During the latest episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, Laura, one of the original of the Saviors and current council member at the Alexandria Safe-Zone, may have been killed off by the Whisperers’ second-in-command, Beta (Ryan Hurst). Within the episode “Stalker,” Laura is attacked by Beta within the prison cells of Alexandria, but is she really dead?
Based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Season 10 of The Walking Dead is a continuation of the conflict between The Whisperers, a barbaric group of survivors who wear the skins of the undead as camouflage, and the remaining survivors from the communities of Alexandria and Hilltop in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. When Alpha (Samantha Morton), the leader of the Whisperers, suspects that Gamma (Thora Birch) is the spy among their ranks, she sends her right-hand man Beta to track her down. Entering into the Alexandria Safe-Zone through a hidden underground tunnel, Beta searches Alexandria for Gamma and goes on a killing spree within the community. Among the many Alexandrians attacked by Beta is the former Savior and Alexandrian leader, Laura.
Within the episode “Stalker,” Beta discovers that Gamma, or as she’s known by her real name Mary, is being held in the prison cell built beneath Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) house. Beta opens the door to Gamma’s cell and encourages her to come quietly, otherwise her death will be painful. Before Beta has a chance to attack Gamma, Laura (Lindsley ) arrives and fights Beta off with a halberd, leaving just enough time for Gamma to escape the jail cell. Unfortunately for Laura, Beta quickly overpowers her, throws her against the jail cell, and appears to smash her head against the wall. While the episode doesn't explicitly confirm she's dead, based on the blood left scattered on the floor, it appears that Laura may have been killed off.
Laura made her first appearance in episode 3, “The Cell,” in season 7 of The Walking Dead as one of senior of The Saviors, a group of survivors led by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) that use fear and cruelty as a means of controlling other communities in order to acquire half of their supplies. Laura was very loyal to the Saviors' cause and encouraged the group’s methods of brutality, committing some cruel acts herself, such as when she forced Eugene (Josh McDermitt) to watch Emmett Carson burn to death and pointed a gun at Rick (Andrew Lincoln) when he tried to save Aaron (Ross Marquand) from being savagely pummeled. However, when the Saviors were disbanded during the season 8 finale, Laura was among the Saviors who surrendered and cooperated to bring about peace between the feuding communities. She was later welcomed into Alexandria and eventually became an important leader on Alexandria’s council.
The decision to (apparently) kill the character off seems like a lateral move for the series, since Laura hasn’t played a vital role within The Walking Dead since her days as a Savior. Apart from Negan and Alden (Callan McAuliffe), Laura is one of the few remaining characters still present in the series who was previously a member of Negan’s sadistic group. While Negan and Alden have received lots of screen time depicting the two characters’ transition from antagonist to productive of the community, much of Laura's growth as a character happened offscreen during the time jump that moved the series forward six years into the future after Rick Grimes was presumed dead.