Warning: General spoilers ahead

Ever since Alpha (Samantha Morton), the villainous leader of the Whisperers, made her big entrance last week, fans have been buzzing and making bets on what will be her next move. It’s clear she wants her daughter, but what about Luke (Dan Fogler) and Alden (Callan McAuliffe)? Will Alpha try to make a deal, and if so, will she agree to trade both men, or only one? And, an even bigger question is if she agrees to a trade, will Alpha keep her word? Not knowing what’s going to happen makes Sunday’s episode a real nail-biter, and yes, the writers keep you guessing til the very end.

Without revealing too much, what can I say about the stand-off with Alpha? Well, I can tell you Alpha appears to be honest — at least from what we see in this week’s episode. After numerous threats from Daryl (Norman Reedus) — including his saying they had enough firepower to “light them up right then and there” — an agreement is finally reached, and Alpha does keep her end of the bargain. However, remember Negan was honest as well but he was also equally brutal, and the same can be said of Alpha. As is revealed in the below sneak peek, one of the Whisperers has a baby, and what Alpha forces the mother to do with her baby is just heart-wrenching. You can see the anguish in the woman’s eyes through her zombie mask, but she blindly obeys Alpha anyways. That should tell you the level of control Alpha has over her people.

Besides the Hilltop’s confrontation with Alpha, we also check in with The Kingdom. Earlier this week, Comicbook.com released the opening minutes of the episode which is actually a flashback sequence from probably a year prior. Jesus (Tom Payne) is still very much alive, and both he and Tara (Alanna Masterson) meet up with Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Carol (Melissa McBride) to provide them with much-needed medicine and other supplies. Tara also provides Ezekiel with the “Constitution” the Hilltop had created and which was only “collecting dust” while waiting for Alexandria, The Kingdom and Oceanside to sign it.

This “Constitution” actually becomes important later in the episode as we flash forward back to present day. Ezekiel, Carol, Diane, Jerry and others from the Kingdom are going on an elk hunting trip, but they’re also planning one pit stop. Ezekiel wants to find a frame for the Constitution, and he also has his eye on one other item that he claims could go a long way in bringing the communities together during the upcoming fair. Ezekiel is so optimistic and full of hope, and even Carol agrees that perhaps things can be peaceful and normal again. Keep in mind that neither Ezekiel, Carol, nor anyone else at the Kingdom, knows of Jesus’ death yet, and they certainly don’t know about the Whisperers and their dangerous leader, Alpha.

However, I suspect all of this is about to change. Take a look at the above photo. As they’re heading back to the Kingdom, all-smiles, with wagons full of elk and the other items they set out to find, they overlook a symbol in red paint on a building (right next to Ezekiel’s shoulder). It’s the uppercase Greek “Alpha” symbol. Someone is marking their territory, and our heroes just encroached on that territory. Uh oh. We should remember all too well the last time that happened.

Episode 9.11 of The Walking Dead is titled “Bounty” and airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

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