Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

It's looking like a big character will get killed off 'The Walking Dead' this season

the walking dead
Gene Page/AMC

Warning: There are big potential spoilers ahead for "The Walking Dead" if you're not caught up.

Advertisement

It's been awhile since we've had a big character death on "The Walking Dead." I'm not talking about semi-main characters like Tyreese or Bob. I'm talking about one of the core members of the "Walking Dead" family: Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Rick, Carl, Daryl, etc.

The departure of Emily Kinney's Beth in season five was probably the last big shocking death of a long-time character on the AMC series.

Since season six of the show kicked off in October, I've had a terrible sinking feeling about the impending season finale.

Now that we know that the series' next big villain, Negan, will most likely be making his introduction by the finale, it's looking increasingly more likely that a big character is going to bite the bullet.

Advertisement

Last chance to head back before spoilers.

walking dead hilltop
Rick and the crew, accompanied by their new companion, Jesus, enter the Hilltop. Gene Page/AMC

Comic fans know Negan comes in swinging in issue No. 100, brutally murdering Glenn in front of Rick and the other survivors with a bat.

Since "The Walking Dead" likes to make big departures from the comic, I'm not convinced Glenn's necessarily in danger.

For one thing, comic fans will see this as the obvious choice, and the showrunners like to keep us on our toes. Andrea, who was killed off on the show in season three, is still alive and kicking as one of the main characters in the comic.

Advertisement

We've also seen Glenn nearly get a bat to the head in the season five premiere, mimicking the iconic comic scene.

glenn the walking dead bat
How many times can we tease this scene on the show? AMC

More recently, his potential death came into question during the first half of season six. While we can take this to mean that the show is hinting at Glenn's demise, haven't we had our share of Glenn scares for a while? By now, nearly the entire "Walking Dead" fandom knows Glenn's fate in the comics. Creator Robert Kirkman even went on Comedy Central's "@midnight" joking about Glenn's death in issue No. 100.

Glenn's death, although a recreation of a huge scene from the comics, wouldn't be a huge shock to viewers.

Instead, the show has been dropping a lot of hints to make it look like beloved fan favorite Daryl Dixon could be the next big character to get the ax.

Advertisement
the walking dead season 6 glenn daryl
You think Glenn's on the chopping block? "The Walking Dead" may be eyeing up one of your favorites. Gene Page/AMC

I know, I know.

The fan mantra is "If Daryl dies, we riot." Well, AMC may want to break out the riot gear. Here's why I think Daryl's days may be limited in the world of the dead.

1. Daryl just blew up a bunch of Negan's men

walking dead daryl
Sure, this was a great idea at the time, but will Daryl regret taking out these bikers down the line? Gene Page/AMC

In the mid-season premiere, Daryl swiftly silenced Negan's men with an RPG five minutes into the episode's opening. There's no way Negan can be happy about that.

"Daryl just shows up with the RPG and just ends the confrontation like, 'Dude, we don't have f---ing time for this, we're moving on," episode director and executive producer Greg Nicotero told Tech Insider ahead of the Valentine's Day premiere.

Advertisement

When asked whether that will have repercussions for Daryl down the line later this season, Nicotero carefully chose his words.

"I think that's safe to say that, in our world, I don't think anybody would take kindly to you killing off their people," he explained.

2. Daryl is not taking Negan and the Saviors seriously

the walking dead daryl dixon
Gene Page/AMC

Daryl is the first to suggest that Rick and the group go after Negan and the Saviors under the assumption that they're no bigger of a threat than previous survivors they've encountered.

Here's Daryl's reaction to hearing more about Negan and the Saviors from Jesus in season six, episode 11: "Hold up. They show up, they kill a kid, and you give 'em half of everything? These d---s just have a good story. Bogeyman. [Negan] ain't s---."

Advertisement

I'd love to hear Daryl say that to Negan's face. Sure, Rick's group has been used to having the upper hand most of the time so far throughout the series, but underestimating Negan's group will prove a reckless mistake.

Remember that man Daryl happened upon in the woods in the first half of season six? This guy:

the walking dead dwight
Gene Page/AMC
dwight the walking dead
Gene Page/AMC

He ended up disappearing with Daryl's bike.

It was later confirmed that his name was Dwight. Comic fans will know that's the name of one of Negan's men. Yeah, you can bet we'll be seeing him again. And Daryl will probably wish he wasn't as kind to him.

Advertisement

3. We are getting spoiled with a lot of Daryl airtime

the walking dead behind the scenes season 6
We're not complaining, but it usually doesn't bode well when a character gets a lot of airtime on "The Walking Dead." Gene Page/AMC

Daryl has been front and center in each of the episodes since the mid-season premiere, and — without giving anything away — he'll have a lot of airtime in Sunday's upcoming episode.

If you've been watching this show, you know that often when the show zeroes in on a member of the survivors, especially with a big character-centric episode, their clock may be ticking. We've seen this happen with Beth, Hershel, the Governor, and Tyreese in the past few seasons before getting the ax.

On the flip side, we've also seen Carol get a few big episodes of her own and she's still around ... for now. Maybe this means nothing, but it definitely is curious.

4. Norman Reedus is getting his own show on AMC

the walking dead daryl
Nope. It's not a "The Walking Dead" spin-off. We already have one of those. Gene Page/AMC

In October, AMC announced that "The Walking Dead" actor is getting his own motorcycle show, "Ride with Norman Reedus," on the network later this year. Does that mean Reedus will be waving good-bye to his "Walking Dead" crew on the back of his hog, or will he just be pulling double duty with the network?

Advertisement

If Reedus was to leave "The Walking Dead," AMC would probably want to keep him around because of his large fan following. They call themselves Dixon's Vixens. Seriously.

5. Is Norman Reedus also working on a video game?

In 2014, a free game called "P.T." was released on the PlayStation 4. Those who downloaded the horror game and made it all the way through "P.T.," which stood for "playable trailer," learned that the demo was a teaser for a new "Silent Hill" game starring Norman Reedus from Konami.

It was set to be a big deal. Director Guillermo del Toro was on board to direct the new game along with Hideo Kojima. Unfortunately, the publisher canceled the game, despite it becoming one of the best-reviewed teasers/games of the year.

While we may not see "Silent Hill" again, it looks like Reedus, Kojima, and del Toro may be teaming up for a new project.

Advertisement

On February 16, Reedus sent out an Instagram featuring a logo for Kojima's gaming company, Kojima Productions. The day before, the two met up.

🏋🏾

A photo posted by norman reedus (@bigbaldhead) on Feb 16, 2016 at 11:06am PST

Last summer, del Toro told IGN that he still wanted to work with Kojima on an upcoming project as well.

If Reedus is going to be working on a new game on top of another show, it could be a sign that Reedus has a lot of free time to fill.

Could "The Walking Dead" really kill off Daryl Dixon? Maybe the evidence is a red herring. If the show is going that route, not only would season six end on a high note, but fans will definitely be screaming at their TVs.

TV The Walking Dead AMC
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account