Beta

Lore & Background

Before the apocalypse, Beta was a famous celebrity. In the comic books, he was a basketball player and an actor. In the television series, it was revealed in an episode of the companion series, Fear the Walking Dead (where Ryan Hurst made an uncredited cameo appearance), that he was a country musician as he was seen on the cover of an album that was released before the apocalypse, and it is later revealed in the main TV series that his stage name was "Half Moon". In the television series episode "We Are the End of the World", it is discovered in flashbacks the origin and past of a then unstable Beta, and what happened before he formed the Whisperers with Alpha, who he meets in an abandoned sanatorium along with Lydia. However, they distrusted each other as they were getting to know each other, but after Alpha discovered Beta's face, both began to develop a mutual trust.

In Their Own Story

In the comic book series, Beta is Alpha's right-hand man who carries two knives. In an encounter with Michonne and Aaron, Beta stabs Aaron and attempts to kill Michonne until Dwight and several members of the Militia save them. Upon arriving at the Whisperers' camp, he confronts Negan for lying and attempts to kill him; however, Beta is thwarted by Alpha. In response to the untimely death of Alpha, Beta takes a leadership position and declares war on the communities. During the war, he kills Gabriel and several other members of the Militia. He eventually fights Negan to get revenge for Alpha's death, but is injured after Negan bashes "Lucille" on his back several times. Near the end of the war, he and few other Whisperers unleash a large herd of walkers on Alexandria. In a decisive fight, while Beta is fighting against Jesus, Aaron shoots him through the chest. He then blacks out as they pull off his mask and recognize him as a famous celebrity. In the television series, Beta appears for the first time in the episode "Guardians" when he discovers Henry following the Whisperers in order to save Lydia; he grabs Henry and presents the boy to Alpha. In the episode "Chokepoint", Daryl and Beta have a one-on-one duel in which Beta announces that all he wants is "the girl". However, Daryl manages to shove Beta down an elevator shaft. Shortly after, Beta rises in pain and peers up, enraged, and covered in blood, with his bottom front teeth having been knocked out from the more than two-story fall. In the episode "The Calm Before", Beta, who managed to find a way out of the elevator shaft, emerges from the trees and orders the group to drop their weapons. He then approaches and growls at Daryl, who is taken by surprise since he thought Beta was dead, and reminds Daryl that all he had to do was hand over Lydia and that this initial deal is now off. In the season finale "The Storm", Alpha hands Beta a branch and stretches her left arm out. Beta, without hesitation, begins to wound her by whipping her arm with the branch to make her stronger. In the episode "We Are the End of the World", Alpha orders Beta to collect more walkers from a nearby parking lot and take the two sisters (Mary and Frances) with him. In the episode "What It Always Is", after a Whisperer defies Alpha's strategies, Beta tries to kill him but is stopped by Alpha. She then cuts the Whisperer on his arm and leg, and hands the knife to Beta, who approaches the injured Whisperer and slashes him on the back of his neck to finish the job. In the episode "Bonds", Beta and the Whisperers escort a blindfolded Negan, who is interested in joining the Whisperers, through the woods after capturing him. When Negan keeps talking and making jokes, Beta puts his knives to Negan's throat and demands him to be quiet as he told him that he is too loud. In the mid-season premiere "Squeeze", while he was guarding the camp, Beta was informed by Alpha that the enemy had crossed the border to go to the national park where the entire horde was. In the episode "Stalker", Beta enters Alexandria in the middle of the night through an underground tunnel that one of his spies had created, Beta proceeded to brutally murder several Alexandrians who were in their homes and patiently waited for them to reanimate into walkers as a way to create a distraction to be able to search for Gamma without any problem.

Reader's Guide

Beta is a physically imposing and brutally efficient enforcer for the Whisperers. In the comic books, he carries two knives and is a formidable combatant, stabbing Aaron and fighting Negan. In the television series, he survives a fall down an elevator shaft, losing his bottom front teeth, and later emerges to confront Daryl. His loyalty to Alpha is absolute; he wounds her with a branch to make her stronger, and he executes a Whisperer who defies her. After Alpha's death, Beta becomes the de facto leader of the Whisperers and declares war on the communities. In the comic books, he kills Gabriel and several other members of the Militia, and is ultimately shot through the chest by Aaron while fighting Jesus. In the television series, he infiltrates Alexandria through a tunnel, murders several Alexandrians, and waits for them to reanimate as walkers to create a distraction while searching for Gamma.

Did You Know?

• In the comic books, Beta was a basketball player and an actor before the apocalypse.
• In the television series, Beta's stage name was 'Half Moon' and he was a country musician.
• Ryan Hurst made an uncredited cameo appearance as Beta in an episode of Fear the Walking Dead.
• In the television series, Beta survived a fall down an elevator shaft that knocked out his bottom front teeth.
• In the comic books, Beta is shot through the chest by Aaron while fighting Jesus.