Friday, April 1, 2016

Who's About to Die on The Walking Dead??

Obviously, as of this moment, the biggest question on every The Walking Dead fan’s lips is:  Who’s going to get the business end of Lucille, Negan’s beloved barbwire-wrapped bat?  The second biggest question is: Who else could die?  Given how the latest episode ended there are plenty of possibilities, some are more likely than others.  Let’s run them down:

Glenn


He died via Negan’s beloved barbwire-wrapped bat in the comics, but nothing that’s occurred the comics has happened exactly the same way on the show yet.  This is a good thing for beloved supply-runner extraordinaire.  Yet, nothing says the show will never lift big moments direct from the comics either and Glenn is currently in the hands of Negan’s man, Dwight.  My own guess?  He’ll be fine for a while longer…at least long enough to find out about whatever’s happened to Maggie and their baby.

Daryl


Initially a top pick by some, his likelihood has actually gone down since his last run-in with Dwight.  At least on being Negan’s victim; it’s not terribly impressive or threatening to beat a guy who’s already been shot to death.  It doesn’t send the message Negan no doubt wants to send to Rick and the rest.  Now it’s possible Daryl will still die even with Dwight saying “you’ll be alright”.  First because Dwight might not be talking to Daryl and, second, it’d be a potential mirroring of Carol’s “non-fatal” shooting of Savior Donny, who ultimately succumbed to his wounds.  (The Walking Dead’s been loving the mirroring stuff lately.)  Also actor Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, showing up on The Talking Dead aftershow increases likelihood of death.  …All that said, I’m still leaning towards a “you’ll be alright” for Mr Dixon.

Rick


Yeah, not gonna happen.  Sure, it’d get Negan’s message across in surround sound and technicolor, but Rick’ll be fine.  This is an ensemble show, sure, but the story still heavily favors Rick and his experiences.

Carl


Same as Rick…also he’s still, technically, a kid.  True, Negan beat a sixteen-year-old to death at Hilltop to make his “I own you people” point, but Carl’s younger than that on the show.  Also he’s got one eye, seems hugely unfair to attack him in my opinion.

Michonne


It’s possible.  Like Glenn and Daryl she’s being held by Dwight’s men, which immediately puts her in the proverbial crosshairs.  It’d make a huge impact (heh, pun not intended this time) on the group and the show on whole, which is exactly what Negan’s killing/this particular death is supposed to be.  …And, of course, Rick already doesn’t have the best track-record in love - he loves them, they die.  It probably still won’t happen, it’s likely too big a risk for the show to take, but I’m not about to rule it out.

Carol


Carol’s a maybe.  She took down that smaller group of Saviors, but that’s the last we saw of her.  With Saviors running all over the area it wouldn’t be too far-fetched if she met up with more of them…too many for even her to take out all alone.  That aside Carol’s begun to unravel with all the murders she’s committed and she could become reckless with her own well-being.  Some have also pointed out that Carol’s story could be done with her newfound discomfort with violence, which primes her to go out as still a badass.  Whether by Negan’s bat or some other conflict it’s a real possibility.

Morgan


He does have that Savior heading in his direction that he’s unaware and probably unprepared for.  For most others on the show this wouldn’t be an issue - they’d kill the lone Savior with the gun and keep going - but Morgan’s still steadfastly against murder.  It’s more likely that the Savior would just kill Morgan, not bring him back to Negan, assuming the guy is physically able to given the shape he’s in.  What would be truly interesting is if Morgan ultimately kills him in a scuffle over the gun Rick gave him…otherwise, if Morgan sticks to not killing people, he’s high on the list of meeting an unpleasant end at the hands of that surviving Savior.

Abraham


Probably.  Most likely.  Sad to say, but he’s got a lot of points in the “could die” tally.  First and foremost, he’s out with Rick in the main promo so that ups the chances right there.  Then there’s the fact that he’s a big guy, one of the group’s heavy-hitters (sorry, the puns write themselves!), so killing him in front of Rick et all would certainly get Negan’s message of dominance across.  Abraham’s loss would be deeply upsetting all around - he’s a good portion of comic relief after all - but not exactly “if [he] dies, we riot” upsetting.  There’s also the fact that he’s hopefully starting a new relationship (not just a bad sign for Rick) and it’s been shown that his BFF, Eugene, can almost survive without him.  Speaking of Eugene, he might actually be another reason Abraham’s likely to get the bat: like with the comics, one half of a key “couple” will be forced to watch the other be brutally killed, only on the show it would be a bromance couple.  My money’s on Abraham getting up close and personal with Negan’s Lucille.

Eugene


Probably not.  He’s out with Rick in the promo, which ups his chances, but there’s little payoff in killing him.  He’s not a key guy in the group or with audiences.  The truth is he’s just starting to blossom into his own man, his own character, and if the show’s smart they’ll explore it more before ending him.  Also, even with recent growth, he’s still the type to be freaking out (crying, shaking, wetting himself) at Negan and I don’t see Negan taking out a guy who’s already terrified of him.

Aaron


The only reason I’m even considering Alexandria’s recruiter is because he was shown with the rest of Rick’s ragtag team in the promo.  It’s deeply unlikely it’ll be him.  He’s not a key enough character, he’s not a tough guy, and, like Eugene, will probably also already be properly afraid of Lady-Bat Lucille.  …Also, unless The Walking Dead team wants a mass of fans pissed about killing yet another LGBT character back-to-back, they’ll wisely leave Aaron mentally scarred, but otherwise unharmed.

Rosita


Since she’s in the Dwight’s captive crew there’s a possibility, but not a big one.  Like Eugene, she’s mostly still just a secondary character and while her death might upset the group it probably wouldn’t traumatize them.  I mean, she’s a cool chick, but, ya know, they’d get over it within a couple weeks…even Abraham and Eugene.  As far as the audience?  Same.  They’d be upset, yeah, but by the time the show returned for Season 7 they’d be all “oh, yeah, I forgot about that”…Negan needs to make a bigger first impression than that.

Maggie


Via Negan?  Nope, don’t see it.  Sure, some Saviors could snatch her (and Enid?) in route to Hilltop’s doc, but that seems awfully convoluted given all the people Negan’ll likely already have to chose from between Dwight’s captives and Rick’s motley crew from the promo.  Via something else?  Maybe.  It’d be a major loss for the group and the audience and a truly unexpected one given everyone’s focused on who Negan’s going to kill.  There’d also be something truly intriguing and tragic about having Glenn survive over and over only to lose his wife (and child) so unexpectedly…then have to find a reason to keep carrying on.  The question is whether or not the show’s brave enough to make that choice and it’s sort of hard to tell.

Judith


She’s an infant, so no.  I mean there might be some cosmic writing mishap that gets her killed by some other means, but…nah…nevermind…she’s not going to die.  I’m 99% sure she’ll stay alive until the end of the show itself so the writers have a way to explore raising a baby from birth in the Walker apocalypse.

Baby Gleggie


Because we already have a baby to raise in the Walker apocalypse we really don’t need another.  Sorry, little Gleggie, we hardly knew ye, but even if mother lives, you’re probably going to die.

Father Gabriel


From a sneak peak provided by The Talking Dead we saw that he’ll be watching over Alexandria in general and Judith specifically so he could die.  It’s super unlikely - no one would really care if he did, for one - but if Saviors came to Alexandria he could totally die protecting Judith and others.  …But, again, who would care?

Sasha


Not even sure where she is right now.  Was she staying behind to watch over Alexandria and baby Judith with Father Gabriel?  I think so.  Will she die?  I think no. 

Enid


No.  No one would care.

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