Consider yourself warned: Mild show and comic spoilers ahead!
AMC’s The Walking Dead returns to television this Sunday with episode nine of Season 6, “No Way Out,” which will launch the show into an eight-episode collision course with Negan and his Saviors. The new episodes of the zombie apocalypse television phenomenon promise to be some of the bloodiest we’ve seen from the show; comic creator and executive producer Robert Kirkman says “So many people will die” – and that’s only referring to the Valentine’s Day premiere episode. With a statement like that, it’s all but inevitable that we will lose some of our favorite characters between now and the appearance of Negan in the April 3rd season finale. With that in mind, we make some bold Season 6 Walking Dead death predictions on who will survive the season, and who will become zombie fodder.
Last warning: Show and comic spoilers ahead.
RICK GRIMES (Andrew Lincoln)
Verdict: Lives
We’ve seen Rick make it through a zombie-heap of impossible situations over the course of five and a half seasons, and for good reason: he’s a bad ass, and he also represents the narrative backbone of the series. A dead Rick means a dead show, and as such, he has plot armor thicker than the walls of Alexandria.
CARL GRIMES (Chandler Riggs)
Verdict: Lives
If Rick is the narrative backbone of the show, then Carl is the meat that grows upon it. In other words, there will come a day when Rick must pass the torch of leadership to the next generation, and Carl is the logical choice. Furthermore, if Carl were to die, it would destroy Rick; fans of the comic know that Carl receives a nasty gunshot to the face that, while non-fatal, leaves Rick an emotional basket case who is unable to lead while his son recovers. I would wager that Carl will not only survive the season, but survive the entire series (if it ever ends).
CAROL PELETIER (Melissa McBride)
Verdict: Lives
Carol has enjoyed the most dynamic character arc of any character on the series, and her phoenix-like rise from the ashes has endeared her to the hearts of countless fans. Writers of the show had toyed with the idea of killing her off way back in Season 3, but threw T-Dog to the zombies instead, which has proven to be an excellent narrative choice (sorry, T-Dog). The first half of Season 6 gave us lots of ass-kicking Carol, but we’ve also seen how her ability to kill has worn on her humanity, adding yet another layer of depth to the character. I don’t think she’ll survive the series, but I believe that she’ll make it out of the season; there’s still more story to tell for this amazing woman.
MORGAN JONES (Lennie James)
Verdict: Dies
Morgan’s return to TWD was one of the most anticipated events leading into Season 6, but now that he’s here, many fans are disappointed in his pacifist philosophy which dictates that “All life is precious.” I think we’ll see Morgan come into moral conflict with this philosophy as he continues to see how awful the world is, and that a person unwilling to kill to survive won’t survive for long. I predict that Morgan will find himself in a situation where he must cast his philosophy aside to help his friends, dying heroically in the process.
GLENN RHEE (Steven Yeun)
Verdict: Lives
After the massive death fake-out back in Episode 3 of this season, Glenn has made his triumphant return. Though Glenn is the one who ends up on the wrong end of Negan’s baseball bat in the comics, show-runner Scott Gimple has hinted that the show will choose a different character to die in that particular situation. Plus, it would be a really cheesy writing choice to fake Glenn’s death earlier in the season just to kill him off again.
MAGGIE GREENE (Lauren Cohan)
Verdict: Lives
Honestly, I just don’t think The Walking Dead has the guts to kill a pregnant woman.
MICHONNE (Danai Gurira)
Verdict: Lives
We’ve seen Michonne go to some very dark psychological places throughout her run, and we’ve seen her fight her way back to her humanity just as many times. She also serves as an important, even integral, moral foil to Rick, and has saved his life several times in the bargain.
ABRAHAM FORD (Michael Cudlitz)
Verdict: Dies
Abraham’s various death-wishes of late don’t bode well for him in terms of hoping to live a long and prosperous life. His upcoming run-in with Negan’s men will likely lead to his death, given the fact that he can’t keep his mouth shut during moments of duress. This is why we love him, and this is why he will die.
EUGENE PORTER (Josh McDermitt)
Verdict: Lives
Because you can’t kill the coward. If that were possible, he’d have died long ago. I’m pretty sure the mullet is the source of his invincibility.
SASHA WILLIAMS (Sonequa Martin-Green)
Verdict: Lives
For better or worse, the show loves shitting on Sasha. They killed her boyfriend Bob, her brother Tyreese, and now that she might have a little somethin’-somethin’ going with the doomed Abraham, they’ll shit on her again. I predict she’ll live long enough to find happiness, and then they’ll kill her.
TARA CHAMBLER (Alanna Masterson)
Verdict: Dies
The show has never figured out what to do with her, other than make her the Queen of Fist-bumps, which is as annoying as it is endearing. With a host of new characters about to be introduced, she’ll be killed off to make room for others.
ROSITA EPSINOSA (Christian Serratos)
Image: AMC
Verdict: Lives
I’m hoping that she’ll step into Abraham’s leadership role. Her character has been largely defined by her relationship with Abe, and it would be great to see the show let her stand strong on her own.
FATHER GABRIEL (Seth Gilliam)
Verdict: Dies
Okay, so maybe you can kill the coward – Gabriel just lacks the mullet of invincibility that’s kept Eugene around for so long. I’m so confident in my verdict that I’ll predict Gabriel’s death within the first half of Episode 9.
AARON (Ross Marquand)
Verdict: Lives
I like Aaron – he’s resourceful, he’s funny, and as one of the show’s two openly gay characters, I’d love to see TWD maintain some diversity. I predict that Aaron will be the only Alexandrian to make it out of this season alive.
JESSE ANDERSON (Alexandra Breckenridge)
Verdict: Dies
The show has set up Jesse’s death in very much the same way she dies in the comic, and I’ll be very surprised if she makes it much further than the opening credits of Episode 9, assuming that the episode picks up where Episode 8 left off. The same thing goes for Sam (Major Dodson), and while I don’t advocate violence against children, it will be nice to have his whininess silenced.
RON ANDERSON (Austin Abrams)
Verdict: Dies
I’m pretty sure that it will be Ron who shoots Carl in the face, and that it will happen sooner than later. The question is, will it be intentional, or will it more closely adhere to the comic, where the injury is caused by a horribly inept accident? Either way, Ron won’t live through the zombie invasion of Alexandria.
DARYL DIXON (Norman Reedus)
Verdict: Dies
Settle down and hear me out, and trust me when I say it pains me to even consider this prediction. We all love Daryl, maybe more than any other character on the show – and that’s precisely why I think it will be Daryl, and not Glenn, who gets beaten to death by Negan in the season finale. If TWD wants to maintain its edge, then killing Daryl Dixon is the way to do it. The show needs to set the stakes for how nasty Negan truly is, and having him kill Daryl will send the message to Rick and to show-watchers alike. Furthermore, both Gimple and Reedus have confirmed that Daryl will be getting a bunch of screen-time in the last half of this season, which is always a death-knell for any character on the show. Reedus is also launching a new motorcycle travelogue show soon, meaning he anticipates lots of free time in the future that TWD previously occupied. Yes, his death will suck, but rest well in knowing we have him for eight more episodes, because that has to be some kind of consolation. Right? Right?!
Let us know your own prediction in the comments section below!
