The Walking Dead: Beta's Identity Explained

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The Walking Dead: Beta's Identity Explained

The Walking Dead season 10 has finally revealed Beta's true identity, confirming what has been hinted about him throughout the last two seasons.

Warning! SPOILERS for The Walking Dead season 10 episode 14 ahead.

The Walking Dead season 10 has finally confirmed Beta's true identity. The most recent episode, "Look at the Flowers," which continues to explore the fallout of the Whisperers' attack on Hilltop, Since their introduction in The Walking Dead season 9, the Whisperers have been terrifying villains - especially the group's cruel leader, Alpha has been tormenting the survivors of Alexandria and Hilltop for months and killed many of their people.

When one of Alpha's victims was Carol's son Henry and ever since Carol has sworn revenge on Alpha, even going so far as to team up with Negan in order to have her killed. Carol's plan proved successful in the long run, though it did have many questioning whether Negan was falling back into old habits when he joined up with the Whisperers. Last week's Walking Dead showed once and for all that Negan's turn to the Whisperers was all an act, and he was only doing so in order to get closer to Alpha. With Alpha now dead by Negan's hand, the Whisperers are without a leader that is, until Beta steps up to take his place as the new Alpha.

In The Walking Dead season 10 episode 14, "Look at the Flowers," Beta discovers Alpha's severed, reanimated head on one of the pikes marking the border, the same pikes Alpha used to spear the heads of her victims from the fair. Beta's fellow Whisperers proclaim him the new Alpha upon seeing she's dead, but he shoots down the idea, insisting that their Alpha can still hear them. He forces one of the two Whisperers with him to "listen" to what Alpha has to say, pushing the man so close to the zombie head that she bites him in the cheek. Beta then removes Alpha's head and cradles it, seeming to indicate he plans to keep taking orders from her even now. The remainder of the episode sees Beta contemplating his life without Alpha, eventually even revealing who Beta actually was before the the world ended.

Walking Dead's Beta Is A Country Singer Named Half Moon

The Walking Dead finally confirms just who it is under Beta's mask - country singer Half Moon. The reveal comes roughly midway through the most recent episode, building off the many clues that have appeared across both Walking Dead and its spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. In "Look at the Flowers," a distraught Beta takes Alpha's severed, reanimated head - having collected it from the pike where Negan and Carol left it - and visits a bar where he discovers the evidence of a musician having previously been holed up there. He sees a concert poster on the wall for the country singer, Half Moon, and angrily rips it off, but not before giving viewers a good look at the man on the poster, confirming the performer as Beta's true identity.

Beta goes on to look at one of Half Moon's albums, giving us an even clearer look at the performer's face. He then plays the record and stands on the balcony overlooking the street below while walkers begin to gather, attracted by the sound. Beta then tears off the left side of his Whisperer mask, baring his face and only further confirming his identity as Half Moon. Afterwards, Beta finally says his goodbyes to Alpha and uses her skin to patch his Whisperer mask, combining her face with that of his other dear friend in some sort of weird grieving ritual.

All The Evidence That Has Pointed To Beta's Identity

The Half Moon poster and album cover are the only the latest in a long list of clues included on The Walking Dead and its sister show that hint at Beta's true identity. The first indication that Beta was a famous country singer before the outbreak came in an episode of Fear the Walking Dead when viewers see the face of Ryan Hurst, the actor who plays Beta, on an album cover. From there, fans began paying attention to any clues linking Beta to music. For example, Beta's angered by Alpha's singing when they first meet, hinting his past connection with singing.

How Walking Dead Changes Beta's Identity From The Comics

Instead of having Beta previously be a famous country singer, The Walking Dead comics reveal that Beta is a famous basketball player. In the comics, Beta's true identity is only revealed when he dies, with Jesus and Aaron removing his mask after killing him. Earlier in the comics, Beta kills another Whisperer for trying to remove his mask, setting a similar precedent to the TV show; in both versions of the story, he wants his identity kept a secret. The comics opt for Beta being a former basketball player to explain his seven-foot frame, but on AMC's The Walking Dead, Hurst isn't quite that tall nor does he have a basketball player's physique. Instead of an athlete, the TV show opts to have Beta's former life be that of a country singer - a far more believable line of work for someone who looks like Hurst.

The Walking Dead season 10 will continue next Sunday, April 5th with "The Tower" at 9pm/8c on AMC.