#rick grims

So like everyone else I can’t help but think who will get “Lucilled” by the end of the season of Walking Dead. Many are right to predict Daryl or Glenn. As for myself, I’m leaning more towards Glenn after 6x11 episode. At first I thought after the whole Glenn dumpster fiasco in the beginning of the season it would cheapened Glenn’s death if he gets the bat, but I think it still might work story wise, now that things have calmed down and they’re pushing more Maggie and Glenn + baby family time. It would only be more tragic for the writers to rip them apart.

I just can’t see them killing Daryl off. I actually would hate if they killed Daryl off, not because he’s my favorite but because his death would not mean as much in terms of pushing the story forward or giving any meaningful connection to any of the characters. It would just be a big “shock” and that’s it. His character is not emotionally tethered to anyone. Perhaps Rick, Carol and Denise, but it’s a bit of a touch and go feel at best. Carol and Daryl haven’t had any meaningful conversations since earlier seasons and his connection with Denise is so brand new that it still needs time to develop into some sort of pseudo friendship. Sure the group will feel the loss of Daryl but besides Rick, would it have any strong resonance with anyone since Daryl is pretty much a loner?

Killing off a character just for shock factor is the worst thing in my eyes. That’s why I hated Beth’s death. It was ham-fisted and easily forgotten, just when her character was showing some interesting growth. The only character that was truly affect by her death was Daryl but even that doesn’t really push the story forward in a significant way since he was not tethered to other characters or any story themes at that time. (Don’t even get me started on Maggie’s half hazard “mourning” over her sister)

If they’re going to make the “Lucille” moment truly tragic/shocking/ and epic then it needs to have a couple of things:

It needs to establish Negan as the worst villain the group has ever faced

They need to kill off an “untouchable character”, to give an impact.

The death needs to push the group into an all-out civil war with the Saviors.

It needs to have lasting impact thematically and propel multiple characters into new territory.

That’s why I think it might be Glenn. He’s a season 1 character that has lasted this far into the apocalypse with his 9 nine lives stint, but it feels like it’s about to run its course. It would propel Maggie into new territory now that she has a baby on the way but no father. Rick would be devastated because Glenn was one of the character he met first and saved him and one of the group’s few moral compass. It might make Abe more cynical then ever after the whole settling down + baby talk with Glenn. Enid might grow as a character after Glenn’s death from their pseudo father/daughter bonding moment earlier in the season and perhaps have her try to live on in remembrance of him after what he said to her about keeping other’s memories alive by surviving.

Thematically it would work since Glenn and Maggie have this hope of settling down and having a baby. The hope would be dashed with Glenn’s death. How would all the characters deal with it especially since they’re all finding some normality in Alexandria? Would they believe hope is lost or does it push them and make them stronger?

As much as it would be an epic death for Daryl to go down by the biggest baddest villain. Thematically it does nothing. Glenn’s death does. Daryl offering himself up and getting beaten guns blazing would make the scene more “heroic” then “tragic” And I think tragedy would be the theme that needs to play out here to demonstrate Negan’s power. People have pointed out that Negan would take it out of Daryl because he killed a group of his men. But I can just see Negan being sadistic and choosing a character randomly for punishment, letting Daryl watch helplessly and feel the guilt that his actions brought about the death of an innocent (namely Glenn’s) who had nothing to do with it, just to prove a point. It might even propel Daryl’s character into new territory as well.

I wish no one gets Lucilled, but that wouldn’t be Walking Dead would it? I’m just anxiously waiting and will have a box of tissues on hand when the season finale comes.