A Few Walking Dead Thoughts

Now that I’ve barfed yesterday’s meals discussing the election, I’d like to turn to something a bit more cheerful – “The Walking Dead.”

Yeah, I know. One of the core group dies. Hardly a cheerful episode. Given how emotionally vested I am in this show, I’m going to be heartbroken after the October 23 premiere.

I’ve watched this repeatedly, and here is my theory about what happens next.

I’ve theorized for a while that the person Negan clobbers is Maggie. If we take a look at Rick, there’s blood splatter on his right side, with the majority of it being closer to the back of his head and his ear. In the final scene, a very sick, pregnant Maggie is kneeling directly to Rick’s right, and a little to the back of him, with Abraham directly to her right.

It would make sense that the blood spatter would be heaviest to the back of Rick’s head, given Maggie’s position. Negan in the last scene swings his bat straight down, rather than like a baseball player, which may have caused more splatter on Rick had Abraham been the victim.

Additionally, Negan is vicious, but also practical. He wants Soldiers. He wants people who will work for him, steal for him, and get him what he needs. To someone like that, a sick, pregnant woman would be a liability. Even if she survived whatever infection was plaguing her, she would be channeling her energies and resources on taking care of her child, which would be a liability for Negan.

So yes, I think it’s Maggie.

But there’s more!

In a statement read by Chris Hardwick on “The Talking Dead” last week, one of the show’s creators, said something that stuck with me. That the death at the hands of Negan would have indelible repercussions far beyond the actual murder and who gets killed.

I felt like this would open up Glenn’s character to explore his vengeful killer side, whereas until now, he really had trouble killing anyone who was not directly threatening him.

But then, rumors started swirling that there was more than one death.

Could it be that the show has also followed the comic and killed off Glenn?

In the sneak peek video, Negan grabs Rick’s hatchet, and drags him into the RV, after Rick threatens to kill him.

If the rumors of two deaths are true, would it be possible that Negan threatens the lives of everyone in Rick’s group if he doesn’t reveal the identity of his “right hand man,” whom he will then bludgeon to death, and Rick – in a heartbreaking bout of sympathy and perhaps mercy – picks Glenn to release him from the agony of losing his wife and baby?

Another friend suggested that this is where Rick will lose his hand, since that’s exactly what happens in the comics. Could it be that in retaliation for Rick’s threat Negan hangs the axe from his belt, and drags Rick into the RV to chop off his limb?

Maybe it’s both.

Both Glenn’s death and Rick’s loss of his hand would have an indelible effect on the group.

Think about it.

Filed under: Entertainment Tagged: bat, finale, kill, Lucille, Maggie, Negan, Rick, Season 6, The Walking Dead