What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T10 WHATS UP! February 10 - 16, 2019 whisked away via helicopter piloted by Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh, "Hap and Leonard") and her friends after being se- verely wounded during a bloody fight with a horde of walkers. In the six years since Rick's disappearance, much has changed. Yes, there are still walkers aplenty and danger still looms at every turn, but new groups of survivors and new re- lationships are thriving. What hasn't changed is the post-apoc- alyptic series' penchant for ending seasons (or half-seasons in this case) with a bang. The second half of the season picks up immediately after last fall's cliffhanger that saw Jesus (Tom Payne, "Luck") struck down at the hands of a new, more dangerous kind of walker while the surrounded Mi- chonne (Danai Gurira, "Black Panther," 2018), Aaron (Ross Marquand, "Avengers: Infinity War," 2018), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura, "Wonder Woman," 2017) and Daryl discovered the shocking truth regarding these grotesque monsters. It was revealed in the last moments of the half-season fi- nale that the walkers that killed Jesus are not evolved zombies like many had specu- lated, but in fact humans wear- ing walker skins in order to blend in and easily stalk their victims. Not a lot is known about these mysterious Whis- perers, their motivations or desires, but we will soon find out more. In an interview with Insider, showrunner Angela Kang ("Terriers") discussed how these faux-walkers, led by Alpha (Samantha Morton, "Harlots") and her second-in- command, Beta (Ryan Hurst, "Bates Motel"), are unlike any- thing that our survivors have encountered before. In time, the series will explore their or- igins, philosophy, way of life and what makes them so dif- ferent (besides the living-dead mask) from the others. With the emergence of a new, deadly group, things can't get worse for our survivors, right? Wrong. To worsen matters, Negan has managed to escape confinement. After more than half a decade locked up, the bat- wielding former tyrannical dic- tator is now once again on the loose. What kind of sinister plans does he have up his leath- er jacket sleeves? Furthermore, was his escape a simple mistake of not locking his cell properly, or an inside job that's part of a more elaborate plan? Nobody knows, just like nobody knows how long his cell door had been unlocked. Did the maniacal baddie unknowingly turn him- self into a long-term prisoner by never checking the lock? These questions will hopefully be resolved in due time, but what is certain is things are not going to get better anytime soon. While it might seem like Hollywood's love affair with zombies is a recent phenome- non, this is not the case at all. Ever since the public first laid their eyes on the zombies fea- tured in George A. Romero's film debut "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), they've been in- fatuated with brain-eating ghouls, and film and television execs have given the people what they want. Since its pre- miere all the way back in 2010, "The Walking Dead" has con- tinuously differentiated itself from its predecessors by fo- cusing on its characters and their relationships, and ex- ploring questions of power and morals in a post-apocalyp- tic wasteland rather than gore. Over the course of the se- ries, our survivors have faced many obstacles and have al- ways come out on top, but have they finally met their match? On Sunday, Feb. 10, tune in to find out what trans- pired in the past six years and see who lives and who dies when "The Walking Dead" re- turns for the second half of its ninth season on AMC. Danai Gurira as seen in "The Walking Dead" continued from page T2 Whispers in the dark: 'The Walking Dead' returns with new foes TV FEATURE