The Walking Dead this Sunday... who will Negan kill?

Okay, I think we all know someone is going to die on the Walking Dead season finale Sunday night but the question is who? If you follow or have knowledge of the comic you know who is supposed to die but as we know with TWD, they don’t always follow the comic. So while we wait a few more agonizing days until the 90-minute season finale I figure it can’t hurt to speculate. Especially since I can’t stop thinking about it all week anyway.

First off, who I think is immune to dying this week: Rick obviously, Carl, Judith- not even TWD is twisted enough to kill a baby in the way that someone will be killed this week. So who’s ride is going to end with Season 6? Here are the possibilities from the main credited cast: (There are no upcoming spoilers here, only speculation)

First category:  “NO WAY”

Spencer- Not a big enough name, although he could die the way Denise did, unexpectedly and suddenly in the middle of the episode. He’s just not a big enough payoff to die at the end of the season. The last living Monroe will probably meet his end during the war between Team Rick and the Saviors that will be the main plotline of the upcoming Season 7.

Aaron- See Spencer.

Second Category: “POSSIBLE BUT NOT LIKELY”

Sasha- Her character has recently began to find happiness once again in what has been a tremendous emotional roller coaster ride for her. A supporting character finding happiness or enlightenment is usually when they suddenly die, ask Denise. Since this death coming on Sunday will be drawn out at the end and highly impactful I doubt Sasha with be the one to go.

Eugene- As entertaining as Eugene is I feel like his story has just begun. He's just made it to level 2! Plus I don’t think he’s a big enough name to die in a season finale against the greatest foe Team Rick has ever seen.

Tara- Her love just died so she is either in store for death herself or a character shift. The show hasn’t even showed her let alone her reaction since Denise’s death so she falls into the same boat as Aaron and Spencer. She could die during the episode, but not at the end of the episode. It wouldn’t be impactful enough to kill her off as Negan's first.  

Father Gabriel- 6 months ago his death would have been greatly celebrated as he is one of most disliked characters in the show’s history. But something interesting happened while we prayed for his demise, he evolved. The same character who turned his back on his congregation and anyone else who needed his help started to pull his weight. His 180 degree turnaround has been so compelling that Rick actually trusted Gabriel with Judith during the zombie walk through Alexandria. To seal the deal, he killed a savior (no pun intended) a few episodes back. He's changed. I don't think fans are still rooting for Gabriel’s death. Morgan says ALL life is precious. In the zombie apocalypse this is debatable since so many people turn into murderous, sinister bastards. Morgan wouldn’t give up on that Wolf, and yes, the wolf saved Denise’s life so she could save Carl, etc. Even the most evil character like that wolf, came back, so to speak. That’s not to say the wolf was going to start handing out cookies to everyone and organizing the Alexandria PTA, but he’s proof that even the most evil characters are not hopeless. However the question is; when and with who do you try? Would you take that chance? For every bad person who can be saved there’s probably several more who’d kill you and take all your stuff in a second. So “evil” may or may not be salvageable but Father Gabriel and Eugene are examples of why you can’t give up on cowardice. If you think about it, Carol is another example. These were people who couldn’t handle themselves, needed help to survive and were almost entirely useless in the ZA. Then at some point, something clicked and now they are useful in some way and in Carol's case, useful in a BIG way. Of course we could talk about Nicholas as a failure in cowardice since he killed himself, but he saved Glenn by doing so, so it wasn’t as big of a waste as it could have been. The point is cowards can come back, come around and the question is do you have the patience to wait for them to do so. It’s risky but Gabriel has come out the other end is doing fine now. I don’t know about you but I think with Gabriel there is still story to tell and more growing to do so I don’t think he’ll get sent to meet the real father Sunday night.   

