Warning! Spoiler Alert! As you can probably tell from the headline, this is not a story you want to read if you haven't watched last night's gut-wrenching episode of The Walking Dead. This Season 6 episode titled Thank You brought the death of one major character that has been with fans from the vary beginning. Though he has long been dead in the comic books upon which the AMC series is based, Steven Yeun's Glenn finally met his maker in gruesome fashion last night. He literally had his guts torn out as he was eaten alive. The experience of watching this happen to one of the most beloved characters on the show has been quite traumatic for fans. So much so, that some are claiming it didn't actually happen. But did it?
Showrunner Scott M. Gimple had a special message for fans of Glenn who were 'torn up' about the demise of Maggie's husband. During last night's Talking Dead in memoriam segment, the producer teased that Glenn will be back. But how and why that will happen hasn't been divulged. He has this to say to mourning audience members who couldn't quite grasp what had just happened.
"Dear fans of The Walking Dead, this is a hard story to tell, and when we were planning to tell it, we knew our friends over at Talking Dead would be talking to you about it, and knowing you'd be talking and feeling and commiserating, I knew we should say something about it, lest our silence say something we didn't mean to say or not say so I will say this: In some way, we will see Glenn, some version of Glenn or parts of Glenn again, either in flashback, or current story, to help complete the story."
This week's in memoriam segment did not include Steven Yeun's Glenn, which has caused much speculation that he's not actually dead. There's also the fact that Steven Yeun did not appear on Talking Dead, which is usually the case for all fallen cast members, especially as someone as beloved as Glenn. Where was his swan song? It didn't happen. Perhaps because there was more to last night's death scene than meets the eye.
No exit interview, which has become a rite of passage for The Walking Dead cast members, surely points to something bigger going on. But what? As we saw last night, after Glenn falls from the dumpster and is seemingly eaten by a horde of zombies, it is all being done in extreme close-up. And when the camera pulls back to provide an overhead shot, something is definitely off about the whole incident. Throughout last night's episode, there were several shots that hinted that Glenn and Nicholas' fates were about to be sealed. And the purposely slowed down shots suggested that the audience needed to pay close attention to the details. Glenn's death is set up early on, as the character makes it known just how important it is to make it back to his wife, Maggie.
Some don't believe that The Walking Dead would play off such a major death as cooly as it does in Thank You. Some are calling this the show's Jon Snow moment. Is he or isn't he dead? And most believe the death can be undone with a little help from the writers' room. There is a huge portion of the audience who firmly believe that Glenn is still alive. That it is actually Nicholas' guts we see being seemingly torn out of Glenn. The framing of the shot is tight enough that this could be a possibility. Nicholas, standing on the dumpster, took his own life by blowing his brains out, and when the two fall, Glenn is clearly underneath Nicholas. As the Walkers seemingly tear Glenn apart, the camera remains focused on Glenn's face. It is the apparent death of a beloved character, but those most in mourning want to believe that this leaves room for the actor to have survived. Plus, there is the added fact that Steven Yeun is still on set, working. Is he just shooting his flashback scenes? Or did he really survive?
Is it Nicholas's body we're seeing being eaten? Or is it really Glenn? Can the show get away with pulling the rug out from underneath its audience in such a fashion? Will they accept such a huge misdirect? In the comics, Glenn is killed by the iconic villain Negan, who has not yet appeared on the show, but is rumored for next season. And it's a big moment. He is beaten to death by Negan's iconic baseball bat. If Glenn is still alive, and they plan to kill him again at a later date by Negan, will that undermine the emotional factor? Or will it help soften the blow? Having Glenn still be alive opens up a lot of other questions for the show. What do you think? Do you hope Glenn is still alive or dead? We have a sneak peak at next week's episode titled Here's not Here along with new photos from last night's episode, as well as next week's installment. As you can see, we're only getting to see Morgan. So what's going to happen next? And if Glenn is truly dead, how will anyone ever find his body?
