In Season 9 of The Walking Dead, British actor Samantha Morton played Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers. From a viewer’s perspective, the villains of The Walking Dead comics were the hardest to adapt, even more so than the “good” characters. The villains are iconic for their diabolical nature and unique appearances. Alpha was the last villain of The Walking Dead universe to truly scare other characters and audiences alike. It took a versatile actor to accomplish on screen what Robert Kirkman did on the page.

Morton certainly came onto The Walking Dead with an impressive filmography under the belt. The actor has two Academy Award nominations for her roles in the films Sweet and Lowdown and In America, as well as an Emmy Award for her performance in the HBO television film Longford. Her more mainstream projects include the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Whale and The Serpent Queen. Perhaps Morton’s most shocking role compared to her terrifying presence as Alpha is Ruby from the Canadian children’s show Max & Ruby.

The Walking Dead’s Alpha Also Voiced Ruby on Max & Ruby

Samantha Morton Can Portray Cute as Well as Cruel

Samantha Morton voiced Ruby in 20 episodes of Max & Ruby from 2002-2013.
Morton appeared in 20 episodes of The Walking Dead and one episode of Tales of the Walking Dead as Alpha.

The same actor who plays Alpha is also the warm voice behind Ruby in a beloved children’s show from the 2000s. Morton voiced Ruby in Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Max & Ruby, with two other actors also voicing the character in other episodes. Ruby is the older, level-headed sister of Max, who doesn’t say more than one word at a time. The series followed the rabbit siblings growing up in the 1940s and 1950s in a town populated by rabbits and other creatures. Although the rabbits technically have parents that eventually show up in Season 6, the creator of the series, Rosemary Wells, chose to keep them unseen to show how young siblings can resolve conflicts on their own.

Over a decade later, Morton went on to portray Alpha, completely transforming into the character’s comic book appearance. She’s nearly unrecognizable with no hair, shabby clothing, a mask made of walker skin and a whispered, Southern accent. Morton’s performance as Alpha is still regarded as one of the best aspects of the Whisperer arc, practically carrying Seasons 9 and 10 on her shoulders. What made her an undoubtedly evil villain is that Morton disappeared into the role. When Alpha was on-screen, it was only the character and not the filmography or personal life of the actor. To be able to play two radically different roles in their lifetime is the hallmark of a real actor.

What Happened to Alpha on The Walking Dead?

Alpha’s Short-Lived Time on The Walking Dead Left Behind a Big Legacy

Sadly for The Walking Dead fans who enjoyed Mortan’s performance, Alpha was always destined for a short life on the series. She dies the same way as she does in the comics, being slashed in the throat and decapitated by Negan after he joins the Whisperers. It was a relatively satisfying end to her character in both mediums, given her reign of terror on the survivors of Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom.

Depending on a viewer’s stance on Negan, her death could also be a controversial moment in the series. It gave Negan a shot at redemption, proving to the group that he once terrorized that he deserves a second chance. Some people might argue that him killing Alpha (whom he had a brief romantic relationship with in the show) isn’t enough to redeem him. Others believe it was Negan’s way of symbolically murdering the villainous part of himself.

Alpha’s death wasn’t the end of her though. Morton returned in a later episode as a hallucination to Carol and in an episode of the anthology spinoff Tales of the Walking Dead. The latter case explored her backstory, officially revealing her real name was “Dee” and how she survived in the early days of the apocalypse with her young daughter Lydia. The episode was highly acclaimed out of all the episodes of Tales of the Walking Dead for giving nuance to Alpha as a mother internalizing her trauma and evolving into a disturbed woman. Morton was so powerful as Alpha that no villain after her could live up to her depravity. It’s hard to think that before Alpha, Morton was a cute bunny trying to take care of her little brother.

The Walking Dead is available to stream on Netflix.