Warning: This article contains plot spoilers.
The living dead. Roamers. Biters. Walkers. Zombies. A corpse by any other name would eat as much flesh.
In Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” that flesh might have belonged to one of the show’s oldest and most popular characters. The most recent episode of the popular AMC show, titled “Thank You,” sent the internet into a frenzy of comment wars and speculation. With the apparent death of fan-favorite character Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), fans want to know what is next for Rick Grimes and the remaining survivors.
“Thank You,” the third episode of the sixth season, was intense, ridden with cliffhangers and death – perhaps too much death. Killing off main characters is a double-edged sword as the show has too few characters that viewers still care about.
In the episode, Glenn is knocked off balance when Nicholas’ dead body – after he commits suicide – hits him and he falls into a swarm of ravenous undead.
The reception of his death was mixed. While fans of the source material have considered Glenn’s demise long overdue – he is long dead in the comics – fans of the show that have not been exposed to the comics are still reeling.
In true “we didn’t see a body bag” spirit, some cling to the hope that it was Nicholas and not Glenn that became a feast for the undead. Nicholas’ body falls on top of Glenn and the walkers are clearly shown chowing down on small intestines on top of Glenn’s chest, giving fans hope that he may have made it out alive; after all, intestines are not located in the chest region. Given the usual attention to detail in the show, it’s as if the show is daring viewers to hope for Glenn.
Executive writer and producer Scott Gimple said on AMC’s “Talking Dead” that Glenn would reappear in future episodes, potentially in flashbacks or in the main story, adding more fuel to the speculation fire.
As one of the only surviving characters from the first season, Glenn had a good run and became the new moral center of the group, who searched for more peaceful routes in conflict, refusing to kill Nicholas when he ambushed and intended to kill him.
The idea of his passing is difficult to swallow and will likely create violent ripples in the show’s plot as the group might have lost its principal peacemaker; Rick’s leadership is also called further into question. The fandom is already abuzz, engaging in comment wars about Glenn’s fate. As the show’s only Asian character, Glenn brought more diversity to the group. His potential death strengthens criticisms about the show’s (lack of) diversity.
It is not a good idea to get too attached to any character on the show. As the roster of original characters thins, new ones, like Morgan and Heath, are introduced to take their place. If the initial three episodes of season six are anything to judge by, the action, tension and scale of the show will continue to keep audiences hooked and possibly draw back old fans.
However, now that Robert Kirkman, creator of the original “The Walking Dead” comic book series, is thinking of endings for the comics, the show should begin winding down to an end. With so few original characters remaining, the show’s writers can scarcely afford to kill off any more before there is no one left to care about. Glenn was a strong character, and there is hope he survives somehow.
One thing remains certain: If Daryl dies, we riot.
– Matthew Fernandez
My theory is that he is not quite dead yet. He will be bitten but will survive by rolling under the dumpster long enough to help Rick out of his present bind- trapped by walkers in the motor home. A foreshadowing of this is when he called Rick ‘Dumbas_” over the walkie talkie at the beginning of the episode- a reference to when they first met in ep. 1 season 2. Glenn saved Rick then – calling him over the radio while he was trapped by walkers in a tank.
Or- he might have a last trick up his sleeve to save the lot in the town, who are also being surrounded. Glenn will come through and die a hero.
Is there enough room for a grown man to roll under a Dumpster brand trash receptacle? If so, he could definitely smear himself with the leftover guts of Nicholas to mask his scent and avoid detection by the horde, and just walk out. He knows that is possible from when he did it in Season 1 back in Atlanta.
When you see them hit the ground, the space under that dumpster looks to be about 6 inches; so, yeah that doesn’t look like an option.
He is not long dead in the comics at this point in the storyline. That part of your article is inaccurate.
Except that Morgan is an original character, not a new one. Morgan was introduced in Season 1 (maybe even the pilot if I recall correctly) when he first met Rick at the outset of the apocalypse. He was not a regular recurring character that season, but he was there. He had to kill his own wife, who had turned into a walker. And we all know what walkers are – they are pretty much zombies. And that brings up another question: why is it in five full seasons of the show, no character has ever used the term “zombie” to describe a walker? In the fictional universe of the Walking Dead, did the word zombie not exist at all in the English language? That’s something that’s always bugged me.
Oh, yeah, one more thing….. Go Buffs!
They did use the word zombie once or twice later on…
It was not the killing that bothered me. It was the way of the killing. It was almost as if the writers got lazy and couldn’t even think of good scenarios for a hero. This is a guy who was successful in dozens of runs, got into a well and tied up a walker, was tied to a chair himself and fought off walkers, except, apparently, one day, even with pre-planning, he couldn’t hold it together. So stupid. This has become a major turn off for me. As important as the original characters are, so important are the original fans.
See, my feelings are almost exactly opposite yours. I find the circumstances of his death intriguing and a nod to realism.
A show about the dead getting up and walking around is never connected to reality to begin with..
I (generally, nothing personal) find comments like this annoying and beside the point. Of course a show about a zombie apocalypse isn’t going to be a documentary. “Reality” in this sense refers to the fictional reality created by a show adhering to its own internal logic.
The show’s internal logic now appears to be: you will be a hero, and one day, you will just run out of steam.
http://youtu.be/pO20qU-VwgA
Ok, who really cares? His role has been next to nothing lately. So what’s the big deal?
Somewhere along the line the writers got bored with Glenn. He was pretty much a secondary character last season. Once the show stops featuring a character, they tend to kill them off. But yeah TWD no longer has any Asians in it.