Sumith Prasad
The third episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Tales of the Walking Dead,’ titled ‘Dee,’ follows a mother named Dee, who works in a vintage steamboat, and her daughter Lydia. The mother and daughter are seeking shelter and protection in the boat while the walkers roam around the land. Lydia gets attached to Brooke, a wealthy woman who considers the former as no less than her daughter. The lives of the passengers of the boat get threatened when unforeseen developments unravel in the same. The episode ends with an astounding revelation that connects Dee to one of the most contemptible characters in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe. If you wish to know more, you are at the right place! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tales of the Walking Dead Episode 3 Recap
‘Dee’ begins with Lydia spending time with Brooke. While Dee finds it difficult to blend in with the boat’s opulent passengers, her daughter gets accustomed to the wealthy people’s ignorance and obsession with parties. She even demands her birthday party from Brooke, who discusses the same with Dee. The next day, one of the passengers of the boat goes missing. Dee suspects bartender Billy to be the one behind the same, only for Brooke to confront her for raising “baseless” accusations. Billy even jumps into the river when Dee tries to talk about the missing man.
Proving Dee’s suspicions right, Billy tries to seize control of the boat with a group. He kills multiple passengers of the boat but fails to kill Dee as she escapes to the land in a rescue boat. They encounter Brooke in the woods and Dee cuts Brooke’s face as a punishment. Still, Dwight She wants Lydia to fight the walkers since it is necessary for her own survival. When she refuses, Dee decides to kill her since she cannot lead a life alone, surrounded by walkers.
Tales of the Walking Dead Episode 3 Ending: Is Dee Dead? Is Dee Alpha?
When Dee attempts to kill Lydia, a group arrives at the place and they ask Dee to spare her daughter. The leader of the same knocks her out by hitting her. In the next shot, we see Dee alive, with a shaved head. Dee completes her transformation to Alpha and the group that saves Lydia from her mother is none other than the Whisperers, the hostile group of survivors that features in ‘The Walking Dead.’ When the Whisperers meet her, Dee has been getting ready to find solace in death. Her daughter has gotten spoilt enough by Brooke’s parties and opulence for her to survive in the land while fighting against the walkers.
Lydia’s inability to accept the truth concerning the apocalypse and her meaningless hope that she can continue to live celebrating parties like Brooke disconcerts Dee. Thus, she decides to kill Lydia and eventually kill herself to put an end to her suffering as a mother and independent individual. However, the arrival of the Whisperers changes her life and makes her realize that it is possible to survive among the walkers. But she has to let go of her identity as Dee first. In her narration, she says that Dee’s life has met an end. If Dee is nothing but an identity, she is indeed dead as the person who has been living as Dee embraces a new life as Alpha.
In ‘The Walking Dead,’ Alpha is a psychopathic and sadistic individual who doesn’t shy away from cunningly hurting and traumatizing anyone, including her daughter Lydia. She starts to believe that humanity’s compassion has paved the way for the zombie apocalypse and that the only way for the survivors can survive is by transforming themselves into “wild beasts.” At the end of the episode, Dee completes such a transformation by letting go of her life as a compassionate and caring mother to become the egocentric woman we see in ‘The Walking Dead.’
What Happens to Hera? Is She Dead or Alive?
When the Whisperers originally meet Dee, the group is led by Hera. It is Hera who hits Dee and knocks her out. But in ‘The Walking Dead,’ the group is led by Dee/Alpha without Hera’s presence anywhere. In the closing shot of the episode, we get to see Alpha’s distinguishable blonde hair, which seemingly belongs to Hera. Alpha must have killed Hera to become the new leader of the Whisperers, which can be why we see her leading the group against Daryl Dixon and other survivors. After most likely killing Hera, Alpha must have started wearing her hair as a display of her potency and cunningness.
All her life, Dee/Alpha has to endure people ignoring her potency and presence. Her husband Frank tries to help whoever he can after the apocalypse despite Dee’s attempts to stop him from doing so. In the steamboat, Lydia gets attached to Brooke more than she is attached to her own mother. Lydia refuses to follow what Dee says and asks her to do. After living such a life, Dee must have gotten tired of subordination. When she encounters the Whisperers, she sees a group that embraces whatever she believes in. Naturally, her instincts to lead and dictate others’ lives must have influenced her to put an end to Hera’s life and leadership to lead the Whisperers.
Who Formed the Whisperers? How Did They Exist Before Alpha?
In ‘The Walking Dead,’ Alpha and the Whisperers’ storyline gives an impression that the hostile group is formed by Alpha. However, the ending of the episode reveals that Alpha was an addition to the group and not the one who formed it. Hera might have formed the group, especially considering she leads the same before they meet Dee and Lydia. In Greek mythology, Hera is the goddess of women and family and a symbol of motherly love. When Dee tries to kill Lydia, Hera steps forward to save the daughter, expressing a motherly concern as well.
If Hera formed the Whisperers, the group might have been trying to save survivors in whatever way they can before the arrival of Dee to the group as Alpha. The cunningness and hostility the Whisperers display in ‘The Walking Dead’ must be Alpha’s contribution to the group as well.
Read More: Tales of the Walking Dead Episode 2 Recap and Ending, Explained
