'The Walking Dead': Is Glenn Better Off Dead?

WARNING: MAJOR COMIC BOOK AND TV SPOILERS AHEAD

Season 6 of The Walking Dead is on the shelf, and fans of the zombie drama are going to have to wait until February to see if the show is going to make up for this past mid-season finale. While the lackluster final episode of 2015 may have let a lot of fans down, the subject of Glenn has seemed to be the highlight of the season. Obviously, I’m talking about his near-death experience that had people arguing as to whether the Season 1 original was alive or dead (including me).

Like many, I was happy to see that Glenn actually survived his fall into the walker mosh pit, despite facing insurmountable odds. I’ve enjoyed his subsequent storyline with Enid, focusing on his efforts to send a signal to Maggie and somehow help the people in Alexandria. But, I can’t help but start to wonder if Glenn would have been better off dying on the ground after all— both for the show and for the character.

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For one, comic book readers know that Glenn’s time may be running short, anyway. With Negan’s appearance on the show now officially confirmed to happen in the second half of the season, it seems very possible that Glenn will be meeting his fate sooner than later. I’ve previously made the argument that Glenn wouldn’t be the one to die at the hands of Negan, so as to avoid the predictability of his death— but I also believed that he did actually die when he fell into the walkers, so, I’m no Nostradamus when it comes to calling everything that happens on The Walking Dead. His comic book death is one of the most iconic moments in the series, so even if most of us see it coming, it’d still make a hell of a scene on screen.

So if Glenn dies by getting his brains plastered all over the sidewalk in front of Maggie and all of his friends, is that a more dignified death? Maybe he wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye to anyone, but succumbing to the walkers without the love of his life being forced to watch would certainly be better for the only surviving Greene family member. Keep in mind— death is much harder on the living than it is on the dead.

But while Glenn dying alone would be better for the other characters emotionally, it’d still be incredibly heartbreaking. That’s what this show is all about, though. I’m starting to think that if they had revealed Glenn to have actually died and been feasted upon until there was nothing left, it’d have been more dramatic, and just the sucker punch we would need to keep us on our toes. Even comic readers would have been totally blindsided, and as nobody saw it go down, I can only imagine how badly we’d feel for Maggie.

In a nutshell, if Glenn died and was never seen again, it would easily be one of the darkest, saddest storylines the show has brought forth. And the point I’m trying to make is: that’s exactly why they should have done it. Negan’s introduction would still carry a heavy impact as he’s sure to take somebody out, and none of us would have any idea who. There would also be a sense of realism added, considering that this is the risk each of them takes when venturing out into the open world— there’s no guarantee they’d ever return.

If Glenn survives Negan’s introduction, somehow avoiding Lucille and making it into Season 7, then I’ll admit that keeping him alive for now was the right call. But if he’s just going to get his skull crushed anyway come this spring? Maybe then you’ll think of this article, and you just might agree with me that Glenn would’ve been much better off dead.

Next: The Walking Dead: 5 Actors Who Could've Played Rick Grimes

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‘The Walking Dead’: Is Glenn Better Off Dead?

By Jeremy Dick | Dec 17, 2015