We Think ‘The Walking Dead’ Has A “Teen Wolf” Problem

The Walking Dead is one of those rare popular series that you can actually dip in and out of at your leisure. There are no ancient family trees to memorize and the plot is shockingly linear. All you need to know is that Rick, his kids, and his posse keep traveling up the Eastern seaboard in search of safety. Whenever they stop and catch their breath, they’re usually about to come under attack. The world is covered with zombies, it’s kill or be killed, Michonne has a kitana, Daryl has that cool jacket, and Carol will always save the day.

Well, that might be about to change — thanks to a “teen wolf.”

***WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!***

If you’ve been keeping up with recent episodes, you’ll know that our heroes’ biggest threat is no longer a hoard of hungry zombies. Now, they’re under attack from a mysterious feral gang of humans who call themselves “wolves.” Last week we finally found out that these seemingly anarchic people have a philosophical bent to their killing sprees. Before one of them dies, he reveals that they are trying to free the other human survivors from their meaningless existence. Apparently it’s the Walkers’ world now and we’re just dying in it. This revelation suggests that the Wolves have some sort of organizational structure and there are further hints to back this up. Namely: Enid.

We’ve known since last season that the teen girl is unusually comfortable outside the Alexandria safe-zone’s walls, but this week’s episode gave us three klaxon-level warnings that she is a wolf in sheep’s American Eagle clothing.

    The moody flashback at the top of the episode showed us the lengths to which the girl will go to in order to survive. She’ll kill walkers, scoop out turtle brains, and hide under loose signage. But we don’t know what she did between feasting on raw turtle and sheepishly approaching the gates of Alexandria. Furthermore, why was she scared to enter the safe zone? Why did she pause? It doesn’t add up unless she felt guilty about going inside the walls.
    When the Wolves attack, she not only tells Carl that it’s time to go — as though she was ready for the fight — but verbally slips. When they’re sitting back to back in the house, she explains that the Alexandria safe zone is too big to defend. “There are too many blind spots. That’s how we—” and then she stops herself before she can reveal that she’s a Wolf.
    After Carol, Morgan, and our pals all fight back and push the Wolves out, Enid runs and leaves Carl the note “Just Survive Somehow.” Logic states she would be safest amongst friends and for some reason she thinks she’s safest in the woods. Where the Wolves live. Because the Wolves are her friends.

Maybe we’re overanalyzing this, but we think that not only is Enid a Wolf, but that we can expect her to cause a lot of drama in the upcoming season. It looks like the show runners are setting up this new wild force to be the primary antagonists this season, but since they are fully human characters, there’s going to be more opportunities for double crosses, moral ambiguity, and pesky plot twists than ever before. (WE THINK.)