself up afterwards, where Michonne cries. After that, they have a bit of a playful banter where Michonne tells him that he's not a half-bad kisser and Ezekiel jokes that just so she knows, he's not exactly at the top of his game. They wrap up the whole situation with super friendly and supportive banter.



13. Is Dog in this episode?



Unfortunately, no.



14. Does anyone die?



Yes, Margo.



15. How does the episode end?



The episode ends with Michonne and co. leaving for Oceanside, Daryl scrubbing the "Silence The Whispers" graffiti off his door, the final shot being another huge "Silence The Whispers" graffiti on the roof of a building.



16. Are there any shocks and surprises?



Yes! Apparently, Negan has left. Gabriel can't find him in his cell, and Lydia says that she released him.



17. Anything else interesting in this episode?



What's interesting to me is Yumiko and Magna's hot and heavy love scene in the cold open. Also, I think I can say that Dante seems real enough because he's seen patching up Lydia's arm. I can also mention that Judith and Michonne are seen fighting walkers together when they arrive at Hilltop, I liked seeing that.


The truth is out there