‘The Walking Dead’ Finally Revealed Beta’s Big Secret

One of the biggest, weirdest mysteries Walking Dead fans have been trying to figure out over the past season or so is the identity of Whisperer second in command Beta (Ryan Hurst). There have been clues and hints that the hulking villain was someone famous before the zombie apocalypse — and before he slapped on a skin mask made from the face of his best friend. But so far, no confirmation… Until this week’s episode, which finally revealed who Beta was before the world fell; and set him up as the primary antagonist for the series.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 14 “Look at the Flowers” past this point.

Here’s the info you’re looking for, followed by a bunch of explanation, ties to Fear the Walking Dead, and how it played out a little differently in the comics — as well as what it means for the show going forward: Beta is/was a country singer who seemingly went by the name Half Moon. The joke here, I think, is that Beta is purposefully hideous, and the Halfmoon Betta fish is often described as one of the most beautiful tropical fish. That’s neither here nor there, just idle speculation; but if that was the inspiration, it’s a pretty solid in-joke.

More pertinent to the show, let’s take a step back and walk through what we now know about Beta’s life story. Seems that before zombies took over the world, Beta was a popular country singer; popular enough that not only was his voice recognizable to a Whisperer two episodes back (which led to Beta immediately killing said Whisperer), but over on Fear the Walking Dead, Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) was a fan.

In Fear the Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 14 “Today and Tomorrow,” Daniel is traveling with Grace (Karen David) when they’re attacked by the undead. Their plot-line has him finding a stash of records, which he’s hoping to take back to young Charlie (Alexa Nisenson) as a gift. It eventually leads to a sweet duet between Grace and Daniel, both pretty famous singers IRL; but pertinent to this particular article, one of the zombies slips and falls on Daniel’s records, scattering them everywhere. A fight breaks out, and in the process the zombie smash most of the records, overwhelming Grace and Daniel who are forced to flee without the latter’s treasured vinyl collection. However, eagle eyed fans were able to spot a familiar face on one of the covers:

Just to be clear, I added the red circle, that’s not in the scene. Anyway, that fun little Easter egg has been sitting there since the episode first aired on September 15, 2019; but it wasn’t until tonight that we knew for sure that A) yep, that was Beta, and B) Beta was a country crooner. Also of note? This probably explains why Beta was in rehab at the beginning of the apocalypse (famous singer? rehab? checks out), eventually befriending his rehab counselor and ultimately cutting his face off and wearing it like a mask. You know, normal celeb stuff.

In this week’s episode, “Look at the Flowers,” Beta finds out that Alpha (Samantha Morton) has been killed — and decapitated — by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), leading to a bit of soul searching on behalf of everyone’s favorite unkillable horror movie villain. Carrying Alpha’s head with him, he refuses to allow himself to be called the new Alpha, and instead heads to what looks like might be his pre-apocalypse apartment/recording studio. There, he smashes a guitar, and starts blasting the Half Moon album, surrounding his location with zombies. Seeing the gathered herd, he thanks Alpha for her service and stabs her in the head. I mean, she’s only a head, there’s nothing else to stab her in; but you get what I mean. The episode ends with Beta heading out into the herd, and leading them — presumably to Alexandria for a final battle with our heroes.

This all ties nicely with what we know about Beta from the comics. In the books by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, after spoiler Beta is killed, his mask is removed and it’s revealed he was a famous basketball player/actor. Which is a weird combo, but whatever.

Also of note? Unfortunately, we may not get to see what Beta is going to do with that herd for a while… Due to production hold-ups thanks to the current coronavirus pandemic, The Walking Dead will air the next episode, Season 10, Episode 15, “The Tower,” and then go on an indefinite hiatus until the Season 10 finale is aired some time later this year. As another country singer famously crooned, Beta may be walking the line at least until Fall.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC, and 48 hours early on AMC Premiere.

Where to watch The Walking Dead

Stream Fear the Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 14 "Today and Tomorrow" on Hulu