‘The Walking Dead’ has added Cassady McClincy in the recurring role as Lydia, the daughter of Alpha, the leader of The Whisperers, who will be played by series regular Samantha Morton. It’s anyone’s guess how Lydia will be portrayed in the series, considering her major role in the comic book was as Carl‘s girlfriend, and on the show, Carl is dead.
Their romance was depicted as a Romeo and Juliet situation, as war brews between Rick’s group and The Whisperers. After Lydia takes Carl’s virginity, she reveals to him that her mother, Alpha, has forced her to sexually serve the male Whisperers. Eventually, Alpha disowns Lydia. Even though she and Carl continue their romance, Lydia later breaks up with him, saying that she doesn’t love him and that he would hate her if he knew things about her past.
With Carl dead on the show, however, there’s no telling what role she will play. Perhaps she will have a relationship with another character. Or maybe her story won’t be of a romantic nature at all.
In addition to Lydia, ‘The Walking Dead’ season nine introduces Magna, the strong, smart, competent leader of another group of survivors who has a lot of traits in common with Rick. Nadia Hilker will portray her. Her group includes: Kelly, played by Angel Theory; Kelly’s deaf sister Connie, played by Lauren Ridloff; Luke played by Dan Folger; and Yumiko, described as the “tough” one, portrayed by Eleanor Matsura.
Other new faces include: Brett Butler as Tammy Rose, who is essentially white trash and takes issue with Maggie assuming control of Hilltop; John Finn as Earl, Hilltop’s blacksmith; Rhys Coiro as Jed; and Zach McGowan as Justin. Jed and Justin do not originate in the comic books, so they could be new. Justin is described as being a hostile survivor with no interest in working with others.
In the comics, Carl apprentices under Earl, who is depicted as being very kind. Tammy is married to Morton, an angry redneck type who, along with Tammy and others, conspires against Maggie and Rick. However, The Hollywood Reporter lists Earl as being Tammy’s “devoted husband.” So they either got Morton and Earl mixed up or the TV series merged the two into a composite.
As for McClincy, she has had roles on ‘Castle Rock’ and ‘Daytime Divas’. She was also in the movie ‘Love, Simon’.
‘The Walking Dead’ season nine kicks off on October 7th on AMC.