Rosita- Rosita is a good candidate simply because she’s in a rough emotional spot and has nothing in front of her right now. After getting cruelly dumped by Abe, she’s a bit lost and vulnerable. She’s a good fighter and apparently has enough going for her to turn Spencer into an idiot (or mush) after one emotionless night, so it would be a shame for her to go when we are finally starting to explore the character. I don’t think she’s long for this world, just because of how they never make her a vocal point but I think that’s why her death Sunday night would also not carry the impact a main character’s death during the season finale should have. I think she’s more likely to die randomly during the season 7 war that’s coming.

Third Category: “WOULDN’T BE SHOCKED”

Morgan- He has ripped out the heart of fans for a while now, delicately balancing being a bad-ass fighter who could be a huge asset with being a massive pain in the ass who could have gotten several people killed with his philosophy of every life being precious and sparing otherwise vicious people so they could go on doing vicious things. If only he took out those 2 Wolves who tried to kill him a season and a half ago, it would have saved lives and prevented things that happened down the road from happening. Of course on the other side of it, his displays of humanity and mercy are rare for the ZA. It’s an opinion and a philosophy that is necessary to balance out the cold blooded, unapologetic and now automatic killings that have been generated by this crazy world. Morgan is important because he might be the only person who can pull Rick (and thus everyone else) back from the brink of savage brutality. Of course you cannot fight sheer evil with hugs, not in this world. The answer is probably in between these 2 philosophies, a time and a place, and since Morgan is the only voice on the “life is precious” side, he is very important. Plus, I think he has a bigger role to play down the road, both with helping Carol resolve her inner conflict and in helping Rick not become Negan or the Governor himself.   

Carol- She’s come full circle. She started off as someone who couldn’t kill and now she’s heading back to that point. Granted, in Season 1 she was helpless and now she is conflicted. That's a huge difference. The totality of her actions, namely her kills, has caused a measure of guilt and that guilt is tearing her apart. Can she resolve it? While you couldn’t blame her for pulling back and respecting life again after everything she's had to do, it would be frustrating for Team Rick because she’s so damn good at killing… at doing what needs to be done and not hesitating. There is no one better in a crisis. In fact, there would be no Team Rick without Carol. They would have been the Termites’ dinner otherwise. She’s in a period of introspection right now. Can she resolve doing what needs to be done when it needs to happen with her guilt over doing it? These are incredible times and Carol has turned into an incredible asset. I think killing her off would suck terribly because we want to see where she’ll go from here, but if she dies, people will say it’s because she lost her way. I wouldn’t be shocked if Carol was Negan’s first victim but I just don’t think it will be her. There’s still more story to tell.  

Michonne- What a swerve it would be to have Michonne be Negan’s first victim? She’s been through a remarkable journey where she learned to trust again, believe again and now, love again. TWD sure doesn’t mind offing people who have found something good in their lives. They like the drama of snatching that good fortune away in a second as both surprising storytelling and as a reminder that nothing good lasts in the ZA. Could I see them offing her? Yes, other than finally consummating “Richonne” and embracing her new Grimes family, her character hasn’t been up to much lately, which for all intents and purposes is a good thing considering most of the characters who are “up to something” in the story are dealing with adversity. If they wanted a surprise kill, she’d be the way to go and that would confirm that getting involved with Rick is VERY bad luck.

Maggie- It looked like Maggie could have lost the baby last week, if not, all is not well with the child. Since Glenn and Maggie have kind of adopted Enid anyway, the child isn’t entirely necessary. Plus with Judith still filling diapers there’s not a need to have another child on the show. It is however, important for what the child represents… hope. You’ve heard characters both on Team Rick and elsewhere question Maggie as to why she would want to get pregnant in this world, like doing so may as well be a death sentence. Maggie and Glenn occupy a different but similar wing of Morgan’s all life is precious argument. In a world so completely caught up with the moment (and for good reason), these are 2 people with a brave eye towards the future. More than that Maggie is set up in a very important but developing role; as the ambassador/representative of Alexandria. Rick and his temper have no time for slimy douches like the Hilltop Colony’s leader Gregory. Maggie is tough but with a softer, perhaps more diplomatic touch. In this season alone we’ve met the Hilltoppers and The Saviors. Odds are there are more colonies out there and in a world of dwindling supplies and resources, seeking out the other groups and working with them is becoming necessary. If they want to trade and work with Alexandria, they’ll speak with Maggie. If they want to take everything and kill everybody, well then they’ll speak with Rick. Maggie is important to the future of Team Rick so killing her here while extra surprising would be excessive. They just lost Deanna. Maggie needs time to grow into her role so I think she’ll be safe, although as we saw last Sunday the same might not be said for her baby.

