The Walking Dead: Dante Twist Explained

This Walking Dead article contains spoilers.

The Walking Dead is no stranger to changing the backstories and fates of characters from the comics, but the latest change comes with some serious consequences for Siddiq, who died in “Open Your Eyes.” As Siddiq discovers right before his tragic death, Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas), a well-known character from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s comics, is actually a Whisperer informant planted inside Alexandria to spy on the community and spark paranoia within its walls. It’s a stunning twist that changes one of the most prominent characters in “The Whisperer War” storyline.

The truth is revealed to Siddiq almost by accident when Dante clicks his tongue, a sound Alexandria’s doctor remembers well from the traumatic day when the Whisperers decapitated Henry, Enid, and Tara before his eyes.  For most of season 10, Siddiq has been trying to cope with the PTSD left in the wake of those brutal executions. 

Interestingly enough, it’s Dante who’s been in Siddiq’s corner as the doctor struggles to keep his condition from affecting his work. But Dante’s intentions are anything but noble. It may be that Dante was using Siddiq to quickly gain Alexandria’s trust, or he had some sort of sick obsession with the man he tortured at the behest of his Alpha (it’s Dante who held Siddiq’s head in place as the Whisperers cut off heads), but we know that their “friendship” could only end one way. When Siddiq realizes the truth, Dante strangles his “friend” until he lay lifeless in the sick Whisperer’s arms. 

Fans of the comics were elated to hear another character from the comics would be making his debut on the show, but there’s no way they could have expected Dante’s villainous turn. After all, he’s one of the good guys in the comics, fighting alongside Maggie and the rest of the Hilltop against the Whisperers and other dangers to the settlement. In fact, Dante becomes Maggie’s right hand man later in the series — and they even strike up a romantic relationship at one point. With Lauren Cohan set to return, it seemed that the show was setting up this future romance, but we know THAT’S not happening anymore. 

Dante was one of the characters who survived to the end of the comic book, although his fate was left unknown, as most of the final issue dealt with the later lives of Carl, Sophia, Michonne, and Maggie, who did not continue their romance for much longer after the initial kiss. The last time readers saw Dante was at the Commonwealth, where he helped repel a horde of walkers. 

As for Dante on the show, he isn’t so lucky. After his cover is blown, Dante is put in Negan’s jail cell, but his stint in the clink is not meant to be a long one. Gabriel, when faced with the choice to order Dante’s execution or put him on trial, decides to stab the Whisperer spy to death instead. And just like that, Dante’s story is over.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.