Why We're More Confident Than Ever That Glenn Is Going to Die in The Walking Dead's Season Finale

During the opening sequence of episode 15, "East," there's a brief scene showing Carl picking out a new pistol in the armory. This scene wouldn't be anything of note, normally, but the gun he chooses has one very ominous symbol carved into it: a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, a.k.a. Negan's weapon of choice. What's more, this moment comes directly before a scene of Glenn and Maggie sharing a sad, tender moment in the shower together. This could definitely be foreshadowing that Glenn or Maggie are going to be on the receiving end of Negan's bat sometime soon.

Rumors have been swirling that instead of Negan murdering Glenn, it'll be Maggie and her unborn child who will die, thanks to the multiple film projects actress Lauren Cohan has lined up. TWD has proved time and time again that it has zero qualms about destroying the psyche of its watchers with graphic deaths of some of its youngest characters, like Lizzie and Mika Samuels and, more recently, Sam Anderson, but despite this, the show would reach a new level of disturbing if it killed off Maggie.

That being said, it really seemed like Maggie potentially suffered a miscarriage in episode 15. Wouldn't it be pointless drama for her to lose their baby and then be murdered an episode later? On top of that, the comic book version of Negan abides by a specific set of personal rules that doesn't allow him to hurt women or children, so it seems unlikely that a pregnant woman would be his target of choice. There's no doubt that whoever dies in the season finale will suffer a violent end, and if that person happens to be Ms. Greene, TWD would no longer just be toeing the line of needless torture porn — it'd be blowing past it at 99 miles per hour.

Some of the show's most notable actors, Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, and Cohan have all mentioned that we're in store for a horrific season finale. "[Hearing] the word 'finale' gives me a physical reaction because it's the hardest day on set that I've ever had in my life," Cohan told EW in February. "I didn't want to go to work that day. It took a really, really long time for everybody to feel okay again after the finale, let's put it that way." Lincoln and McBride offered up similar sentiments, which has us thinking — would they really have the actress who plays Maggie chiming in about her own character's death?

For his part, Yeun also commented on what happens in the final moments of the season, calling Negan "f*cking awesome," and noting "I know people are going to always go, 'Negan kills Glenn in the comics,' but rest assured that we don't necessarily do what's in the comics." Since the zombie drama is known for its masterful bait-and-switch plots (remember that dumpster?), it would be wise not to take his quotes as scripture.

One of the most frustrating storylines in season six was the heart-wrenching cliffhanger of whether or not Glenn was actually dead, thanks to the selfish actions of garbage human Nicholas. There were plenty of cases made for both scenarios, but it was ultimately revealed that he lives to see another miserable, blood-and-guts-covered day. Now, loyal fans of the show know that the creators are master manipulators when it comes to giving clues of who's going to bite it. His faux death could be an elaborate ruse to throw us all off — for instance, wouldn't it have been a waste to have hyped up his nondeath so much, only to have him live, and then brutally kill him off a few episodes later? Or was that just a way to lull us all into a false sense of security before ripping out our hearts and shoving them in a blender set to the "pulverize" setting?

While raiding the Saviors' compound in episode 12, "No Tomorrow Yet," Glenn stumbles upon a collection of Polaroids tacked up on the wall that appear to show people with their skulls bashed in, among other nasty imagery. Could the writers be trying to fake us out by beating us over the head (no pun intended) (JK, all the puns intended) by foreshadowing the way he iconically dies in the comics? Totally possible. Still, it seems subtle enough that we shouldn't completely write off this nod to the source material.

Throughout the course of TWD, the show has done an admirable job of sticking fairly closely to the storylines birthed in Robert Kirkman's original comics. There have been big differences (ex: the way Lori dies, introducing completely new characters, etc.) to be sure, but by transferring Glenn's death — which is one of the most noteworthy deaths of the entire series — to a different character, it almost feels like it would be kind of a cop-out, especially after his is-he-or-isn't-he-dead storyline earlier on this season.

Nobody wants to see Glenn go. He, along with Maggie and Daryl Dixon, is one of the most likable characters on the show, and it's safe to say his death would rival Noah's revolving-door mauling from last season in terms of repulsion. Sadly it's been a long time coming, and we'll have to wait to see what actually goes down during the finale on April 3.

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