Fourth Category: “UH-OH”

Abraham- I think Abraham would be the major character most fans could live with dying. His arc of losing his mind seems to be over and he’s found himself in a good place with newly found peace of mind and a new companion in Sasha. That’s way too much good fortune for one guy on this show! That’s why I think he’s a great candidate to be the first person to die at Negan’s hands. His euphemisms and ways to express himself are certainly a highlight and it’s not like there are many people left with military training out there but he’s not on the same level with the other 2 characters in this category who have been with Rick since episode 2. So his death, while powerful, wouldn’t carry the same weight of either Daryl or Glenn dying. In the comics, Abraham dies the way Denise did, so technically, he’s living on borrowed time… for what that’s worth.  

Daryl- We left last weeks’ episode with Daryl being shot in the arm or shoulder.  No he’s not dead and no, he will not die Sunday. Daryl still has a game to finish with Dwight and right now Dwight is winning. If you’ve studied comic book science you’ll know three things: 1-Only a major bad guy can finish off a major good character. Negan would qualify as a major bad guy, so yes he could kill Daryl on Sunday but also true in comic science is 2-A major bad guy doesn’t get introduced by killing an already wounded and weakened character. If Daryl is in rough shape after being shot, killing him wouldn’t be much of an accomplishment. Negan needs to kill a healthy, strapping major character to make maximum impact. 3-Daryl is has unfinished business. In the comic world, unfinished business with a bad guy is a huge deal. So this means, Daryl can die at Negan hands but only after he squares things with Dwight. If Daryl were to get revenge on Dwight during Sunday’s episode, I’d say he’s more likely to be the guy but if he doesn’t, I think he lives to fight, and die another day. Besides, if Daryl dies we riot, right?

Glenn- That leaves us with the guy who gets it at this point in the comics. That scene has been discussed for a few years by fans and media alike. Will The Walking Dead stay true to the comic? With the big Glenn death tease earlier this season, it was wondered if we’d even get to this point. Glenn as a character has been vital to the story thus far. His ability to get out of sticky situations and knock arrogant prima donnas on their ass has been wildly important. He survived being tortured by the Governor. He survived the chopping block at Terminus. Does Glenn have 9 lives and does anyone know if he’s already used 8 of them? Something to consider; Glenn for the first time a few episodes ago, killed his first 2 humans. On this show, when a character loses their way, trades in their belief system, they could be on borrowed time. It’s happened to a few of them. I’m also wondering that other than being a new dad to be and killing his first humans what else has Glenn been up to? What would his role be going forward? Obviously he is great on runs and has wisdom gleaned from Dale, Hershel and all the best moral characters on the show. To lose him WOULD be brutal but he is the only major character from the early days of the show who isn’t involved in a major subplot right now. Does that automatically equal death… no, not necessarily. But for the same reason that I think Carol is safe because she’s on a quest to find herself and Daryl is safe because he’s on a quest for revenge, Glenn is not on a "quest" right now. He's just there. One train of thought is maybe the show has been cleaning up Glenn’s affairs, so to speak, to prepare for THIS moment. While the show hasn’t always stuck to the comics, there are a few moments, major moments, that they have to get right. I think this is one of them. As much as I hate it, I think Glenn is the one to meet his demise at the hands of Negan Sunday.